WASHINGTON: The planned 10th test flight of a SpaceX Starship rocket was postponed shortly before launch on Sunday, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
“Standing down from today’s tenth flight of Starship to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems,” SpaceX, headed by Elon Musk, said on X.
SpaceX did not initially provide further details or a new test date.
Starship – the largest rocket system ever built – was supposed to lift off from the company’s spaceport in the US state of Texas for a test flight lasting about an hour.
The rocket system is taller than the Statue of Liberty in New York.
The Starship consists of two parts that separate after launch: the approximately 70-metre-long Super Heavy booster and the upper stage, also called Starship, which measures around 50 metres. It is designed to enable crewed missions to the moon and Mars.
The system has been developed so that both the spacecraft and the booster can be reused after returning to Earth.
US space agency NASA hopes to use Starship to send astronauts to the moon, while Musk’s stated goal is for humans to reach Mars.
The system was first tested in April 2023, when it exploded after a few minutes. Later tests saw the upper stage reach space and land under control in the Indian Ocean. However, several recent test flights fell well short of expectations. – BERNAMA-dpa
