SpaceX has canceled at the last minute the eighth test launch of the Starship spacecraft and its Super Heavy rocket, which was scheduled to take off Monday at 6:45 p.m. ET (2:45 a.m. Moscow time) from the Starbase launch pad in Boca Chica, South Texas.
Image source: SpaceX
During pre-launch operations, anomalies were reportedly detected in both elements of the spacecraft – the Super Heavy booster and the upper stage – causing the company to cancel the launch 40 seconds before liftoff.
SpaceX officials said another launch attempt could happen as early as the next day, though the flight delay could last longer. “It will take at least 24 hours, but we will definitely let you know about it (the launch date),” a SpaceX official said during a webcast of the launch attempt.
«”There were too many questions about this flight, and the pressure at launch was 20 bars too low,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on social media site X. “The best thing to do would be to disassemble (the system), inspect both stages, and try again in a day or two,” he added.
This will be the first Starship/Super Heavy mission since the failure of Starship Flight 7 on January 16, when contact with the spacecraft was lost about eight and a half minutes after liftoff.
SpaceX said it had made changes to the ship’s hardware and operations to prevent a similar situation from happening again, including adding vents and a nitrogen gas purge system to reduce the flammability of the upper section.