SpaceX delays Starship test flight after ground systems issue
SpaceX delayed Starship’s 10th test flight minutes before launch due to ground issues, intensifying scrutiny on Musk’s Mars-bound rocket program.
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SpaceX called off a crucial test flight of its massive Starship rocket just half an hour before liftoff on Sunday, citing a ground systems issue. The scrubbed mission adds to a string of setbacks that have put Elon Musk’s most ambitious project under sharper scrutiny.
Bloomberg reported that the test, which would have marked Starship’s 10th major mission from the company’s Starbase site in South Texas, was meant to demonstrate progress after a turbulent year marked by multiple explosions, failed satellite deployments, and aborted trials. Instead, it reinforced doubts over whether Musk’s timetable for using Starship to reach the Moon and Mars is realistic.
Once pitched as a bold, iterative program where failures are “learning opportunities,” Starship’s stumbles now risk eroding confidence both inside and outside the company. Bloomberg previously reported that 20% of Falcon engineers have been reassigned to help salvage Starship’s testing programme, underscoring the urgency at SpaceX.
Analysts say the stakes are rising. “A successful test would almost kind of erase the challenges of the last year,” said Carissa Christensen of BryceTech. “An unsuccessful one is just going to add to that scrutiny.”
Starship is advertised as the most powerful rocket ever built, designed to be fully reusable and eventually replace the Falcon 9. For Musk, it’s the vehicle that could one day launch satellites at lower cost and make human settlement on Mars possible.
