SpaceX Delays Starship’s 8th Test Flight After Countdown Halt

SpaceX, the space company led by Elon Musk, was set to conduct the eighth test flight of its massive Starship rocket on March 3 (local time). However, the launch was abruptly canceled just seconds before liftoff.

The company had planned to launch Starship from its Starbase facility at Boca Chica Beach, Texas, at 6:04 PM Central Time. However, the countdown was halted 40 seconds before launch, leading to the test flight's cancellation. SpaceX announced on X (formerly Twitter), "Today's launch is on hold. We are looking for the next best opportunity."

The exact reason for the launch cancellation has not been disclosed, but issues were reportedly detected in both the first-stage Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage Starship vehicle. SpaceX has yet to provide an official explanation.

This delay follows the failure of the seventh test flight on January 16. During that attempt, Starship separated from the Super Heavy booster but exploded about 8 minutes and 30 seconds into the flight due to a fuel leak.

The eighth test flight was expected to include an ambitious experiment in which the Super Heavy booster would be caught mid-air by the massive arms of the launch tower, nicknamed "Mechazilla," about seven minutes after liftoff. Additionally, plans to test Starship's durability and deploy a mock Starlink satellite into Earth's orbit have also been postponed due to the delay.

Starship is a next-generation super-heavy rocket designed for Mars and lunar exploration. It consists of a two-stage structure: the upper-stage Starship spacecraft, which measures 52 meters in length and 9 meters in diameter, can carry up to 100 passengers and cargo. When combined with the 71-meter-tall Super Heavy booster, the entire vehicle reaches a total height of 123 meters.


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SpaceX Delays Starship’s 8th Test Flight After Countdown Halt