Musk wrote on X that the primary goal of the mission was just to launch.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX delayed the launch of its mega-rocket Starship on Sunday for at least a day due to an issue with ground systems, in a fresh setback for the dominant space industry player.
“Standing down from today’s tenth flight of Starship to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems,” SpaceX said in an X post on Sunday evening. Starship was expected to take off shortly after 7.30 p.m. ET.
At the time of writing, the company updated the launch timings of the Starship flight from 7:30 p.m. ET to 8:30 p.m. ET on Monday, without providing further details. Usually, similar problems have been resolved by SpaceX in a few days.
The 400-foot vehicle is the centerpiece of Musk’s ambitions to send humans to Mars and is expected to carry NASA astronauts to the Moon by 2027. However, this year, the company has suffered several mishaps related to the heaviest launch vehicle ever built.
Earlier this year, the FAA had grounded Starship test flights for nearly two months after back-to-back post-launch explosions caused debris to fall at Caribbean islands and forced dozens of commercial airliners to divert. Another launch in May was a partial success, but in June, Starship exploded during an engine test, which the company described as a “major anomaly.”
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about SpaceX’s rival Rocket Lab was in the ‘bullish’ territory at the time of writing.
Shortly after SpaceX’s update, in response to a query about mission objectives, Musk wrote on X that the primary goal was simply launching.
The mission’s stated objectives included the deployment of eight Starlink simulators, similar in size to next-generation Starlink satellites, and several experiments focused on enabling Starship’s upper stage to return to the launch site. SpaceX also wanted to test alternative protective materials for the blazing heat during re-entry.
The Super Heavy booster was not slated to return to the launch site for a catch, as in previous tests, and SpaceX anticipates a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, also referred to as the Gulf of America.
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