SpaceX’s Starship rocket launch was halted just seconds before liftoff Thursday after several engines failed to ignite, forcing the company to abort the test flight.
The massive rocket was nearly cleared for launch when the ignition sequence began, but four of its engines did not fire as expected. The remaining engines automatically shut down, preventing the vehicle from leaving the launch pad at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas.
The company’s founder and CEO, Elon Musk, said two engines will be replaced before another launch attempt is made. He said the next possible launch window could come as early as the following week.
The aborted launch marked the first time a full-scale Starship experienced a last-second shutdown during the countdown. The rocket’s automated safety systems worked as designed by stopping the launch after detecting a problem that could have jeopardized the mission.
The planned test flight would have been Starship’s 13th mission. Standing 407 feet tall with 33 engines, Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket ever built.
The spacecraft was scheduled to carry 20 of SpaceX’s newest Starlink satellites, which were expected to test communications with satellites already in orbit and capture images of Starship’s heat shield during the roughly hourlong mission. The booster and spacecraft were not intended to be recovered and would have splashed down in the ocean.
Starship remains a key part of NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the moon. The space agency has selected SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to develop lunar landing systems for future Artemis missions.
Both companies are working to have their lunar vehicles ready for upcoming missions, including preparations for astronauts to practice docking procedures before a future crewed landing near the moon’s south pole.
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