United States: Elon Musk’s SpaceX has called off a planned test flight of its Starship megarocket, citing an issue with ground systems at the company’s Texas launch site.
The launch was halted approximately 30 minutes before liftoff, with SpaceX confirming that the delay would allow for troubleshooting. The company said it plans to make another attempt. This marks the latest setback in a series of troubled test campaigns. Starship’s upper-stage flights in January, March and May ended in mid-air explosions, while a June static fire test saw the vehicle detonate on the launchpad.
Standing down from today’s tenth flight of Starship to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 24, 2025
Standing 403 feet (123 metres) tall, Starship is central to Musk’s vision of colonising Mars. NASA also intends to use a customised version of the vehicle for its upcoming crewed missions to the Moon.
Had the launch gone ahead, the Starship upper stage was expected to separate from its Super Heavy booster at high altitude.
Super Heavy, which has previously performed landings with giant mechanical arms, was to attempt a soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, testing a backup engine setup. Starship would then have ignited its engines to carry out a suborbital flight, attempting to release a batch of mock Starlink satellites and reignite its engine in space.
Even if the upcoming test succeeds, SpaceX still faces significant technical challenges, including achieving rapid reusability, developing in-orbit refuelling of super-cooled propellant, and ultimately proving the rocket’s capability to deliver payloads and crew beyond Earth.
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