SpaceX postpones Starship megarocket test flight

Elon Musk’s company SpaceX recently suspended the test flight of its Starship megarocket, saying it needs more time to resolve technical issues following recent test attempts that ended in explosions.

Standing 123 meters tall, Starship is the largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever built. It is designed to return astronauts to the Moon and plays a central role in Musk’s vision of colonizing Mars.

The rocket was scheduled to launch Sunday from Starbase, the company’s facility in southern Texas. About 15 minutes before liftoff, however, SpaceX announced that the launch was on hold.

"Standing down from today's tenth flight of Starship to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems," SpaceX reported on its X account.

Later, Musk posted on X that a liquid oxygen leak in the ground equipment had to be repaired, AFP reported.

SpaceX later announced that the launch was rescheduled for the same time on Monday, while cautioning that the timeline remains "dynamic and could change." A link will be provided to follow the event live.

Repeated explosions in recent months — which scattered debris over the Caribbean and disrupted air traffic — have increased pressure on SpaceX to carry out a problem-free test.

The hour-long uncrewed mission was designed to test the rocket’s upper stage in orbit around Earth, while the boosters from the lower stage were expected to fall into the Indian Ocean.