SpaceX called off the second launch attempt of its upgraded Starship rocket on Thursday just moments before liftoff after several engines failed to ignite.
The automatic safety system detected the issue and aborted the launch as the Super Heavy booster began its engine startup sequence at the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas.
CEO Elon Musk said on X that some of the rocket’s engines did not start, triggering the automatic abort. He added that SpaceX plans to replace two of the engines and will not attempt another Starship launch until next week.
The mission was expected to carry the first third-generation Starlink satellites into space. However, the satellites were only intended for a short demonstration flight and were expected to burn up roughly 20 minutes after deployment because Starship has not yet proven it can reach a stable Earth orbit.
The launch attempt was also closely watched because it marked SpaceX’s first Starship mission since the company went public on June 12 in what became the largest initial public offering in history. Despite raising more than $85 billion during the IPO, SpaceX shares have declined over the past month. The stock closed below its $135 IPO price on Thursday and fell more than 4 percent in after-hours trading following the aborted launch.
SpaceX was aiming to return Starship to flight after the first test of the V3 vehicle in May. That mission successfully lifted off and deployed Starlink simulator payloads, but the Super Heavy booster suffered a failure before attempting a planned splashdown, prompting an FAA investigation. Earlier this week, U.S. regulators cleared the company to resume flights after reviewing the causes of the booster failure and the corrective actions taken by SpaceX.
The upper stage from the May mission also experienced an engine shutdown while carrying the simulator payloads, although it completed its planned landing demonstration over the ocean.
During Thursday’s countdown, the launch briefly paused at T-minus one minute before resuming normally. As the countdown reached zero, the launchpad’s water deluge system activated and the booster began igniting its Raptor engines. Seconds later, the engines shut down and the launch was automatically canceled. Broadcast graphics indicated that four Raptor engines failed to ignite during startup.
SpaceX must now safely drain the remaining propellant from both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage before engineers can complete a detailed investigation into the engine startup failure and prepare the vehicle for another launch attempt next week.
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