New Delhi, Aug 26 (IANS) – SpaceX’s much-anticipated 10th test flight of Starship has been scrubbed for the second day in a row due to poor weather conditions, the company announced on Tuesday.
The launch was initially scheduled from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas at 7:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday (5:00 a.m. IST Monday) but was called off just 17 minutes before liftoff over a ground systems technical issue. A second attempt at the same time on Monday was also canceled when clouds lingered over the launch site.
“Standing down from today’s flight test attempt due to weather. Starship team is determining the next best available opportunity to fly,” SpaceX posted on X.
Elon Musk added that the delay was caused by anvil clouds posing a lightning risk.
The company has not confirmed a new launch date, but the next possible window is expected on Wednesday morning.
Starship, the world’s largest and most powerful rocket at over 400 feet tall when fully stacked, has so far completed nine test flights. However, the last three — launched in January, March, and May — faced serious setbacks, including explosions during ascent (Flights 7 and 8) and disintegration upon reentry (Flight 9).
In a recent blog post, SpaceX said Flight 10 incorporates hardware and operational upgrades following investigations into the previous failures, including the Ship 36 static fire anomaly. The improvements are aimed at increasing reliability and safety.
Starship consists of two fully reusable components: the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper-stage spacecraft. The vehicle is central to Musk’s long-term vision of human settlements on the Moon and Mars, and will play a key role in NASA’s Artemis 3 mission, which aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2026.
Despite repeated delays, SpaceX remains committed to refining Starship’s design as it works toward its ambitious deep-space exploration goals.
