SpaceX to try Starship’s flight test again after initial scrub

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62-minute window would open at 8:28 a.m. CT on Thursday

SpaceX scrubs launch of giant Starship rocket

ORLANDO, Fla. – Starship may get another shot at its first test flight this week after a first attempt was scrubbed Monday.

SpaceX said its crews are working on a Thursday launch date for the fully integrated Starship and super heavy rocket from the Starbase facility in Texas.

The 62-minute window would open at 8:28 a.m. CT and close at 9:30 a.m. CT.

SpaceX tried for a historic launch on Monday morning, but the countdown was halted at the 40-second mark because of a stuck valve in the first-stage booster. Launch controllers couldn’t fix the frozen valve in time, and canceled the attempt. The countdown continued, and fueling was completed, as a dress rehearsal.

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SpaceX said Starship and its super heavy rocket is the most powerful spacecraft ever built, standing at nearly 400 feet tall. Its goal will be to fly to the moon and eventually Mars. Last year, NASA selected Starship to support a sustained program on the moon as part of the Artemis program.

The test flight will last 1.5 hours, and fall short of a full orbit of Earth. If Starship reaches the three-minute mark after launch, the booster will be commanded to separate and fall into the Gulf of Mexico.

The spacecraft would continue eastward, passing over the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans before ditching near Hawaii. Starship is designed to be fully reusable but nothing will be saved from the test flight.

SpaceX is also building a Starship launch facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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