South Padre Island (United States) (AFP) – Elon Musk’s SpaceX will attempt another launch of its mammoth Starship rocket Friday, after the previous evening’s try was called off over technical issues. “Counting down to our second launch attempt,” the company posted on X, adding that weather was 85 percent favorable for flight during the 90-minute test window that kicks off at 5:30 pm local time (2230 GMT).
The highly anticipated launch will see the debut of SpaceX’s third generation model of Starship, and it falls amid high stakes for the space company eyeing a buzzy initial public offering as soon as next month. Thursday’s aborted trial featured several rounds of stopping and starting the countdown clock. After it was determined the last-minute glitches could not be addressed in time, Musk quickly posted on X that “the hydraulic pin holding the tower arm in place did not retract.”
The thwarted attempt at the south Texas launchpad on Thursday came after SpaceX filed with US financial regulators to go public, likely in June, in what is expected to become a record IPO. The launch, when it eventually happens, will offer a live-streamed look at SpaceX’s progress in developing its enormous Starship rocket, a key component of its own ambitious plans as well as US space agency NASA’s program to return to the Moon.
It will be the 12th Starship flight overall, but the first in seven months. The latest design is bigger than its predecessor, standing at just over 407 feet (124 meters) when fully stacked. The company, which aims to make Starship a fully reusable system, says the mission’s primary goal is to demonstrate its redesigns in flight.
There’s a lot riding on their progress: SpaceX is under contract with NASA to produce a modified version of Starship to serve as a lunar landing system. The US space agency’s Artemis program aims to return humans to the Moon, as China forges ahead with a rival effort that’s targeting 2030 for its first crewed mission. And given private sector delays, anxiety is rising within President Donald Trump’s administration that the United States might not get there first.
The most recent Starship missions have gone down as successful. But previous tests have ended in spectacular explosions, including twice over the Caribbean and once after reaching space. Last June, the upper stage blew up in a ground test.
© 2024 AFP
