What we covered here
• SpaceX scrubbed Thursday’s attempt to launch its Starship rocket — the most powerful launch vehicle ever made — from the company’s Starbase, Texas, site.
• It’s unclear when exactly Flight 13 will take off. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a post on X Thursday that two of the Super Heavy booster’s Raptor rocket engines need to be replaced, and the “Most probable launch timing is early next week.”
• Once the flight occurs, it will mark the second test for this version of Starship, called V3. During the first flight of a Starship V3 rocket in May, a series of engine outages caused the rocket to underperform.
• SpaceX is facing intense pressure to get Starship ready for a crucial NASA test flight next year that could pave the way for the next moon landing.
• When the test flight lifts off, it will be the first since SpaceX’s stock market debut in mid-June. SpaceX’s stock was down more than 3% in after-hours trading Thursday after the last-moment abort.
We’ve wrapped our coverage SpaceX’s first attempt to launch its 13th test flight. Read more CNN space stories here.
Musk says next launch attempt could be next week
This won’t be as rapid a turnaround as SpaceX has pulled off in the past.
CEO Elon Musk said on social media that engineers will need to replace two Raptor rocket engines on the Super Heavy booster before attempting liftoff again.
During the livestream, telemetry data showed that at least four engines failed to ignite when the startup sequence occurred. Musk previously confirmed that engine outages prompted today’s launch scrub. It’s not yet clear why SpaceX has pinpointed two engines for replacement.
SpaceX stock dips in after-hours trading
Today’s Starship launch attempt was particularly significant on Wall Street for one key reason: This is the first time SpaceX has attempted to launch this experimental megarocket since it made its stock market debut in June.
Watching investors react to SpaceX’s every move in real time adds a new layer of intrigue and drama — one that CEO Elon Musk has previously said he would not enjoy.
And the markets are indeed reacting to today’s launch attempt and the last-moment abort: SpaceX’s stock is down more than 3% in after-hours trading. That comes after a rough day of trading as shares fell below their IPO price.
SpaceX's water deluge system deployed before liftoff was scrapped
SpaceX has typically been able to turn around for another launch attempt in rapid order — even when last-minute tech challenges prevent liftoff.
During a previous launch attempt in May, for example, SpaceX stopped and re-started the countdown clock with less than a minute left numerous times as it troubleshot some late-breaking warning signs.
One key reason a quick turnaround wasn’t possible today? SpaceX made it so late in the countdown that the Super Heavy rocket booster’s 33 engines were slated to start igniting. And when engines light, SpaceX has to fire off its water deluge system, which showers the launchpad with hundreds of thousands of gallons of water in mere moments to shield the vital infrastructure from the blaze of liftoff.
We saw the water deluge system deploy when the countdown clock struck zero.
That may mean that the system needs refilling — and that’s not always an easy or quick step to accomplish. And SpaceX was working against a 90-minute launch window.
Musk: "Next launch attempt hopefully in a few days"
Any hopes that SpaceX might be able to reschedule the launch of Starship Flight 13 for Friday appear dashed based on a post shared on X by SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
“Some of the engines didn’t start, triggering an automatic launch abort,” Musk shared. “Now offloading propellant. Next launch attempt hopefully in a few days.”
It's not clear when SpaceX will try again
It was an abrupt end to today’s activities. A last-moment hold on the countdown clock dashed SpaceX’s hopes of getting Starship and Super Heavy off the launchpad.
Now, SpaceX is offloading all the propellant — millions of pounds of superchilled liquid methane and oxygen — to put the rocket back into a safe configuration as the company works to identify when it can try again.
SpaceX’s Dan Huot said, given the unique nature of today’s launch hold, it’s not clear how soon the rocket can be recycled for another try.
Starship triggers a hold as countdown hits zero
In a rare and unusual move, launch was called off right as Super Heavy began igniting its 33 engines. It’s not yet clear why computers triggered the halt.
Unfortunately, a hold that late in the countdown prevents SpaceX from recycling for another attempt. That means a scrub for today’s launch.
SpaceX wants to launch Starship from Florida later this year
While Texas’ southernmost tip has been the main stage for every Starship test flight thus far, SpaceX has plans to move some flights to Florida — home to America’s busiest spaceport.
It’s not without controversy. A public comment period about SpaceX’s plans to launch the megarocket from Florida sparked outrage from some locals — most notably a nudist colony that was concerned about access to Playalinda Beach.
But SpaceX has plowed ahead, constructing a launchpad and other infrastructure to host Starships. During today’s webcast, Nathan Commissariat, a civil engineer at SpaceX, said the company intends to launch its first Starship from Florida as soon as this year.
Buoys and drones: Here's how SpaceX monitors Starship's splashdown
About an hour after Starship’s test flight takes off, the upper spacecraft — also called the ship — will attempt to make a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
This final stretch of the mission is key: SpaceX is still trying to figure out how the ship might be recovered and used again on future flights. And while reusing first-stage rocket boosters (like the Super Heavy) is firmly within SpaceX’s wheelshouse, the company has never reused the upper stage of a rocket.
In fact, no one ever has.
That’s because the upper stage of a rocket reaches orbital speeds, or around 17,500 miles per hour or more. And that’s a lot of energy to shed as a vehicle comes blaring back into Earth’s thick atmosphere, a process that typically annihilates objects returning from space unless they are precisely designed to survive the trip.
As SpaceX continues its testing campaign, it’s looking to monitor Starship’s return trip as closely as possible. So a group of recovery engineers set out from Exmouth, Australia, before launch — venturing about 575 miles into the ocean to the expected splashdown site.
Suren Sanai, a SpaceX recovery engineer, said in a recent company-made video that the team deploys a series of buoys stocked with cameras and sensors as well as drones. The primary goal is to evaluate how the Starship’s heat shield — a coating of hexagonal tiles designed to protect the ship from the scorching temperatures of reentry — performs.
Boats and ships must keep out of this "hazard area"
The US Coast Guard is tasked with keeping the waterways under Starship’s flight path safe — and for the first moments of launch that means keeping a narrow swath of the Gulf and Caribbean clear of boats and other vessels.
The Federal Aviation Administration separately warns aircraft to steer clear. And if Starship malfunctions, the FAA is also tasked with locking down pre-designated “Debris Response Areas.” After prior mishaps, such emergency closures forced commercial flights to divert course — all in the name of ensuring aircraft don’t get struck by parts of an exploded Starship vehicle.
Weather is "barely worth mentioning" with clear skies ahead
SpaceX’s Dan Huot quipped that weather — a nortiously fickle aspect of rocket launches that frequently dashes liftoff hopes — is a non-issue today.
“Weather is barely worth mentioning,” Huot said. “We came in today with about a 90% probability of go, and we’ve got blue sky, scattered clouds, no scary winds. We’re looking really good.”
He added that SpaceX is keeping an eye on conditions out at sea across the Gulf and “on the other side of the planet in the Indian Ocean,” where Starship is expected to splash down after this hour-long test flight.
Starship will experience its most intense "Max Q" to date
During any given rocket launch, one moment stands out as the most physically jarring: Max Q.
That’s an aerospace term that refers to the point during flight at which a vehicle experiences peak dynamic pressure. It happens when the vehicle is traveling very fast while the atmosphere is still quite thick, creating a hurricane of stresses squeezing and pushing the rocket.
And on this mission, Max Q will be particularly jarring.
As part of today’s test flight, Starship will take on “higher dynamic pressure on ascent than previous flights,” according to the company.
This higher-stress trajectory is intended to make Starship more efficient, giving it “increased payload to orbit capability” — or the ability to haul more mass to space — SpaceX said on its website.
Basically the goal is to see whether Starship can fly a more difficult flight path in the name of saving fuel.
Starship could "obliterate" its own launchpad. This system prevents it
As the 33 rocket engines at the base of Starship’s Super Heavy rocket booster ignite, drumming up an obscene 18 million pounds of thrust, they threaten to “obliterate” the launchpad, noted Justin Styer, SpaceX’s senior director of Starship launch, in a recent promotional video.
To prevent destruction, SpaceX uses a water deluge system — which is basically a series of water-spewing pipes that can emit about 650,000 gallons of water per minute, creating a temporary liquid shield.
“The amount of energy that water can absorb is miraculous,” Styer said, adding that the engines basically flash boil the water to divert the heat and energy.
Just how hot the inferno gets can be difficult to pin down. Launch can easily damage sensors.
In its recent promo video, Styer shared SpaceX’s “extremely sophisticated” method of gauging the temperatures: Sheets of aluminum, zinc, and copper are bolted to the wall.
“If they turn into melted metal slag, then you know that you got too much heat,” Styer said.
The water deluge system has proven critical. SpaceX accidentally blew up its own bare-bones launchpad during Starship’s debut flight in 2023.
Launch teams poll "go" for propellant loading
SpaceX said on social media platform X that launch controllers have given the go-ahead to start loading up the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster with propellant.
The vehicle can hold more than 5,000 metric tons (11 million pounds) of propellant — including super-chilled liquid methane (the fuel) and liquid oxygen (the oxidizer).
Starship will attempt to deploy actual Starlink satellites for the first time
SpaceX says the Starship flying today’s mission has 20 Starlink satellites on board, the first of the latest version of the internet-beaming satellites that will reach space.
But they won’t stay in orbit: The satellites — like Starship itself — will be on a suborbital trajectory, which means they’re expected to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere upon reentry.
Each of the satellites will be folded flat and ejected from a narrow slit in Starship’s side, which acts as a sort of high-tech Pez dispenser.
SpaceX has attempted to test this deployment with dummy satellites on each of the last six test flights. But today’s mission will have actual Starlink V3 satellites that will deploy solar panels and antennas. They’ll briefly attempt to actually connect to the company’s existing Starlink network using lasers.
And before their demise, about 20 minutes after deployment, the Starlink satellites will aim to collect some data about Starship: “Six of the satellites have been modified with a suite of cameras to scan Starship’s heat shield and transmit imagery down to operators.”
See the tricky pre-takeoff maneuver that caused a scrub ahead of the last test
SpaceX released some fascinating footage as part of a promotional video, including a snippet that shows how the company’s quick disconnect cables, or QDs, rapidly pull away from the rocket just before takeoff.
The cables are used to funnel fuel and propellant to the rocket but have to rapidly detach so at to “not blow itself up,” said Justin Styer, SpaceX’s senior director of Starship launch.
It’s a complicated maneuver. Styer explained that during the first Starship V3 launch attempt, the arm holding the cables shoved into the tower and caused some “jiggling” that forced SpaceX to scrub the launch.
China aims to match SpaceX's rocketry breakthroughs
SpaceX’s partially reusable Falcon 9 rockets have dominated the global launch market — in part because recapturing and reflying the first-stage booster of the rockets has allowed SpaceX to rake in cost savings. For years, no other company on the planet could do the same.
But now there are competitors nipping at SpaceX’s heels — both at home and abroad.
Earlier this month, one of the boosters for China’s Long March 10B rocket successfully made an upright landing on a barge.
“This mission … signifies a historic breakthrough in China’s reusable rocket technology and a solid foundation for accelerating the improvement of China’s space access capabilities,” the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation said in a social media post about the achievement.
And it’s not the only way China’s space program appears to be taking notes from SpaceX. The country’s Long March 9 rocket looks strikingly similar to Starship.
That vehicle has not yet made its debut test flight.
But Long March 10 has ambitious near-term goals: It’s the vehicle China plans to use to send its taikonauts to the moon by 2030. That goal is what has NASA racing to repeat its Apollo-era success — aiming to return US astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.
Currently, NASA is targeting 2028 for that feat, though experts widely expect delays.
What is the Kardashev scale that Elon Musk keeps talking about?
In the 20th century, Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev — intrigued by the thought that a transmission from an alien civilization could be detected from Earth — proposed a scale to classify such civilizations. The idea was to catalog how much energy such a civilization could produce, and therefore devote to interstellar communications.
The Kardashev scale has three levels, moving from planet to star to galaxy.
- A Type I civilization can use all the energy of a single planet, either produced by the planet itself — for example, in the form of geothermal or wind power — or received from its host star, like solar power.
- A Type II civilization can use the entire energy output of a star, as well as send information across galactic distances.
- A Type III civilization can harness the power of a whole galaxy and send information across multiple galaxies.
Musk has referenced the scale often, including in a recent FCC request asking for permission to send up to 1 million new satellites into orbit, with the goal of creating an orbital data center, saying this new constellation of satellites would represent “a first step towards becoming a Kardashev II-level civilization.”
The scale has its critics, and it’s grown more complex as other astronomers have attempted to refine it.
According to Jason Wright, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State University, Musk’s orbital data center plan is technically a step toward Type II — but attempting to harness the entire power of the sun could fundamentally alter the structure of the solar system and the habitability of Earth.
SpaceX is in the midst of an identity crisis
For more than a decade before SpaceX went public, CEO Elon Musk said it should not.
He boldly told employees in 2013: “Creating the technology needed to establish life on Mars is and always has been the fundamental goal of SpaceX,” and “if being a public company diminishes that likelihood,” he wrote, “then we should not do so until Mars is secure.”
SpaceX has spent the past two decades making a name for itself — emerging as the dominant force in the global space launch industry, returning astronaut flights to the United States after years of reliance on Russia and creating a multibillion-dollar business beaming internet from space.
Underpinning each achievement was the company’s ambition to colonize Mars.
Around its IPO, SpaceX made several AI business plays that were decidedly outside the company’s typical wheelhouse.
That helped SpaceX make the largest stock market debut in history and raise more than $85 billion. But it also ginned up consternation among some longtime fans.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk has even publicly acknowledged that his Mars ambitions are taking a back seat.
SpaceX’s shifting identity could be a double-edged sword, Huerta added: It could be good because it can broaden SpaceX’s areas of interest and lines of business. And it could be bad, because the company is “de-focusing” from its foundational goals. “And and I do think it is spilling into the culture,” Huerta added.
SpaceX is racing against the clock for this NASA mission
NASA’a Artemis II lunar flyby mission in April captured the world’s attention — but the space agency still has a lot to get done before it can actually put astronauts back on the moon’s surface.
For that, NASA plans to use SpaceX’s Starship.
But Starship has still never tested life support systems, attempted to refuel itself as it must for a lunar excursion, nor has it even made a trip to orbit.
At least that last line item will have to change soon if SpaceX plans to meet a looming deadline: Next year, NASA wants Starship to launch to Earth orbit and practice docking with an Orion capsule. The mission, called Artemis III, will be a test run for making the same maneuver in lunar orbit for a moon landing.
Adding to the pressure: SpaceX’s rival, the Jeff Bezos-backed company Blue Origin, will also be launching its own lunar lander on Artemis III. And NASA has signaled a willingness to use Blue Origin’s spacecraft for the moon landing instead if Starship isn’t ready in time.
After announcing the new mission earlier this year, executing it by the end of 2027 would mark a lightning-fast turn around by aerospace industry standards.
NASA named the crew for the Artemis III mission in June.
