SpaceX fans will have to wait a bit longer to witness the highly anticipated 10th test flight of the company’s Starship megarocket.
The launch was scheduled for Sunday evening (Aug. 24) from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas, with a liftoff window opening at 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT). However, just 17 minutes before the window, the company announced a stand-down due to ground systems issues.
“Standing down from today’s tenth flight of Starship to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems,” SpaceX stated on social media platform X at 7:13 p.m. EDT. The company now aims to try again Monday (Aug. 25) during the same launch window.
Starship, the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built, stands over 400 feet (122 meters) when fully stacked. It comprises the massive Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage spacecraft, known simply as Starship or “Ship.” Both stages are designed for full reusability, a key part of SpaceX’s long-term vision to cut launch costs and enable deep-space exploration.
NASA has already tapped Starship for its Artemis program, planning to use the vehicle as the first crewed lunar lander as soon as 2027. Beyond the moon, SpaceX envisions the rocket as a workhorse for future Mars colonization efforts.
To date, Starship has flown nine test missions, all from Starbase. This year alone saw three launches — in January, March, and May — each ending in major setbacks. Flight 7 and Flight 8 both exploded less than 10 minutes after liftoff, while Flight 9 broke apart during reentry.
Flight 10’s objectives mirror those of the previous mission: Super Heavy will attempt a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico about 6.5 minutes after liftoff, while Ship will target a landing in the Indian Ocean roughly an hour later. Along the way, Ship will deploy eight mock Starlink satellites and test an engine relight in orbit.
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