SpaceX aborts first high-altitude Starship test
SpaceX full-size Starship SN8 rocket prototype ready before its launch on Tuesday in Boca Chica, Florida.
The first high-altitude test flight of SpaceX’s futuristic Starship was aborted at the last second in Texas on Tuesday.
SpaceX came close to launching a prototype of the rocketship that company chief Elon Musk is designing to carry people to Mars. The goal was to shoot Starship to an altitude of 12.5 kilometers — the highest yet — and then bring it back to a vertical landing.
But an automatic engine abort occurred with just 1.3 seconds remaining in the countdown.
SpaceX announced on its web broadcast it was done for the day, and there was no word on when it might try again.
SpaceX already has conducted five Starship test flights, but these earlier, simpler models have gone no higher than 150 meters. The stainless steel version on the launch pad on Tuesday was the first to feature a nose cone, body flaps and three Raptor engines.
SpaceX has taken over Boca Chica in southeastern Texas to build and test its Starships.
The company intends to use Starships to deliver massive satellites into orbit and send people and cargo to the moon and Mars.
