SpaceX has postponed the launch attempt of its Starship rocket due to a technical issue.
Starship was meant to blast off on an orbital test flight at 5pm GST from the Starbase facilities — SpaceX's launch site in Boca Chica, Texas.
But a pressurisation issue on the booster caused engineers to hold off on the launch attempt. A back-up opportunity is available after 24 and 48 hours.
“A pressurant valve appears to be frozen, so unless it starts operating soon, no launch today,” Elon Musk tweeted.
SpaceX will instead hold a wet dress rehearsal of the rocket system, which is a practice run of the launch, without the rocket actually taking off.
Mr Musk has been trying to develop the rocket for several years in hopes that it would eventually send humans to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
SpaceX received a launch licence from the US Federal Aviation Administration over the weekend, a crucial step towards making the test flight possible.
What is Starship?
Starship is a two-stage rocket system that includes a booster and a Starship spacecraft.
The rocket has completed high-altitude tests, but it is yet to perform an orbital flight.
It is the most powerful launch vehicle developed and will be able to produce 3,991 tonnes of thrust, 15 per cent more than Nasa’s Apollo Moon rocket Saturn V.
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SpaceX Starship's full stack on its launch pad near Brownsville, Texas, on April 17. Reuters -
People on horseback photograph the SpaceX Starship on its Boca Chica launch pad near Brownsville. Reuters -
Outside SpaceX's Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. AFP -
The SpaceX Starship with a booster stands on the launch pad ahead of its flight test from Starbase. AFP -
A person wears a necklace featuring Starship ahead of its flight test. AFP -
A tourist takes photos of SpaceX's Starship the day before its launch. Reuters
SpaceX is contracted by Nasa to develop the Starship Human Landing System, which would help astronauts land on the Moon under the US space agency’s Artemis programme.
But Mr Musk's ultimate goal is to make life multiplanetary.
What will happen during the test flight?
The test flight is to help SpaceX measure whether the rocket can launch into orbit safely.
The rocket will launch from Starbase and the booster will separate from the spacecraft about 170 seconds into the flight.
The booster will then perform a partial return and land in the Gulf of Mexico approximately 32km from the shore.
The orbital Starship will continue flying between the Florida Straits.
It will achieve orbit before performing a powered, targeted, soft-ocean landing about 100km off the north-west coast of Kauai, a Hawaiian island.
SpaceX said weather looks “pretty good” during the launch, but they are keeping an eye out for wind shear.
There are backup launch opportunities on April 18 and 19.
Mr Musk’s plan to make life multi-planetary
Mr Musk’s long-term goal is to make life multi-planetary.
He is working towards sending a million people to Mars by 2050 using his Starship fleets.
He hopes to send the first uncrewed cargo flight to the planet this decade.
But his plans are often criticised by experts in the science community, because Mars has a notoriously hostile environment.
Mr Musk has already sold seats on the Starship, including to Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who plans on flying on the first crewed flight to the Moon, taking eight artists with him as part of his dearMoon programme.
American billionaire Jared Isaacman is also working with SpaceX through his Polaris programme, a series of privately-led space missions.
Mr Isaacman will serve as commander on the Polaris III mission — the first crewed flight on the Starship rocket.
