SpaceX postpones highly anticipated Starship launch

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TEXAS: Elon Musk's SpaceX postponed the highly anticipated debut flight of its newly upgraded Starship V3 megarocket from its South Texas launch facility on Thursday after a mechanical issue halted the countdown sequence.

The uncrewed mission, which marks the 12th overall test flight for the Starship program, was called off after multiple countdown stops and starts. According to a statement posted by Elon Musk on X, the scrub was triggered because a critical hydraulic pin holding the giant launch tower's mechanical arm in place failed to retract as intended before liftoff.

The centi-billionaire added that if engineers can successfully fix the stubborn tower pin components overnight, SpaceX intends to quickly reset and try again for a launch on Friday (local time).

When it does lift off, the massive 124-meter-tall Starship V3 rocket is scheduled to fly a suborbital trajectory, deploy test satellites, and ultimately splash down in the Indian Ocean.