Miami.- SpaceX suffered this Monday the second postponement of a launch just seconds before liftoff, after the thirteenth test of its Starship spacecraft had already been aborted last Thursday.
The space company founded by Elon Musk had planned to put 24 satellites from its Starlink constellation into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California (USA), but the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket was aborted just as the vehicle’s engines were beginning to ignite.
“Today’s Starlink launch was scrubbed; the vehicle and payload remain healthy,” SpaceX reported on social media, without providing further details.
SpaceX’s new postponement
The script was similar to last Thursday’s, when the company aborted the Starship test launch moments before liftoff from Starbase in Texas.
Regarding that launch, Musk explained on X that “some of the engines did not start, which triggered an automatic launch abort,” before specifying that they will replace two of the rocket’s Raptor engines for the next attempt, which is scheduled for 17:45 local time (22:45 GMT) on Thursday.
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The development of Starship is seen in the U.S. as fundamental for the return of humans to the Moon, which NASA projects will occur in 2028.
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Skepticism and concern
The postponements of both launches come at a time when the U.S. space agency is showing growing skepticism and concern regarding the delays of SpaceX, which is responsible for providing the vehicle that will transport astronauts to the lunar surface from the space capsule.
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The company’s delays led NASA to warn SpaceX that the contract was not a blank check, and indicated that it is willing to reopen the competition if the failure to meet the scheduled deadlines continues.
