Starship launch scrubbed as four engines failed to ignite

SpaceX scrubbed a Starship test flight on Thursday after the countdown reached zero and some of the Super Heavy booster’s engines failed to ignite at the company’s Starbase, Texas launch site.

The more than 400-foot-tall rocket was scheduled to lift off at 5:45 pm local time (6:45 pm EDT; 22:45 UTC) from South Texas, just north of the US-Mexico border. The countdown had otherwise gone to plan, including loading more than 11.5 million pounds of liquid methane and liquid oxygen into the two-stage rocket.

The abort came during the booster’s engine startup sequence, when the computers controlling the countdown stopped the launch. SpaceX then began draining propellant from the vehicle, and officials did not immediately say when the next attempt would happen.

Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO, said on X that the next opportunity on Friday evening was unlikely.

“Some of the engines didn’t start, triggering an automatic launch abort. Now offloading propellant. Next launch attempt hopefully in a few days.”

Later on Thursday, Musk said ground crews would replace two of the Raptor engines on the Super Heavy booster.

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“Most probable launch timing is early next week.”

The Super Heavy booster uses 33 methane-fueled Raptor engines, each producing more than half a million pounds of thrust. They are designed to ignite in a staggered sequence after the launch pad’s water-cooled flame diverter is activated to shield the facility from the heat and vibration of liftoff.

SpaceX did not say how many engines failed to start, but an engine-status graphic on the company’s live stream appeared to show four of 33 never ignited. This mission was the 13th full-scale Starship launch and the second flight using the Raptor 3 engine on SpaceX’s upgraded Starship Version 3 rocket.