SpaceX’s new Starship V3 megarocket will have to wait at least one more day for its inaugural launch after technical issues forced a last-minute scrub Thursday evening. The most powerful rocket ever built was set to lift off from the company's Starbase site in South Texas, with "Starships" singer Nicki Minaj among those in attendance.
The launch attempt was called off late in the countdown. SpaceX communications representative Dan Huot stated during the company's webcast that issues arose too close to launch for resolution. “We’re learning a lot about these systems as we execute them for the first time,” Huot explained, noting the team couldn't troubleshoot all problems in the final seconds. He characterized the event as a “wet dress rehearsal,” confirming the vehicle was fully loaded with propellant.
Starship V3 Launch Rescheduled
SpaceX plans to attempt the launch again Friday evening, May 22. The launch window is expected to be similar to Thursday's, running from 6:30 p.m. EDT to 8 p.m. EDT (2230 to 0000 GMT). Minaj, who wore a SpaceX Starship T-shirt, expressed her excitement at witnessing the historic event, her first in-person launch experience.
Starship is a two-stage, fully reusable vehicle, comprising a Super Heavy booster and an upper-stage spacecraft known as Ship. SpaceX is developing the megarocket for various ambitious goals, including lunar and Martian colonization, and deploying its Starlink constellation. The V3 iteration represents a significant overhaul, intended to bring the vehicle closer to operational status. This would be the 12th flight for the Starship program, but the first for the V3 model and the first from Starbase's upgraded Pad 2.
Future Lunar and Mars Missions
SpaceX founder Elon Musk has indicated the V3 is the first version capable of flights to the moon and Mars. It is the variant slated for NASA's Artemis 3 mission, a docking test in Earth orbit, projected for mid to late 2027. It also factors into the Artemis 4 mission, which aims to land astronauts on the moon in late 2028. NASA is also evaluating Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander for these missions.
The company also announced a private crewed mission to Mars.
Cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang, who previously financed a private polar spaceflight with SpaceX on a Dragon capsule in 2025, will lead a Mars flyby. Wang stated the mission aims to initiate exploration of Mars, preceding potential landings and city construction. On Thursday, the countdown reached a built-in hold at T-40 seconds multiple times before technical issues, including one with the water diverter, led to the scrub around 7:37 p.m. EDT (2337 GMT).
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