SpaceX Reschedules Starship Launch for Monday After Abort

SpaceX is targeting Monday for another attempt to launch its Starship rocket after an automated abort command halted the test flight on Thursday. The setback wiped roughly $100 billion from the company's market value, with shares dropping by about 6%.

The Starship rocket ignited its engines for a 13th test flight at SpaceX’s Starbase in Texas but did not lift off after four of the booster’s 33 Raptor engines failed to ignite. CEO Elon Musk stated on X that “some of the engines didn't start,” triggering the abort.

SpaceX plans to replace two of the booster's Raptor engines before Monday's scheduled launch, aiming for a successful flight. The company has launched 12 Starship test flights since 2023, some ending in explosive failures that highlight SpaceX’s high-risk testing approach.

The abort and subsequent share price drop offer an early glimpse into how investors might judge the progress of the $15 billion rocket development program. Chad Anderson, CEO of Space Capital and a long-time investor in SpaceX, emphasized that despite short-term volatility, Starship remains central to SpaceX’s long-term ambitions.

Starship's success is crucial for expanding the Starlink network and launching thousands of AI-processing satellites into space. The rocket will carry 20 Starlink satellites on its next test flight, demonstrating its satellite-dispensing system. SpaceX also plans to launch Starship from Florida by year-end.

The launch team immediately began draining the fuel from the rocket after Thursday's abort. Musk noted that the most probable launch timing for the next attempt is early next week. The automatic launch system worked as planned, halting everything when too few engines were operating, which could have doomed the launch if it had proceeded.

Twenty of SpaceX’s newest and most advanced Starlinks were on board Starship for release during the planned hourlong flight from Starbase, near the Texas-Mexico border. These internet satellites were intended to communicate with existing Starlink satellites in orbit while taking photos of Starship’s heat shield.

Neither the first-stage booster nor spacecraft was meant to be recovered, with both ending up in the sea. NASA is counting on Starship to land astronauts on the moon within the next few years and has hired SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to build lunar landers for this purpose.