Elon Musk's SpaceX postponed the 12th uncrewed test flight of its Starship rocket, the debut of a redesigned vehicle, Starship V3, due to a hydraulic pin issue. The launch was scheduled for 6:30 pm CT on Thursday, but minute-by-minute delays led to the postponement.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that if the issue is resolved soon, the company will try another launch on Friday. The Starship liftoff was scheduled from SpaceX's Starbase facility in South Texas.
Starship V3 is a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The spacecraft is said to be the world's most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, designed to carry over 100 metric tonnes to orbit in a fully reusable configuration.
SpaceX has so far launched two versions of the Starship rocket, with Version 3 being optimized for reusability and enabled with new features designed to support future missions to the Moon and Mars.
The Starship V3 launch will debut the upgraded Raptor main engines, designed to provide considerably more thrust at liftoff and increase the rocket's capability.
