Ground equipment problem scrubs Starship launch attempt - SpaceNews

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Home / Ground equipment problem scrubs Starship launch attempt

SpaceX’s Starship during a May 21 launch attempt scrubbed by problems with ground equipment. Credit: SpaceX webcast

WASHINGTON — SpaceX called off the first attempt to launch the newest version of its Starship vehicle May 21 because of a problem with ground equipment.

The company had been working toward a 7:30 p.m. Eastern liftoff of the first version 3 Starship/Super Heavy vehicle from its launch complex at Starbase, Texas. The launch was pushed an hour into a 90-minute window because of upper-level winds.

However, the countdown stopped at the T-40 second mark. It restarted several times, only to recycle back to T-40. SpaceX said on the launch webcast that it was looking at issues with quick-disconnect lines and water diverters on the pad. After several minutes, SpaceX called off the launch, citing rising temperatures in propellant tanks.

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“The hydraulic pin holding the tower arm in place did not retract,” SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk posted on social media just after controllers scrubbed the launch. He said that if the pin can be fixed overnight, the company will make a second launch attempt May 22 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.

The mission, called Flight 12 by SpaceX, is a suborbital test flight like the previous 11 missions dating back to April 2023. However, this will be the first launch of the upgraded version 3, or V3, Starship, with upgrades to both the Starship upper stage and Super Heavy booster.

The Super Heavy booster’s “hot staging” ring at the top of the stage stays attached rather than being jettisoned during its descent. That ring allows the Starship upper stage to ignite its engines before separating from Super Heavy.

Super Heavy now has three grid fins, rather than four, each 50% larger than previous versions of the vehicle, with the fins also designed to be used by the launch tower to catch the stage when it returns to the launch site. Inside, the booster has a new fuel transfer line similar in size to the Falcon 9 first stage, providing improved flow of methane fuel and allowing all 33 Raptor engines to start up simultaneously.

The upper stage features a redesigned propulsion system to allow for larger propellant tanks and reduce the risk of fires from trapped propellant that leaks. SpaceX also changed the actuators for the vehicle’s flaps and the “Pez” payload door, while adding docking drogues to allow Starships to dock with each other in orbit and transfer propellant.

Both stages use new Raptor 3 engines. The new version has increased thrust, from 507,000 to 551,000 pounds-force for the sea-level version and from 568,000 to 606,000 pounds-force for the vacuum-optimized engines in the upper stage. The engines also have a simplified design that makes them lighter.

The launch will also be the first from a new pad, named Pad 2, at Starbase. The new pad has an improved propellant loading system to reduce the time needed to fill the vehicle with methane and liquid oxygen. It also has shorter “chopsticks” used to catch returning vehicles that can also move faster. SpaceX redesigned the launch mount at the base of the pad to be more robust.

Starship V3 is critical to SpaceX’s future plans, including deploying larger, more powerful Starlink broadband and direct-to-device satellites and for the Human Landing System lunar lander it is developing for NASA’s Artemis program. SpaceX emphasized the importance of Starship V3 for those and other plans, such as deploying orbital data center satellites, in its initial public offering prospectus filed May 20.

Moon and Mars flyby customer

SpaceX plans to use Starship for flights to the moon and Mars, including commercial missions. During the webcast for the May 21 launch attempt, SpaceX announced that Chinese-born cryptocurrency entrepreneur Chun Wang would fly on Starship to both the moon and Mars.

SpaceX said that Wang, who was mission commander for the Fram2 private astronaut mission flown on a Crew Dragon in 2025, would join Dennis and Akiko Tito on a Starship circumlunar flight. After that, he will be on SpaceX’s first crewed Starship mission to Mars, making a flyby of the planet but not landing. That mission will last two years, compared with one week for the circumlunar flight.

“A lot of people are talking about how Mars will be like. We’re going to fly to Mars, we’re going to land on Mars, we’re going to build a city on...