SpaceX has postponed its second attempt to launch the company's Starship rocket system into space by a day, due to a piece of flight control hardware that needed replacing.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
"We need to replace a grid fin actuator, so launch is postponed to Saturday," Chief Executive Elon Musk wrote on messaging platform X.
The launch is set to take place at the company's Starbase site on the Gulf of Mexico near Boca Chica, Texas.
SpaceX is aiming to make a second attempt at launching its 122 metre tall Starship rocket system into space , following an April test flight in which the rocket exploded roughly four minutes after lifting off from Texas.
Company officials have said the rocket has been ready to fly for months, pending approval of a license by the US Federal Aviation administration, which the company obtained on Wednesday.
The upcoming flight is one of many crucial tests in SpaceX's development campaign to build a fully reusable rocket capable of sending some 150 tons of satellites into space, as well as humans to the moon and eventually Mars.
Australian Associated Press
