Starship test flight in Starbase aborted – Musk sees next attempt in a few days

Test History with Setbacks

The Starship consists of two parts that separate after launch: the approximately 70-meter-long booster "Super Heavy" and the upper stage – also called Starship – which measures around 50 meters. Other sources give the lengths as around 72 meters for the booster and around 52 meters for the upper stage. The entire rocket system is taller than the Statue of Liberty in New York. Both parts are designed so that they can eventually be reused after returning to Earth.

The rocket system was first tested in April 2023 – and at that time exploded completely after just a few minutes. In May, the giant rocket had most recently completed a test flight, the twelfth overall. Some engines also failed during that flight, but otherwise the test largely proceeded as planned.

In further tests, the upper stage reached the edge of space and has already landed in a controlled manner in the Indian Ocean. Several test flights, however, fell significantly short of expectations.

Cargo: Starlink Satellites on Board

New Starlink satellites were to be on board the rocket. The space company had prepared the 13th test flight overall. In the current flight, 20 third-generation Starlink satellites were to be deployed in space for the first time. However, because they would subsequently be on the same orbit as the Starship, they are to burn up after about 20 minutes.

The US space agency NASA wants to use the Starship to send astronauts to the Moon, while SpaceX pursues the goal of reaching Mars with it one day. This makes it most likely that the next attempt could take place "early next week".

Impact on the SpaceX Share Price

In parallel with the test, the situation on the stock exchange deteriorated for SpaceX. SpaceX had recently carried out its largest IPO to date; most recently, however, the stock had fallen below the issue price of 135 US dollars. On Thursday, the price closed below the issue price of 135 US dollars for the first time at the end of a trading day. The SpaceX share listed on NASDAQ lost 3.13 percent after-hours to 127.00 dollars; after-hours, the price then dropped further, standing at only a little more than 126 US dollars.

This also reduces SpaceX's overall market capitalization: while the company had temporarily landed in fifth place here, it now ranks eighth worldwide and is only narrowly ahead of the Saudi oil producer Saudi Aramco.

The series of aborts is a setback for the ambitious program, which is intended to enable both commercial satellite services and crewed Moon and Mars missions. SpaceX's engineers are now analyzing the engine data before a new launch attempt is scheduled.

Significance for Moon and Mars Plans

Observers in the space industry interpret the automatic abort as evidence of the system's mature safety technology. The rocket detected the fault itself and reacted in time, without endangering crew or infrastructure.

Nevertheless, with every postponed or failed test, the pressure on SpaceX increases, as contractual partners such as NASA and commercial satellite customers depend on reliable schedules. Delays could affect the overall planning of future Moon missions.

The postponement also comes at a financially strained phase for SpaceX. After the IPO, investors reacted sensitively to negative news surrounding the Starship program. A successful test flight in the coming week could quickly restore confidence.

Until then, the approximately 120-meter-tall rocket remains secured on the ground in Starbase, Texas, while teams evaluate the data and advance preparations for the next attempt.

The Starship is considered a central building block in SpaceX's plans to fundamentally change space travel. Both the reusability of both stages and the enormous payload capacity distinguish the system from all previous rockets.

Should the next launch attempt actually be able to take place in the coming days, this would relieve the schedule for the planned deployment of additional Starlink satellites and at the same time reduce the pressure on SpaceX to meet the expectations for the program.