SpaceX canceled its planned tenth Starship test flight at the Starbase site in southern Texas after engineers detected a ground system malfunction.
The rocket had been fully fueled and prepared for launch, but the countdown was stopped roughly 30 minutes before liftoff, which had been scheduled for 7:35 p.m. ET (23:35 GMT).
The test was intended to showcase several upgrades to the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage, including stronger engines, improved heat shield tiles, and reinforced steering flaps.
Flight objectives also included restarting engines in orbit, deploying mock payloads, and performing a controlled reentry over the Indian Ocean.
The booster was expected to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico.
This scrub adds to a difficult year for SpaceX’s next-generation rocket program.
Earlier in 2025, two test flights failed shortly after launch, another failed in orbit, and a static-fire test caused a major ground explosion in June.
Despite these incidents, SpaceX continues to rapidly build new vehicles and refine its systems at Starbase.
Starship, at 403 feet (123 meters) tall, is the largest rocket ever built and is central to Elon Musk’s vision of reaching Mars.
NASA has also contracted Starship to serve as a lunar lander for the Artemis program, with a crewed Moon landing targeted for 2027.
Although the latest attempt was canceled, SpaceX may reschedule the flight as early as the following day, depending on repairs to ground hardware.
The company has not provided a confirmed launch window.