The cancellation of the Starship test flight raises further concerns regarding Musk's aspirations for Mars and Moon exploration.

WASHINGTON, Aug 25 — SpaceX has called off a scheduled test flight for its Starship megarocket on Sunday, citing the need for additional time to address issues, marking yet another setback for Elon Musk’s colossal project following a string of explosive failures.

The issues have caused certain analysts to question if the largest and most potent launch vehicle in the world will be able to transport humans back to the Moon – or fulfill Musk’s aspirations of establishing a colony on Mars.

The rocket was scheduled to launch from the company’s Starbase located in southern Texas at 6:30 PM local time (2330 GMT) for its tenth flight.

Nevertheless, approximately 15 minutes prior to lift-off, SpaceX declared that the launch had been canceled.

"Stepping back from the tenth flight of Starship today to provide time for addressing a problem with ground systems," it stated on X, without further details.

SpaceX previously indicated that the upper stage of the rocket was in the process of being fueled, implying that the launch was proceeding.

Musk himself had posted on X an hour earlier that “Starship 10 launching tonight.”

Due to road closures in the vicinity of Starbase, the tenth Starship flight may still take place on either Monday or Tuesday; however, SpaceX has not provided a specific timeline.

The mission, which lasted an hour and was conducted without a crew, was designed to test the upper stage through a sequence of evaluations as it traveled halfway around the globe, prior to the lower stage booster landing in the Indian Ocean.

A sequence of detonations

The Starship plays a pivotal role in billionaire SpaceX founder Musk's vision of establishing a colony on Mars, whereas NASA is relying on a modified variant to facilitate the return of Americans to the Moon.

Nevertheless, the upper stage of the rocket – designed to transport both crew and cargo – has experienced explosions during all three of its test flights in 2025.

Two of the unsuccessful tests caused debris to fall over Caribbean islands, while the other ascended into space before disintegrating. Subsequently, in June, another upper stage detonated on the ground during a "static fire" test.

The 403-foot (123-meter) rocket is intended to be completely reusable in the future; however, the company has not yet succeeded in having the upper stage transport a payload to space or return to the launch site.

Following an inquiry into the earlier unsuccessful flight in May, SpaceX announced its intention to "deliberately test the structural limits" of the upper stage, with the aim of achieving a successful return.

SpaceX has successfully captured the lower stage booster using the enormous "chopstick" arms of its launch tower on three occasions; however, the tenth flight is not scheduled to make an attempt at this achievement.

The organization’s philosophy of "fail fast, learn fast" has been widely recognized for its impressive success rate, enabling the US-based company to maintain a dominant position worldwide in launches, primarily due to its Falcon rocket series.

However, the challenges faced by the Starship have cast uncertainty on the company's ability to replicate that achievement with the largest rocket ever built.

A significant amount of pressure

Dallas Kasaboski, a space analyst at the consulting firm Analysys Mason, informed AFP prior to the aborted launch that the recent setbacks were starting to tarnish SpaceX's illustrious reputation.

"I believe this mission is under significant pressure," he stated. "We have conducted numerous tests, and it has not demonstrated reliability – the number of successes has not surpassed the failures."

Will Lockett, a previous engineer who has transitioned to a commentator, elaborated further by asserting in his Substack newsletter that the rocket's inability to successfully deliver a payload to orbit thus far indicates that "the concept of Starship is fundamentally flawed."

The wealthiest individual in the world has committed the future of the company to Starship, intending to ultimately phase out the existing generation of rockets and spacecraft in favor of the new system.

Although the tenth test may ultimately be successful, significant technical challenges persist – including the need to ensure the system is entirely and swiftly reusable at a low cost, as well as demonstrating its capability to refuel super-cooled propellant in orbit, which is essential for deep-space missions.

Nevertheless, SpaceX continues to move forward, raising the number of launches despite facing criticism from environmental organizations regarding ecological consequences.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced last week that it has concluded its investigation into the recent Starship explosion, stating that no individuals were injured.

Musk, recognized for establishing highly ambitious deadlines, has asserted that Starship is scheduled to initiate its inaugural uncrewed missions to Mars in the upcoming year. — AFP