SpaceX cancels the launch of world's most powerful rocket 40 seconds before the start

The launch of the world's largest and most powerful rocket, the Starship, was canceled just 40 seconds before the start. This is the second time in a week that SpaceX has canceled the launch, apparently due to previous failures of Elon Musk's company.

Flight 8 was scheduled to take off from Starbase in South Texas on the evening of March 3. However, a technical problem at the launch pad could not be resolved in time, and the mission was postponed indefinitely, Space.com reports.

SpaceX did not specify what happened during the webcast, which millions of people watched around the world.

However, later, company representatives explained that during the launch of the Starship, they encountered problems with both elements of the vehicle - Super Heavy booster and Ship upper stage.

"Standing down from today’s flight test attempt. Starship team is determining the next best available opportunity to fly," SpaceX wrote on X.

The company intended to test Starship's ability to deploy SpaceX's Starlink satellites during flight by launching four simulated Starlink modules.

If all goes according to plan during the next attempt, the spacecraft will fly most of the way around the Earth before making a soft landing in the Indian Ocean off Western Australia, experts predict.

Monday's test was supposed to be the first launch of the starship since the destruction of Flight 7 on January 16. "Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn," SpaceX said at the time.

Simply put, the vehicle designed to deliver people to Mars exploded during the flight, writes DailyMail. The explosion was captured on camera in the Caribbean Sea just minutes after the flight test.

Then 20 commercial airplanes were diverted to avoid collision with the rocket debris.

On the positive side, the failed mission successfully returned the launch vehicle, which was caught in the chopsticks as planned.

On the eve of the next test flight, SpaceX noted on its website that "extensive upgrades to Starship's upper stage" have been implemented.

"Starship's forward flaps have been upgraded to significantly reduce their exposure to reentry heating while simplifying the underlying mechanisms and protective tiling," Musk's company wrote.

The updated ship has 25 percent more fuel than previous SpaceX vehicles. This means that in the future it will be able to perform longer missions.

As a reminder, the reusable Starship was developed by SpaceX for future missions to settle the Moon and Mars. The giant rocket made its debut in April 2023, and it has now completed seven test flights.

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