Starship’s tenth test launch scrapped over ground systems issue

SpaceX’s 403-foot Starship was set to lift off Sunday evening from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas, marking its most ambitious test yet after a string of setbacks.

But the launch of SpaceX’s tenth test flight was scrapped after there was an issue with the ground systems.

“Standing down from today’s tenth flight of Starship to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems,” the company said on X, offering no other information.

This came after multiple failures in recent years — including three disastrous explosions in 2025 alone. 

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SpaceX’s rocket Starship was stacked and prepared for a test flight from Starbase in Starbase, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 23. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Between January and June, SpaceX suffered four Starship setbacks — a dramatic explosion in its first test flight, a midair blast in the second, a fiery destruction in the third, and finally a ground-test explosion following those in-flight failures.

On Sunday, engineers were about to attempt a series of high-risk maneuvers designed to prove Starship’s reusability, a critical step in owner Elon Musk’s long-term plan to reach the Moon and eventually conquer Mars.

The goals for Sunday evening’s test included deploying Starlink satellite simulators, attempting a landing burn with a backup engine, and guiding the Super Heavy booster into a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of America. 

SpaceX also hoped to make its first attempt at returning the Starship upper stage to the launch site.

In the past, Musk has admitted that repeated setbacks are part of SpaceX’s rapid test-and-fail approach.

The Tesla founder first teased Sunday’s test flight on Thursday, posting a photo of the gleaming spacecraft on X with the message: “Getting ready to launch Starship.”

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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shares his vision for life on Mars. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images| CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images | Fox News Digital)

Starship is the most powerful rocket ever built and is taller than the Saturn V that carried astronauts to the Moon in the sixties.

The vessel consists of two stages: the 232-foot Super Heavy booster and the 171-foot Starship upper stage, where future crew and cargo will ride once the tests are successful.

If it had been successful, the new test mission would have marked a breakthrough in Musk’s attempt to build a fully reusable rocket system capable of carrying humans deeper into space.

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The booster of SpaceX’s mega rocket Starship is recaptured during a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Thursday, March 6, 2025. ( AP Photo/Eric Gay)

This would have been a milestone for SpaceX, which has said it is essential for its Artemis moon lander contract with NASA and Musk’s ultimate goal of colonizing Mars.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to SpaceX for comment.