Live updates: SpaceX makes new attempt at Starship orbital launch
SpaceX is again attempting to launch its towering Starship rocket to space after scrubbing an attempt earlier this week.
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND (Texas) -- Elon Musk’s SpaceX has attempted to launch its Starship rocket into space again after failing to do so earlier in the week.
SpaceX attempted to launch this rocket on Monday but the Super Heavy booster's pressure valve appeared frozen. SpaceX's teams have been working to fix a variety of unknown issues in order to launch a second time on Thursday.
The Starship orbital rocket launch from a private facility on the Gulf Coast of Texas represents the culmination years of regulatory and technological testing. SpaceX has stressed that the launch is experimental. SpaceX had hoped that the company could launch its first orbital Starship as soon as summer 2021. However, delays in development, and FAA approval were encountered.
Starship was designed to transport cargo and people beyond Earth. It is crucial to NASA's plans to return astronauts back to the Moon. NASA awarded SpaceX a contract worth nearly $3 billion two years ago to use Starship for a crewed moon lander. Starship would be used as part of NASA’s Artemis moon project, which will deliver astronauts to the surface of the moon using the agency’s SLS rockets and Orion capsules.
Follow along with live updates from South Texas by watching SpaceX's stream.