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Science|SpaceX Set to Attempt Critical Test Launch of Mars Rocket Again
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/science/spacex-starship-test-launch.html
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After two consecutive scrubs, the Starship vehicle is due for its 10th test flight as Elon Musk’s company aims to overcome earlier setbacks.
Aug. 26, 2025, 4:46 p.m. ET
Starship is on the launchpad in Starbase, Texas, where SpaceX engineers hope Tuesday will be the night it finally heads to space after two consecutive scrubbed launches.
The mammoth rocket that Elon Musk hopes to use to take people to Mars was scheduled to launch on its 10th test flight both Sunday and Monday. On Sunday, a leak during propellant loading stopped the countdown. Then on Monday, menacing clouds and potential lightning kept the fully-fueled rocket from lifting off the pad.
The test is highly important for Mr. Musk and SpaceX, which hopes to show that the spacecraft is capable of achieving key goals. It’s also critical for NASA, which needs Starship to land its astronauts on the moon.
“The stakes are the highest they’ve ever been for a Starship launch,” said Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based think tank. But it is not quite a “make or break” moment, he added.
“If they have another failure, they still have more room to continue iterating and trying, but they are running out of room,” Mr. Harrison said.
When is the launch attempt and how can I watch it?
The launch window opens at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. The rocket remains on the pad on the Texas Gulf Coast east of Brownsville after Sunday and Monday’s scrubbed flights.
