SpaceX cancels Starship rocket flight test due to technical issues

The private American company SpaceX has scrapped the 12th test flight of its colossal Starship rocket due to technical issues. The launch had been scheduled for 6:30 pm Central Standard Time from the Starbase launch facility in Texas and was postponed 40 seconds before liftoff. SpaceX later announced that the launch would not go ahead. Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, said on the social media platform X that the launch was cancelled because the hydraulic pin used to secure the launch tower’s arm failed to retract as planned. He said the next launch attempt could take place on Friday at 5:30 pm Central Standard Time if the issue could be resolved overnight. The mission was slated to mark the maiden flight of Starship’s latest-generation spacecraft and the Super Heavy booster, powered by an upgraded version of the Raptor engine and launched from the newly designed pad at Starbase. According to SpaceX, the primary objective of the test flight was to evaluate the performance of the upgraded system in a real flight environment for the first time.