Will Elon try again on 4/20?
Frozen Valve
It wasn't meant to be.
Earlier today, SpaceX loaded its gigantic, 400-foot Starship rocket stack with propellant — only to scrub its first-ever orbital launch attempt.
According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, a frozen pressure valve was the culprit.
Fortunately, this morning's events weren't a total write-off for the company. Far from it, Musk said.
"Learned a lot today, now offloading propellant, retrying in a few days," tweeted the mercurial CEO. That means we might see the next attempt on April 20, which could come to the sheer delight of the billionaire CEO, given the date's significance.
The stakes are incredibly high for the company. SpaceX's super-heavy launch platform could set the stage for the next generation of reusable rockets, potentially carrying the first astronauts to the surface of the Moon in more than 50 years — and eventually the first ones to Mars.
Going Orbital
The company has already launched over half a dozen Starship prototypes over the last few years, many of which have ended in huge explosions.
This morning's attempt, however, was different as it involved a Starship prototype stacked on top of an equally massive Super Heavy booster, which alone features a whopping 33 Raptor engines.
SpaceX still ran down the clock, regardless of the scrubbed attempt, and treated it as a wet dress rehearsal instead.
"The point of the countdown is to allow the teams to progress that T-zero time in a coordinated fashion and really to unveil any issues prior to the ignition sequence," SpaceX's Kate Tice said during the company's live stream. "So the countdown did its job today."
Will April 20 really be the day we get to see the most powerful rocket in history ignite its dozens of engines? All we can do right now is wait and find out.
Updated to clarify that astronauts have previously landed on the Moon.
More on Starship: Here's a Video of Every Time Starship Has Exploded So Far
Share This Article