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SpaceX delayed its redesigned Starship rocket launch due to bad weather on Monday. The launch is largely seen as a test for Elon Musk’s ambitions to reach to the Moon and Mars.
The world’s biggest rocket was set to launch its 10th uncrewed flight test Monday evening. It was originally scheduled to take off on Sunday but was postponed to “allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems,” the company wrote on X.
Starship and its Super Heavy booster were both lost after takeoff three months ago. Three flights earlier this year ended in fiery explosions, which saw debris raining down on the Caribbean Islands and Indian Ocean.
The launch from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas will aim to recover the lost Starship spacecraft and booster.
Musk has repeatedly said his vision is for a fully reusable space vehicle that can do repeat return trips without crews as soon as 2026. He then aims for a space crew to be aboard in 2029.
The billionaire said he would focus on his businesses after leaving the Trump administration in May, as it was the end of his “scheduled time” as a special government employee.
At the time, US President Donald Trump praised him as “one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced”.
However, the relationship took a turn weeks later after the US House of Representatives passed a significant piece of legislation, a tax cut and spending bill that Musk opposed.
Musk announced in July that he was setting up his own political party, called the America Party, but has reportedly put the brakes on those plans to focus on his companies.