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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science
Oliver Holmes

SpaceX Starship test flight cancelled minutes before blast-off

The SpaceX Starship on the launch pad ahead of a flight test in Boca Chica, Texas
SpaceX will need a minimum of two days to prepare the Starship rocket system for another attempt at orbital flight after Monday’s launch was called off. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

The largest and most powerful rocket ever built was readied and fuelled for its first test flight on Monday, but SpaceX cancelled the launch minutes before blasting off after discovering a “pressurisation” problem.

“A pressurant valve appears to be frozen, so unless it starts operating soon, no launch today,” the SpaceX founder, Elon Musk, said on Twitter. Minutes later, the launch was officially abandoned, with operators ending the countdown 40 seconds before lift-off.

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