SpaceX Aborts Second Starship V3 Launch After Ignition

SpaceX abruptly aborted the second attempted launch of its upgraded Starship rocket system on Thursday, just moments after the booster ignited at the company’s complex in South Texas. CEO Elon Musk said in a post on X that “[s]ome of the engines didn’t start, triggering an automatic launch abort” and that the company would try again “hopefully in a few days.” The company was hoping to launch its first third-generation Starlink satellites into space — although they are supposed to burn up around 20 minutes after deployment, as Starship has not yet demonstrated the ability to reach Earth orbit. This is also SpaceX’s first Starship test launch attempt since it went public on June 12 in the largest IPO in history.

The company raised more than $85 billion in the transaction and briefly touched the valuations of Amazon and Microsoft, though its stock has steadily fallen in the intervening month. On Thursday, SpaceX’s stock price closed below its IPO price of $135. Its stock sank more than 4% in after-hours trading after the aborted launch.

SpaceX was trying to return to flight just a few weeks after the first-ever launch of Starship V3 in May. That mission was a mixed bag. Getting off the launch pad with the first version of a newly-upgraded rocket was a big step forward, and the company was able to deploy a number of Starlink simulators into space.

But the booster stage suffered a failure before it could attempt a simulated landing in the Gulf of Mexico, leading to an FAA-ordered review of what went wrong. Starship’s upper stage also lost an engine on its way to deploying the Starlink simulators during the May mission. The upper stage was able to perform its own simulated landing over the water without a hitch.

SpaceX was hoping to take another step forward with Thursday’s launch by launching the V3 Starlink satellites. The upgraded Starship and Starlink are key to SpaceX’s incredibly ambitious plans to prove that the concept of “orbital data centers” is both technologically and economically viable. Starlink is also the largest revenue generator and only profitable portion of SpaceX’s business.

The repeated delays and setbacks for Starship and Starlink raise questions about the feasibility of SpaceX’s ambitious plans for orbital data centers and the viability of its business model. For developers and businesses, this means a wait for what could be a game-changing technology. For consumers, it could mean delayed access to faster and more reliable internet services.

As SpaceX works to overcome its technical challenges, the company’s stock price and public perception will likely continue to fluctuate. The success of Starship and Starlink will have significant implications for the future of space exploration and the global internet infrastructure. With billions of dollars invested and a reputation on the line, SpaceX must deliver on its promises to restore confidence in its vision for the future of space technology.