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Last-minute problems forced a launch delay Monday for SpaceX’s mega rocket Starship, attempting a comeback following an explosion on the last test flight.
The countdown got down to the 40-second mark, but it was halted because of issues with the 403-foot (123-meter) rocket, the world’s largest and most powerful.
Starship was supposed to blast off from the southern tip of Texas with four mock satellites on board for a space-skimming test flight. If the problems can be fixed quickly, another launch attempt could come Tuesday, according to SpaceX.
The last Starship demo ended in an explosion over the Atlantic in January, with flaming debris streaming over the Turks and Caicos.
Starship has already been booked by NASA for astronaut moon landings later this decade. SpaceX’s Elon Musk intends to use the mammoth rockets to settle Mars.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
