SpaceX's Starship test flight aborted shortly before launch

A planned test flight of SpaceX's Starship, the largest rocket system ever built, was aborted shortly before launch, company founder Elon Musk said on Thursday.

"Some of the engines didn't start, triggering an automatic launch abort," Musk wrote on X, the social media platform he also owns.

"Next launch attempt hopefully in a few days," he added.

The giant Starship rocket last completed a test flight in May, its 12th overall. Several engines also failed during that flight, but the test otherwise went largely according to plan.

It marked the first flight of Starship Version 3, which SpaceX says has been extensively redesigned, including improvements to its design and performance.

US space agency NASA hopes to use Starship to send astronauts to the moon, while Musk's stated goal is for humans to reach Mars.

The Starship rocket system consists of two parts that separate after the launch: the about 70-metre-long Super Heavy booster and the upper stage, also called Starship, which measures around 50 metres.

The system has been developed so that both the spacecraft and the booster can be reused after returning to Earth.

The system was first tested in April 2023, when it exploded after a few minutes. Later tests saw the upper stage reach space and land under control in the Indian Ocean. However, several recent test flights fell well short of expectations.

SpaceX recently carried out the largest initial public offering to date, although its shares have since fallen below their issue price.