SpaceX Scrubs 10th Starship Test Over Ground Systems Issue

SpaceX has delayed the launch of its tenth Starship test flight due to an issue with ground support systems at its Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The company scrubbed the mission roughly 30 minutes before its scheduled liftoff on Aug. 24 at 7:35 p.m, citing the need to troubleshoot the problem. The highly anticipated test was part of ongoing efforts to validate new vehicle configurations and achieve key milestones following a series of earlier failures in 2025.

“Standing down from today’s Starship flight test to troubleshoot a ground system issue,” SpaceX said in a post on X. No additional technical details were disclosed. A new target date has been set for as early as Aug. 25, pending resolution of the issue.

The fully stacked vehicle—consisting of the 232-foot Super Heavy booster and the 171-foot Starship upper stage—was undergoing fueling when the launch was called off. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had been expected to deliver a development update during the launch window, but a placeholder livestream confirmed that his remarks were canceled following the delay.

This test flight was intended to validate multiple upgrades to the Starship system, including a new engine configuration on the booster and improvements to the heat shield and control flaps on the upper stage. According to SpaceX, the flight’s reentry profile would “intentionally stress the structural limits of the upper stage’s rear flaps while at the point of maximum entry dynamic pressure,” a key test for atmospheric reentry and rapid reusability.

The mission plan included several objectives: the Super Heavy booster would separate shortly after liftoff and perform a soft water landing in the Gulf of Mexico, while Starship would follow a suborbital trajectory, reignite its engines in space, deploy a batch of mock Starlink satellites, and attempt controlled reentry over the Indian Ocean.

Starship’s ninth flight in May 2025 ended in failure when the vehicle spun out of control and disintegrated mid-flight. Earlier in the year, other  tests were cut short, including a January launch that failed minutes after liftoff and a March flight that suffered an engine failure. In June, a different Starship vehicle—Ship 36—exploded during a static fire test while being fueled with cryogenic propellant. That explosion, later described by SpaceX as “a sudden energetic event,” destroyed the vehicle and damaged the test stand area, igniting multiple fires.

Despite these setbacks, SpaceX continues the rapid development of its next-generation launch system at Starbase. The Starship program remains central to the company’s commercial ambitions and NASA’s long-term human spaceflight goals. Starship has been selected as the landing vehicle for NASA’s Artemis III mission, which aims to achieve the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo by 2027.

In May, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved up to 25 Starship launches per year from the Texas site—up from the previous cap of five—while determining that existing environmental impact assessments remain valid. This regulatory shift was followed by a June executive order from President Donald Trump aimed at reducing barriers for commercial space operations, including streamlined environmental reviews.

However, SpaceX faces mounting environmental and labor scrutiny. On Aug. 25, environmental activists in Mexico staged a protest offshore near Starbase, citing concerns about space debris and ecological damage from previous launches. Debris from the June explosion crossed into Mexican territory, intensifying opposition from local groups. The FAA has not imposed new restrictions in response.

Labor organizations have also criticized SpaceX’s risk-tolerant approach to testing. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) warned of safety concerns and broader implications for workforce standards. SpaceX, however, maintains that its “test-to-failure” strategy accelerates innovation, arguing that each failure yields critical data for refining Starship’s design.

Although Starship has yet to achieve orbit since its first integrated flight in April 2023, each attempt has advanced mission objectives. The May 27 flight, while ending in failure, traveled farther than previous tests, demonstrating incremental performance improvements.