SpaceX canceled the first test launch of the “most powerful rocket” Starship V3 28 seconds before launch

SpaceX canceled the first test launch of its new Starship V3 rocket prototype from a spaceport in Texas at the last minute.

This is evident from the companyʼs broadcast in X.

The launch countdown was stopped at 28 seconds — and then rolled back to 41 seconds. This happens when the system or engineers notice a problem that needs to be checked quickly.

The system can automatically roll back the timer, for example, from 28 to 41 seconds, to repeat a specific step in the procedure without completely canceling the launch.

The countdown continued, but at 40 seconds before the start, it was stopped again and the launch was finally canceled.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the reason was that the hydraulic pin holding the launch tower boom failed to retract. The rocket will be relaunched tonight at 1:30 a.m. Kyiv time.

This launch was to be the twelfth for Starship and the first for the third generation of the rocket, called V3. The rocket was expected to go on a suborbital test flight on a trajectory that passes halfway around the Earth.

The Starship V3 is quite heavily modified, and Muskʼs company has high hopes for it. If the tests are successful, the Starship V3 will deliver astronauts to the surface of the moon during the Artemis IV mission, which is scheduled for late 2028.

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