SpaceX's massive Starship rocket launch was halted just before liftoff on Thursday.

Synopsis SpaceX's massive Starship rocket launch was halted just before liftoff on Thursday. Technical problems with the launch pad at Starbase in Texas caused the delay. The company aims for another attempt on Friday if issues are resolved. This test flight is crucial for future moon missions and satellite deployment. Cape Canaveral(US): SpaceX got within a half-minute of launching its newest and biggest Starship on a test flight Thursday evening before a cascade of problems halted the countdown. The 407-foot (124-metre) rocket was poised to begin a space-skimming journey from Texas extending halfway around the world. But issues cropped up with the brand-new pad at Starbase near the Mexican border, and the company ran out of time. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk later said the hydraulic pin holding the launch tower's arm in place did not retract. If the problem can be fixed quickly, another launch attempt will be made Friday, he noted. Thursday's launch attempt came one day after Musk announced that his rocket company would be going public. Starship holds 20 mock Starlink satellites to be released before the spacecraft's controlled entry into the Indian Ocean at the end of the hourlong flight. It will be the 12th test flight for a Starship and the first since last fall. Live Events NASA is relying on this latest version of Starship to land astronauts on the moon in a few years. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) NSE gets EDs, paycheck draws past parallels An unusual skill shortage that’s stalling govt’s PNG push Is Air India the cocktail turning bitter for Tatas? 3 years on, India rebuilds aircraft lessors’ trust that Go First broke Falling prices, Gulf risks: A spice king’s growth recipe falters Stock Radar: Down 27% from highs! Patanjali Foods stock showing signs of bottoming out – time to buy? 1 2 3

Future spacecraft could use a single propellant to perform both rapid movements and slow, highly controlled adjustments.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes fell on Tuesday as a rebound in technology shares faded.

Alphabet entered a cloud service agreement with SpaceX to pay $920 million per month for 200 megawatts of capacity from October 2026 through June 2029.