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SpaceX’s third shot at Starship’s 10th test flight Tuesday succeeded after poor weather conditions forced the company to halt liftoff from its South Texas site Monday.
Tuesday evening’s test was a crucial milestone for Elon Musk’s ambitious plans to use Starship to bring astronauts to the moon and, eventually, conquer Mars.
On Monday, after the test was aborted, SpaceX said on X, “Standing down from today’s flight test attempt due to weather. Starship team is determining the next best available opportunity to fly.”
On Sunday, SpaceX said that the first attempt was scrapped because of ground-system problems.
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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shares his vision for life on Mars. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images; Fox News Digital)
Starship has faced a series of setbacks in its development phase, including multiple fiery explosions.
Flights 7, 8 and 9 ended in failure after liftoff earlier this year, and another rocket exploded on a test stand in June.
Initially, SpaceX appeared hopeful in the run-up to Monday’s test flight and shared a post on X.
“Counting down to Starship’s tenth flight test. Weather is currently 55% favorable for launch at the start of the window,” the post read.
Despite the failings, SpaceX has pressed on and said each setback is part of the learning curve for the world’s most powerful, 403-foot rocket.
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SpaceX prepares for Starship Flight 10 following issues on Sunday. (AP Images)
The focus of the test mission was on the spacecraft’s upper stage, designed to carry crew and cargo into space before returning to Earth with a controlled descent into the Gulf of America.
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A successful test was to mark a step forward in proving the system’s reusability, which is key to Musk’s vision of affordable space travel.
Fox News Digital has reached out to SpaceX for comment.