SpaceX calls off rocket launch

SPACEX called off a planned test flight for its Starship megarocket at the weekend, saying it needed time to troubleshoot problems, in the latest setback for Elon Musk’s behemoth after a series of explosive failures.

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The recent problems have led some observers to doubt whether the world’s biggest and most powerful launch vehicle will be capable of taking humans back to the Moon - or achieving Musk’s dreams of colonising Mars.

The rocket had been scheduled to blast off on its tenth flight from the company’s Starbase in southern Texas at 6.30pm.

However, around 15 minutes before liftoff, SpaceX scrubbed the flight, which isa relatively common event for space launches.

“Standing down from today’s tenth flight of Starship to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems,” it said on X, without elaborating.

SpaceX did not immediately announce a new launch date, but a countdown on the company’s website suggested there would be another attempt at the same time yesterday.