SpaceX's Starship megarocket prepares for launch after two cancellations

"The 10th test flight comes after a string of explosive failures that have raised doubts about whether the world's most powerful launch vehicle can fulfill founder Elon Musk's vision of colonizing Mars or helping Nasa return astronauts to the moon. Standing 403ft (123 meters) tall, the stainless steel behemoth was scheduled to lift off from the company's Starbase in southern Texas during a window opening at 6.30pm local time (2330 GMT)."

"The goal is to send the upper stage ship eventually intended to carry crew and cargo halfway across the globe before splashing down off north-western Australia. Outfitted with prototype heat-shield materials, it will deploy dummy Starlink satellites while flying a trajectory meant to stress-test its rear flaps. The booster, known as Super Heavy, will splash down in the Gulf of Mexico."

"Monday's launch scrub was blamed on weather as thick clouds, hanging overhead for much of the day, forced a delay with a mere 40 seconds left on the countdown clock. A Sunday attempt was scrubbed due to a liquid oxygen leak at the Starship launchpad, billionaire Musk wrote on X overnight. Much is riding on the mission, after the last three flights ended with the upper stage exploding: twice over the Caribbean and once after reaching space."

SpaceX prepared a third Starship launch attempt after two scrubs caused by weather and a liquid oxygen leak. The 403ft stainless-steel vehicle faces scrutiny after multiple explosive failures of the upper stage, including three recent in-flight breakups and a June ground-test explosion. The flight aims to send the upper-stage ship halfway across the globe with prototype heat-shield materials, deploy dummy Starlink satellites, and stress-test rear flaps before splashing down off north-western Australia. The Super Heavy booster will splash down in the Gulf of Mexico. The mission will prioritize data collection over booster-arm recovery, and reliability concerns persist despite a fast-test development approach.

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