SpaceX postpones first attempt at Starship rocket launch due to frozen valve

WASHINGTON

SpaceX called off Monday its first attempt to launch Starship, the massive new rocket at the center of its space exploration hopes.

Owner Elon Musk said the launch of the 400-foot rocket was nixed at the last minute following the discovery of an apparently frozen pressurant valve. Another attempt will be made "in a few days," Musk said on Twitter.

Launch controllers continued the launch countdown as a rehearsal for a future launch, calling it off at the 10-second mark when the rocket's mammoth engines would have been ignited.

"With a test such as this, success is measured by how much we can learn, which will inform and improve the probability of success in the future as SpaceX rapidly advances development of Starship," SpaceX said on Twitter.

SpaceX said on its livestream that another launch would not be possible for at least two days.

The company plans to use Starship as its premier rocket to send people and cargo to the moon and beyond, aiming to send a crew to Mars. The stainless-steel Starship and its Super Heavy rocket are intended to be reusable, and the company has a contract with NASA to use it for a planned mission to the Moon.