SpaceX canceled a super-heavy rocket launch seconds before the IPO ahead of liftoff

Aerospace company SpaceX seconds before liftoff canceled the planned launch of the upgraded super-heavy Starship rocket from its spaceport in Texas on Thursday, Ma. 21, writes Reuters. It was to have been the system's 12th test flight and the first for a modified version of the Starship rocket, the V3, which was designed for NASA missions and the rapid insertion of Starlink satellites.

Elon Musk's company will retry the Starship V3 test on Friday, May 22. Progress in this process is critical for SpaceX, which is now preparing for what may be a record-breaking stock market flotation in its history.

SpaceX canceled Starship's launch just seconds before ignition, Reuters notes. The countdown was interrupted several times due to problems with fuel temperature and pressure. Elon Musk later explained on social network X that a technical issue had failed: a hydraulic retainer on one of the launch tower's mechanical supports didn't retract at the right moment. "If this can be fixed today, [Friday] there will be another launch attempt," he wrote.

The incident could affect investor confidence ahead of SpaceX's IPO, which could be the largest in stock market history - Musk's company is targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation, Reuters points out.

However, even before the launch was canceled, Musk warned: there are already many spacecraft and boosters for the updated version of the V3 rocket in the SpaceX factory - in varying degrees of readiness - so possible launch malfunctions will not push the schedule for future Starship tests "more than a month or so."

This Starship launch was supposed to be a key test phase after months of launch delays, Reuters notes. Over the past year, SpaceX has carried out a major modernization of the Starship system, taking into account the analysis of the causes of previous failed launches. The result of these works was a modification of the rocket V3.

The Starship fully reusable superheavy rocket project, which has already exceeded $15 billion in investments, is a strategic element of Elon Musk's business model. Its successful commissioning is essential for reducing the cost of launch services, scaling up the Starlink satellite network, and implementing long-term projects ranging from long-distance space missions (Musk's pre-IPO goals include establishing a permanent colony on Mars with a population of at least 1 million people) to deploying orbital data centers. It is these commercial and technological prospects that form the current high valuation of SpaceX's business in the run-up to the IPO, Reuters adds.

According to the agency, SpaceX is expected to begin a road show - the official presentation of the offering to investors - on June 4, determine the listing price on June 11, and go public on June 12. The company has chosen Nasdaq for its IPO.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor