SpaceX calls off Starship Flight 8 launch test due to rocket issues (video)

The next Starship megarocket to fly is stuck on Earth for a little while longer.

SpaceX aimed to launch the eighth test flight of Starship — the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built — from its Starbase site in South Texas on Monday evening (March 3).

That didn't happen, however. The company encountered issues with both of the vehicle's elements — its Super Heavy booster and Ship upper stage — and called the launch off after holding the countdown clock at T-40 seconds.

SpaceX didn't specify during its launch webcast what the issues were, and it wasn't immediately clear when the company would try again to launch Flight 8.

"Standing down from today’s flight test attempt. Starship team is determining the next best available opportunity to fly," SpaceX wrote this evening via X, the social media platform owned by company founder and CEO Elon Musk.

SpaceX representatives said the next attempt could occur as early as Tuesday (March 4), but it could take longer. "We are expecting at least 24 hours, but we'll be sure to let people know," SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot said during a webcast for the launch attempt.

Whenever Starship Flight 8 lifts off, you can watch the action live here at Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX.

Related: SpaceX catches Super Heavy booster on Starship Flight 7 test but loses upper stage (video, photos)

SpaceX is developing the fully reusable Starship to help humanity settle the moon and Mars, among other spaceflight feats. The giant rocket debuted in April 2023 and now has seven test flights under its belt.

Its most recent mission, which occurred on Jan. 16, featured both successes and failures. For example, SpaceX caught the returning Super Heavy back at Starbase with the launch tower's "chopstick" arms, but Ship was lost after developing propellant leaks less than 10 minutes into flight.

The upper stage ended up exploding over the Atlantic Ocean, providing a dramatic sky show for people in the Turks and Caicos Islands and nearby areas.

Ship was supposed to deploy a set of dummy Starlink satellites on Flight 7. SpaceX will try again to do this on Flight 8; the goals of the mission are similar to those of Flight 7.

If all goes according to plan, Super Heavy will nestle into the launch tower's inviting arms once again, and Ship will fly much of the way around Earth before making a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean off Western Australia.