SpaceX’s plans to launch Starship’s second flight on Friday have been scrapped and rescheduled for Saturday, November 18. Elon Musk, the company’s owner, shared the news on X, formerly Twitter.
“We need to replace a grid fin actuator, so launch is postponed to Saturday,” Musk said in a post. A grid fins are located on the ship’s first stage and help the booster steer back to Earth.
SpaceX aims for Starship to be a “fully reusable transportation system capable of carrying both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, help humanity return to the Moon, and ultimately travel to Mars and beyond.”
SpaceX said Starship’s second launch will debut a number of upgrades added since its first flight earlier this year including a hot-stage separation system, a new electronic Thrust Vector Control system for the Super Heavy Raptor engines, a reinforced pad foundation, and a water-cooled steel flame deflector.
Starship’s first launch lasted about four minutes and reached around 26 miles before faltering engines required it to explode. In addition to some faulty engines, the booster and ship failed to separate as intended, which sent Starship off course.
Image credit: Space X