Historic SpaceX Starship launch delayed due to a first stage problem

The flight of SpaceX's Starship scheduled today did not take place due to a malfunction with the first stage, which the company's representatives announced in a live stream.

It will take at least 48 hours to prepare the Starship for flight again.

This is the second time that Starship's launch has been delayed: the previous one was scheduled for April 10, but the US Federal Aviation Administration rescheduled the start date to today.

On the eve of the launch of the spaceship, the head of SpaceX, Elon Musk, speaking about his expectations, had said that this time they would probably not succeed in going into orbit.

Asked what he meant by success, Musk had replied that "anything that doesn't cause the launch pad to explode is a victory."

This reusable space system consists of a Starship (a prototype of Ship 24) and a Super Heavy rocket (a prototype of Booster 7). It should launch up to 150 tonnes of payload into orbit. For SpaceX, this is, first of all, an opportunity to increase its network of communications satellites (Starlink) in Earth's orbit quickly and affordably. The company also plans to organize tourist flights around the Moon, for which some millionaires have already reserved tickets.