Elon Musk says "engines didn’t start" after SpaceX aborts Starship launch

SpaceX aborted its second attempt to launch the upgraded Starship rocket on Thursday at its Texas facility moments after ignition. On his social media platform X, CEO Elon Musk attributed the shutdown to multiple engines failing to ignite, which caused an automated abort. The company plans to swap out two of those engines and will not try again until next week. This test flight, the first since SpaceX’s record-setting June 12 initial public offering, aimed to deploy prototype third-generation Starlink satellites, though they were intended to disintegrate after about 20 minutes. The abort came after a brief hold in the countdown; SpaceX’s broadcast indicated four new Raptor engines did not fire. SpaceX must now drain propellant from both stages to investigate the issue.