SpaceX's Flight 12 attempt, described in coverage as a spacex launch, was aborted in the final minute before liftoff after a technical issue forced a hold, the company reported.
Live commentary identified the hold at about T minus 40 seconds, and SpaceX's Dan Huot said a water diverter had tripped the pause, allowing engineers to examine data and troubleshoot as needed.
The mission would have been the debut flight of the Starship V3 configuration, launching from Pad 2 at the Starbase test site and carrying the heaviest payload yet for Starship, 22 dummy Starlink satellites, the company said.
SpaceX began propellant loading earlier in the countdown, using liquid methane and liquid oxygen to fuel the paired stages, and confirmed on X that teams were go for prop load before the scrub took place.
Singer Nicki Minaj attended the padside viewing area and was shown wearing a Starship T shirt, and private Fram2 Dragon commander Chun Wang appeared in a recorded video announcing plans to lead a private Mars and Moon flyby aboard a future Starship, according to the livestream coverage.
Next Steps And Mission Context
Dan Huot told viewers the team expected to attempt another flight the next day, and SpaceX kept the same 90 minute launch window and webcast schedule, with the webcast beginning about 45 minutes ahead of the window's opening at 6:30 p.m. EDT and closing at 8 p.m. EDT.
The Flight 12 plan called for a suborbital trajectory of the Ship upper stage with a splashdown in the Indian Ocean roughly 65 minutes after liftoff, while the Super Heavy booster would perform a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico about seven minutes after launch, as detailed in preflight coverage.
SpaceX stacked Ship 39 on Booster 19 at Pad 2 ahead of the attempt and ran a wet dress rehearsal that included tanking operations, and company spokespeople noted Pad 2 tanking proceeded about 20 percent faster than operations on Pad 1.
Coverage and reporting on the vehicle upgrades and stakes around Starship V3 came from Spaceflight staff, with Josh Dinner outlining technical changes and Mike Wall describing program stakes, both cited during the live coverage and background reporting.
