SpaceX: Launch of world's largest rocket scrapped last minute

SpaceX scrubbed the launch of its giant rocket just minutes before it was due to depart

SpaceX has called off the launch attempt of its giant rocket, Starship.

The launch attempt of the most powerful rocket ever developed, built by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, was due to lift off from Starbase in Texas, America, on Monday.

The Starship team will instead use today as a dress rehearsal.

In a tweet sent minutes before the rocket was supposed to lift off, Elon Musk said: “A pressurant valve appears to be frozen, so unless it starts operating soon, no launch today”.

He added that the team had 'learnt a lot' and would 'retry in a few days.'

Before the launch had to be scrubbed, the 120-metre tall spacecraft was meant to complete an unmanned around-the-world test flight before falling into the sea.

It is seen as the first step in a long-term project that aims to transport people to the moon and Mars.

At a Morgan Stanley conference last month, Musk had boasted that he thought the craft had a 50% chance of reaching orbit.

He said: "I’m not saying it will get to orbit, but I am guaranteeing excitement. It won’t be boring."

The California-based space firm announced that they won't be able to attempt a launch again for at least 48 hours, due to a pressurisation issue in the lower-half of the rocket.

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