eFinder

eFinder

Home › Corporate Finance › Article

Countdown glitch delays world's biggest rocket as SpaceX targets Friday retry

Phys · · 688 words · By Gianrigo Marletta; With Maggy Donaldson
Corporate Finance Geopolitical Competition space exploration

SpaceX postponed a Starship test flight due to a technical glitch with a hydraulic pin, with a new attempt scheduled for Friday. The launch occurs as SpaceX files for an initial public offering and continues development of a lunar lander for NASA's Artemis program.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-countdown-glitch-delays-starship-12th.html

analyticsAnalysis

20%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyDetected Techniques

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

17 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 7
check_circle Corroborated 5
info Single Source 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
check_circle
“Elon Musk's SpaceX postponed the highly anticipated launch of its upgraded Starship megarocket, calling off Thursday's test after multiple countdown stops-and-starts.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (Yahoo News, uGrowth, and Google News) confirm that SpaceX postponed the Starship test flight scheduled for Thursday due to countdown glitches.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — SpaceX has rescheduled for Thursday the first test flight of Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built and designed to send astronauts to the Moon, Mars and beyond, after a technical glitch forced…
https://ugrowth.co/technical-glitch-forces-spacex-to-delay-s…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — SpaceX Starship Test Flight 12 Postponed. Yesterday.SpaceX postpones Starship test launch after countdown glitches at Texas site.
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Elon Musk's SpaceX postponed the highly anticipated launch of its upgraded Starship megarocket, calling off Thursday's test after multiple countdown stops-and-starts.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/spacex-postpones-highly-anticipate…
check_circle
“The company is now eyeing Friday for another takeoff attempt of the third generation of its mammoth rocket”
CORROBORATED
India Today and Google News report that SpaceX is targeting Friday for a retry of the Starship V3 launch.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — List of launches of SpaceX's fully reusable Starship. This article is about launches of the Starship vehicle.Launch of the Starship target (a prototype version of the Propellant Depot) for the propell…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Starship_launches
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — SpaceX scrubbed the launch of its upgraded Starship V3 rocket in Texas seconds before liftoff after technical issues with the launch tower and fuel systems. Elon Musk said the company will attempt ano…
https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/elon-musks-spacex-po…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — SpaceX's Starship V3 megarocket finally has a debut launch date.Starship’s twelfth flight test will debut the next generation Starship and Super Heavy vehicles, powered by the next evolution of the Ra…
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…
check_circle
“the hydraulic pin holding the tower arm in place did not retract.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent sources (Bloomberg and two other web search results) explicitly state that the delay was caused by a hydraulic pin holding the tower arm failing to retract.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A hydraulic pin holding the launch tower arm in place failed to retract, forcing SpaceX engineers into a last-minute scramble as millions watched the debut launch of Starship V3 slip away seconds befo…
https://interestingengineering.com/space/spacex-starship-v3-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The hydraulic pin holding the tower arm in place did not retract.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-21/spacex-de…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Hydraulic pin failed to hold tower arm in place. The reason behind the launch delay was a failure of the hydraulic pin that holds the tower arm in place.
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/science/spacex-delays-star…
check_circle
“the company will make another attempt at 5:30 pm local time (2230 GMT) on Friday”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (Latest News Live Updates, FMT, and Space) confirm the scheduled attempt for Friday at 5:30 pm local time / 2230 GMT.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — SpaceX said it is preparing to launch Starship during a 90-minute launch window which opens at 5:30 p.m. Central Time (2230 GMT) on Friday. Show more Show less.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/newsblogs/latest-i…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Musk quickly posted on X that “the hydraulic pin holding the tower arm in place did not retract.” “If that can be fixed tonight,” the company will make another attempt at 5.30pm local time (2230 GMT) …
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2026/05/…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — SpaceX has called off the attempted launch of its first Starship V3 megarocket due to a technical issue in the last minute before liftoff. The next launch attempt of Starship Flight 12 could occur on …
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/…
info
“SpaceX filed with US financial regulators to go public, likely in June”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of general SpaceX information and a mention of a V3 rocket, but no source confirms a filing with financial regulators for an IPO in June.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — By 2012, SpaceX finished all COTS test flights and began delivering Commercial Resupply Services missions to the International Space Station. Also around that time, SpaceX started developing hardware …
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other…
https://www.spacex.com/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · SpaceX's advanced new "V3" Starship megarocket is set to fly for the first time ever next week. The debut will feature some in-space action never seen before on a Starship mission.
https://www.space.com/tag/spacex
info
“It will be the 12th Starship flight, but the first in seven months.”
SINGLE SOURCE
Only one web search result (Upgraded SpaceX Starship set for test launch ahead of IPO) mentions that this is the 12th flight and the first in seven months. Other results for this claim are irrelevant (Live Nation).
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Find the latest concert tickets for every festival, gig, tour date, and show near you through Live Nation.
https://www.livenation.com/events
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 5 days ago · Find concert tickets for The Weeknd upcoming 2026 shows. Explore The Weeknd tour schedules, latest setlist, videos, and more on livenation.com
https://www.livenation.com/artist/K8vZ9172Ln7/the-weeknd-eve…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Buy concert tickets for top tours and festivals - Live Nation is your premier source for latest tour news, artist insights, exclusive videos, photos, and more.
https://www.livenation.com/
check_circle
“The latest design is bigger than its predecessor, standing at just over 407 feet (124 meters) when fully stacked.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources, including a cross-reference, Scientific American, and the John Hutchings Museum, confirm the height of the latest design is approximately 407-408 feet (124 meters).
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement f…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTV_A-7_Corsair_II
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Aurora is a 2015 novel by American science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson. The novel concerns a generation ship built in the style of a Stanford torus, traveling to Tau Ceti to start a human colo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(novel)
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Babel-17 is a 1966 science fiction novel by American writer Samuel R. Delany in which the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis (that language influences thought and perception) plays an important part. It was joint…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babel-17
+ 4 more evidence sources
info
“It's planned that the so-called "Super Heavy" booster will splash into the water off the coast.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided for this claim is completely irrelevant, consisting of credit card and dictionary definitions for the word 'mission'.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — MISSION offers innovative cooling gear — towels, hats, and performance apparel — designed to help you stay cool, comfortable, and active.
https://www.mission.com/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Join 2 million+ members who count on a Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card. See if you'll be approved with no impact to your credit score.
https://www.missionlane.com/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 3 days ago · The meaning of MISSION is a specific task with which a person or a group is charged. How to use mission in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mission
help
“The upper stage is to deploy a payload of 20 mock satellites and two "specially modified Starlink satellites" outfitted with cameras”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching for this specific payload configuration.
help
“The test mission is meant to last approximately 65 minutes after liftoff, as the upper stage cruises on a suborbital trajectory and eventually splashes down in the Indian Ocean”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching for the specific mission duration and splashdown location in the Indian Ocean.
schedule
“previous tests have ended in spectacular explosions, including twice over the Caribbean and once after reaching space.”
PENDING
schedule
“Last June, the upper stage blew up in a ground test.”
PENDING
schedule
“SpaceX is under contract with NASA to produce a modified version of Starship to serve as a landing system.”
PENDING
schedule
“China forges ahead with a rival effort that's targeting 2030 for its first crewed mission.”
PENDING
schedule
“Both SpaceX and rival Blue Origin... have realigned their strategies to prioritize projects related to moon missions.”
PENDING
schedule
“NASA is aiming to test an in-orbit rendezvous between the spacecraft and one or two lunar landers in 2027, and carry out a crewed lunar landing before the end of 2028.”
PENDING
schedule
“NASA is scheduled to give an update on their lunar exploration plans Tuesday.”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.