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SpaceX came close to launching a prototype of the rocketship that company chief Elon Musk is designing to carry people to Mars. The goal was to shoot Starship to an altitude of eight miles (12.5 kilometres) — the highest yet — and then bring it back to a vertical landing.
But an automatic engine abort occurred with just 1.3 seconds remaining in the countdown. SpaceX announced on its web broadcast it was done for the day, and there was no word on when it might try again.
SpaceX already has conducted five Starship test flights, but these earlier, simpler models have gone no higher than 490 feet (150 metres.) The stainless steel version on the launch pad Tuesday was the first to feature a nose cone, body flaps and three Raptor engines.
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