Starship faces new setbacks, and the reason is still the old problem!
"Leak" has blocked Boeing's path to space, and this time it also blocked the Starship launch.
AFP article published on August 25, 2025.
SpaceX has postponed the planned test flight of its massive Starship rocket by 24 hours.
Musk posted a message on the same platform, saying "ground liquid oxygen leak needs to be fixed."
We know that Boeing's CST-100 Starliner also failed due to a "leak."
SpaceX said it has rescheduled the launch to Monday "as soon as possible," but warned that the time is still "dynamic and may change again."
Starship is the core of billionaire SpaceX founder Musk's plan for Mars colonization, while NASA hopes its upgraded version will send Americans back to the Moon.
However, the upper stage of the rocket—the spacecraft used to carry astronauts and cargo—exploded in three test flights in 2025.
The company's "fail fast, learn fast" philosophy has given it a global advantage in launches with its Falcon rocket series among American companies.
But the setbacks of Starship have made people question whether the company can replicate this success with the largest rocket in history.
Former engineer and commentator Will Litchfield went further, writing in his Substack newsletter that since the rocket has not yet put a payload into orbit, it indicates that the concept of "Starship" is fundamentally flawed.
Even if the tenth test ultimately succeeds, there are still significant technical challenges — from achieving full and rapid reuse of the system at low cost, to proving it can refuel with supercooled propellants in orbit, which is a prerequisite for deep space missions.
Musk's father once said in Moscow that Musk's rockets were too big to succeed.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1841473280969728/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author.