The U.S. space company SpaceX has postponed the second test flight of its giant rocket Starship, originally scheduled for Friday, by one day. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated on the online platform X on Thursday that a “grid fin actuator” needed to be replaced. He mentioned, ‘We need to replace a grid fin actuator, so launch is postponed to Saturday.‘
A grid fin is a component designed to stabilize the rocket during its return to Earth and landing. It is positioned by the actuator.”
Starship is the most powerful and, at a height of 120 meters, the largest rocket ever built in the world. The first test flight in April ended in an explosion: a few minutes after liftoff at the Space-X spaceport in Starbase, Boca Chica, Texas, the rocket began tumbling when multiple engines failed, and the first stage failed to separate from the second stage. Subsequently, Space X chose to detonate the rocket in mid-air.
On Wednesday, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted Space X approval for a second launch attempt. The company has now the FAA determined SpaceX met all safety, environmental, policy and financial responsibility requirements,” as stated by the FAA. Elon Musk aims to use the Starship rocket to transport humans to Mars in the future. NASA plans to utilize it for their Artemis moon landing mission.