SpaceX scrubs 10th Starship flight as ground glitch delays Musk’s Mars plans 

SpaceX has postponed the 10th test flight of the fully integrated Starship and Super Heavy rocket due to an unspecified “issue with ground systems”, further pushing back Elon Musk’s goal of using it to transport people to Mars. 

“Standing down from today’s 10th flight of Starship to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems,” SpaceX announced in a statement on August 25, 2025, approximately 17 minutes before the scheduled liftoff. 

For now, the rocket remains on the ground at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica Beach, South Texas, where it was originally set to launch on August 24, 2025. 

The mission had been designed to expand the Super Heavy booster’s operational envelope and carry out multiple landing‑burn experiments, while the Starship upper stage was to test heat‑shield materials, flap durability, and catch‑fittings during reentry. 

Unlike earlier tests, this flight would have directed the Super Heavy booster to a water landing in the Gulf of Mexico, while the upper stage would deploy simulated Starlink payloads and attempt atmospheric reentry over the Indian Ocean. 

The Starship program has endured multiple setbacks in 2025: two test flights in January and March 2025 resulted in mid-air explosions, as well as a May 2025 flight of the ninth test that lost control and broke apart during reentry over the Indian Ocean due to a leak in the vehicle’s fuel tank.  

A major static‑fire test explosion occurred in June 2025, and the Ship 36 static‑fire anomaly claimed the vehicle and heavily damaged SpaceX’s Massey’s test site. 

These ongoing failures have prompted investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and airspace closures prior to future launches taking place. 

SpaceX has stated on its official website that it plans to re-launch its 10th test flight on August 25, 2025, at 18:30 local time CT, if the “issue with ground systems” will be resolved quickly. The post SpaceX scrubs 10th Starship flight as ground glitch delays Musk’s Mars plans  appeared first on AeroTime.

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