Watch live: SpaceX is fueling its Starship for a high-altitude flight [Updated]
The Sun glints around the lower fin of Starship SN8 on Dec. 9, 2020. [credit: Trevor Mahlmann ]
Original story 12:45pm EST: SpaceX is readying its Starship prototype vehicle for a second launch attempt on Wednesday afternoon from its South Texas Launch Site. The launch window extends until 5pm local time (23:00 UTC), and sources suggested any liftoff would occur no earlier than 2pm local time.
The company got very close to launching the "SN8" prototype on Tuesday evening before the attempt automatically aborted with just 1.3 seconds left in the countdown. It is not clear what caused the last-second scrub-perhaps a pressure or temperature reading just outside of acceptable levels-but SpaceX engineers appear to have addressed the issue.
The weather at the coastal launch site remains nearly perfect on Wednesday, with light winds and clear skies. Should a technical issue arise again, there are additional opportunities on Thursday and Friday. However, the South Texas weather will be much more windy on those days, perhaps too much for a flight.
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