SpaceX Postpones Starship Rocket Launch, Citing Malfunctioning Hydraulic Pin

Elon Musk's SpaceX has postponed the test launch of its Starship rocket, with a new attempt planned for Friday. This delay follows the firm's announcement of an impending initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq, anticipated to be the largest in Wall Street history under the ticker symbol SPCX.

Musk, already the world's richest individual, could become the first trillionaire due to his holdings in SpaceX should the listing proceed. He stated on social media that a malfunctioning hydraulic pin on the launch tower caused the delay, adding, "If that can be fixed tonight, there will be another launch attempt tomorrow at 5:30 CT [10:30 GMT]."

The uncrewed launch will mark the debut of the Starship V3 rocket, which SpaceX describes as the "most powerful launch system ever developed." The company's IPO filing indicates that this iteration is designed to carry a payload of 100 metric tons, with future models aiming to double that capacity. Over £11.2bn has been invested in the Starship programme.

SpaceX, which also operates the Starlink satellite internet service and the AI firm xAI, values itself at $1.25 trillion. Musk's majority stake could therefore exceed $600 billion. The company reported $18.6 billion in revenue but a net loss of $4.9 billion last year. The first three months of this year saw $4.7 billion in sales, alongside a net loss of $4.3 billion.