The twelfth launch of the SpaceX Starship rocket has been postponed to May 23 due to an issue at Pad 2

In the night just passed, the twelfth launch (Flight 12) of the reusable SpaceX Starship was supposed to take place. This suborbital mission involves launching the vehicle from the Starbase construction and testing site in Texas and bringing Ship 39 to the coasts of Australia in about an hour. Neither the first nor the second stage will be recovered because this is third-generation hardware, and it's necessary to understand how it will behave before risking damage to ground facilities.

As the countdown proceeded as planned, a "hold" occurred when there were 40 seconds left until the ignition of the 33 atmospheric Raptor 3 engines at the base of Super Heavy Booster 19. It was not immediately clear what the problem was that caused the countdown to stop and reset, but it was clarified almost immediately by Elon Musk.

According to Musk's post on X, "the hydraulic pin holding the tower arm in position did not retract," which prevented the launch of Starship. The problem appears to be easily fixable, and the next attempt is scheduled for 0:30 on May 23 (Italian time). The Quick Disconnect Arm (QDA) is used to fuel the vehicle, send electrical signals for its management, and is disconnected a few dozen seconds before liftoff.

We recall that this Starship mission will still be a test and will lead to the next one, Flight 13, where we should witness the recovery of the first stage thanks to Mechazilla at Pad 2. Only from Flight 14, if everything goes as planned, will there be the recovery of the Ship thanks to the launch tower. This will be the first orbital mission of SpaceX's new vehicle, bringing it closer to operational capability.

The aim is to start increasing the launch cadence to then develop the various versions that will be necessary both to launch satellites into orbit (particularly the third-generation Starlink) but also the tank versions and those for refueling, and finally the version for the Human Landing System (HLS) that will participate in Artemis III and the first moon-landing mission, Artemis IV, of NASA's new human space exploration program.