Texas: SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket came within seconds of launching on a test flight on Friday (IST), but the ignition process was halted after some engines failed to start, forcing an automatic abort.

Elon Musk’s company stated it must now determine the cause of the failure before making a subsequent attempt to send the craft on a suborbital mission halfway across the globe. This was intended to be the 13th test flight for Starship, which stands at 407 feet (124 metres) and, with its 33 main engines, ranks as the world’s largest and most powerful rocket.

The Starship was carrying 20 of SpaceX's latest, most advanced Starlink satellites, which were scheduled to be deployed during the planned hour-long mission. The internet satellites were intended to test communication protocols with existing Starlinks in orbit while capturing imagery of the rocket's heat shield. Neither the first-stage booster nor the spacecraft was slated for recovery, with both intended to splash down in the sea.

NASA is relying on the Starship vehicle to transport its astronauts to the lunar surface in the coming years.

AP