SpaceX Starship's first flight postponed minutes before launch, Elon Musk blames frozen valve

Elon Musk's year since he announced the Twitter acquisition, has been marked with gaffes, u-turns and public spats with employees. His other ventures are also suffering due to the focus on social media, with Tesla losing 65 per cent of its market value in 2022.

The billionaire's firm SpaceX has also been hit by a setback, as it had to postpone the first-ever launch of its Starship, minutes before the scheduled time.

What went wrong this time?

• The 48-hour delay of the much-anticipated launch has been caused by a scrub, and the firm has now set April 19, 2023, as the new date.

• The Starship is essential for NASA's plans to return astronauts to the moon and will carry cargo beyond Earth.

• Its launch has reportedly been held back because of a glitch in the pressurisation system of the Super Heavy booster.

• Founder Elon Musk also tweeted mentioning that a pressure valve has been frozen and there won't be any launch if it doesn't work.

Already delayed by two years

• Tesla has signed a $3 billion pact with the American space agency to use the Starship for sending astronauts to the moon's surface via capsules.

• SpaceX had aimed to launch the Starship way back in 2021, but the project had been delayed as it awaited an FAA approval.