We'll all have to wait at least one more day to see the most powerful rocket ever built take to the skies — even "Starships" singer Nicki Minaj.SpaceX tried to launch its new Starship V3 megarocket for the first time ever this evening (May 21), from the company's Starbase site in South Texas. Technical issues cropped up late in the countdown, however, and SpaceX couldn't resolve them in time to get Starship V3 off the ground."We're learning about a lot about these systems as we execute them for the first time, and we're not able to basically troubleshoot all of these issues in those final seconds to get to launch," Dan Huot, of SpaceX communications, said during the company's launch webcast today.
SpaceX's first upgraded Starship V3 rocket got stuck at the T-40 seconds mark during its first launch attempt on May 21, 2026 in Starbase, Texas, even with the support of "Starships" singer Nicki Minaj, who was attending her first launch. (Image credit: SpaceX via Canva)"That essentially makes this a wet dress rehearsal," he added, referring to a common preflight fueling test. "We were able to fully load the vehicles, and we're going to take the time now, figure out what tripped us up before launch, and then actually get into a flight tomorrow."As that comment indicates, the next opportunity for a liftoff is Friday evening (May 22), likely in the same window as today's try — 6:30 p.m. EDT to 8 p.m. EDT (2230 to 0000 GMT).The scrub was doubtless disappointing for many space fans, including Minaj, who was on hand at Starbase for today's launch attempt."This is historic. This is a major moment, y'all," Minaj said during SpaceX's launch webcast, adding that she's never seen a launch in person before.Minaj wore a SpaceX Starship T-shirt for the launch. "I love this shirt," she said. "And it's a great name — Starship!" (One of Minaj's most famous songs is "Starships," from the 2012 Album "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.")
