SpaceX says “standing down for the day” after Raptor engine sensor prompts abort of Starship SN8

Posted: Dec 8, 2020 / 02:41 PM PST / Updated: Dec 9, 2020 / 08:24 AM PST

FILE: Space enthusiasts look at a prototype of SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft at the company’s Texas launch facility on September 28, 2019 in Boca Chica near Brownsville, Texas. The Starship spacecraft is a massive vehicle meant to take people to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. (Photo by Loren Elliott/Getty Images)

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (KVEO) — SpaceX Starship SN8 flight test, scheduled for Tuesday morning, aborted after an engine fire at the facility in Boca Chica.

Raptor auto-abort at T-1 second
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 8, 2020

According to the SpaceX website, this was the first attempt at a high-altitude suborbital flight test from the Cameron County site.

Out on the pad in South Texas pic.twitter.com/RcYOXXpTc2
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 7, 2020

The test’s objective is to show how the engines perform and the capabilities, according to the site.

SpaceX has previously completed two low altitude test with Starship SN5 and SN6.

With SN8, SpaceX is taking a step toward the development of transportation capable of carrying crew and cargo to Earth and orbit the moon and Mars, says the SpaceX website.