SpaceX targets Wednesday to launch giant Starship rocket

LOS ANGELES -- SpaceX is targeting Wednesday to launch its powerful Starship rocket after the first launch attempt was scrubbed on Monday.

The launch was previously scheduled at 5:45 pm Central Time Monday from the company's Starbase facility near Brownsville in the US state of Texas. But the launch was placed on hold at T-40 seconds due to technical issues.

Later, SpaceX confirmed the launch attempt was canceled, saying the team was determining the next best available opportunity to fly.

Now the company is targeting Wednesday for the next launch attempt, with launch window starting at 5:30 pm Central Time.

The eighth flight test will target objectives not reached on the previous test, including Starship's first payload deployment, multiple reentry experiments geared towards returning the upper stage to the launch site for catch, and the launch, return and catch of the Super Heavy booster, according to SpaceX.

SpaceX's Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket, collectively referred to as Starship, represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.