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SpaceX delayed a planned test flight for its Starship megarocket by 24 hours until Monday, saying it needed time to troubleshoot problems, in the latest setback for Elon Musk’s behemoth after a series of explosive failures.The recent problems have led some observers to doubt whether the world’s biggest and most powerful launch vehicle will be capable of taking humans back to the Moon — or achieving Musk’s dreams of colonizing Mars.The rocket had been scheduled to blast off on its tenth flight from the company’s Starbase in southern Texas at 6:30 pm local time (2330 GMT) on Sunday.However, around 15 minutes before lift-off, SpaceX scrubbed the flight, which is a relatively common event for space launches.”Standing down from today’s tenth flight of Starship to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems,” it said on X.Musk later posted on the same platform that a “ground side liquid oxygen leak needs to be fixed.” SpaceX said it had rescheduled the launch for “as soon as” the same time on Monday, though it cautioned that the timing was still “dynamic and likely to change.”Road closures nearby Starbase indicated that Tuesday had also been cleared for a potential attempt.The hour-long mission had planned to put the rocket’s upper stage through a series of trials before the lower stage booster splashed down in the Indian Ocean.- String of explosions -Starship is central to billionaire SpaceX founder Musk’s ambition of colonizing Mars, while NASA is counting on a modified version to return Americans to the Moon.However, the rocket’s upper stage — which is the spacecraft intended to carry crew and cargo — has exploded in all three previous test flights in 2025.Two of the failed tests sent debris raining down over Caribbean islands, while the other reached space before breaking up. Then in June, another upper stage exploded on the ground during a “static fire” test.The 403-feet (123-meter) rocket is designed to eventually be fully reusable, but the company has not yet managed to get the upper stage to deliver a payload to space or return to the launch site.After an investigation into the previous failed flight in May, SpaceX said it would “intentionally stress the structural limits” of the upper stage, in the hopes of sounding out a successful return.SpaceX has succeeded in catching the lower stage booster with giant “chopstick” launch tower arms three times, but the tenth flight will not attempt the feat.The company’s “fail fast, learn fast” ethos has long been credited with its remarkable track record, giving the US company a commanding global lead in launches thanks to its Falcon rocket family.But the Starship setbacks have raised doubts over whether the company can repeat that success with easily the biggest rocket in history.- ‘Lot of pressure’ – Dallas Kasaboski, a space analyst for consulting firm Analysys Mason, told AFP before the rescheduled launch that the recent failures were beginning to take the sheen off SpaceX’s golden reputation.”I think there is a lot of pressure on this mission,” he said. “We’ve had so many tests and it hasn’t proven itself reliable — the successes have not exceeded the failures.”Will Lockett, a former engineer turned commentator, went further, arguing on his Substack newsletter that the rocket’s failure to deliver a payload to orbit yet suggested “the concept of Starship is fundamentally flawed.” Musk, the world’s richest man, has staked the company’s future on Starship, planning to eventually retire its current generation of rockets and spacecraft in favor of the new system.Even if the tenth test eventually succeeds, formidable technical hurdles remain — from making the system fully and rapidly reusable at low cost to proving it can refuel super-cooled propellant in orbit, a prerequisite for deep-space missions.Still, SpaceX is pressing ahead, increasing the frequency of launches despite criticism from environmental groups over ecological impacts. 

SpaceX called off a planned test flight for its Starship megarocket on Sunday, saying it needed time to troubleshoot problems, in the latest setback for Elon Musk’s behemoth after a series of explosive failures.The recent problems have led some observers to doubt whether the world’s biggest and most powerful launch vehicle will be capable of taking humans back to the Moon — or achieving Musk’s dreams of colonizing Mars.The rocket had been scheduled to blast off on its tenth flight from the company’s Starbase in southern Texas at 6:30 pm local time (2330 GMT).However around 15 minutes before lift-off, SpaceX scrubbed the flight, which is a relatively common event for space launches.”Standing down from today’s tenth flight of Starship to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems,” it said on X, without elaborating. SpaceX did not immediately announce a new launch date, but a countdown on the company’s website suggested there would be another attempt at the same time on Monday evening. Road closures nearby Starbase indicated that Monday and Tuesday had been cleared for potential attempts.The hour-long mission had been planned to put the rocket’s upper stage through a series of trials before the lower stage booster splashed down in the Indian Ocean.An hour before lift-off was scrapped, Musk posted on X that “Starship 10 launching tonight.” The normally prolific poster remained quiet on X after the postponement.SpaceX had also earlier flagged a “technical update on Starship” which did not appear to take place.- String of explosions -Starship is central to billionaire SpaceX founder Musk’s ambition of colonizing Mars, while NASA is counting on a modified version to return Americans to the Moon.However the rocket’s upper stage — which is the spacecraft intended to carry crew and cargo — has exploded in all three previous test flights in 2025.Two of the failed tests sent debris raining down over Caribbean islands, while the other reached space before breaking up. Then in June, another upper stage exploded on the ground during a “static fire” test.The 403-feet (123-meter) rocket is designed to eventually be fully reusable, but the company has not yet managed to get the upper stage to deliver a payload to space or return to the launch site.After an investigation into the previous failed flight in May, SpaceX said it would “intentionally stress the structural limits” of the upper stage, in the hopes of sounding out a successful return. SpaceX has succeeded in catching the lower stage booster with giant “chopstick” launch tower arms three times, but the tenth flight will not attempt the feat.The company’s “fail fast, learn fast” ethos has long been credited with its remarkable track record, giving the US company a commanding global lead in launches thanks to its Falcon rocket family. But the Starship setbacks have raised doubts over whether the company can repeat that success with easily the biggest rocket in history.- ‘Lot of pressure’ – Dallas Kasaboski, a space analyst for consulting firm Analysys Mason, told AFP before the canceled launch that the recent failures were beginning to take the sheen off SpaceX’s golden reputation. “I think there is a lot of pressure on this mission,” he said. “We’ve had so many tests and it hasn’t proven itself reliable — the successes have not exceeded the failures.”Will Lockett, a former engineer turned commentator went further, arguing on his Substack newsletter that the rocket’s failure to deliver a payload to orbit yet suggested “the concept of Starship is fundamentally flawed.” The world’s richest man has staked the company’s future on Starship, planning to eventually retire its current generation of rockets and spacecraft in favor of the new system.Even if the tenth test eventually succeeds, formidable technical hurdles remain — from making the system fully and rapidly reusable at low cost to proving it can refuel super-cooled propellant in orbit, a prerequisite for deep-space missions.Still, SpaceX is pressing ahead, increasing the frequency of launches despite criticism from environmental groups over ecological impacts. 

The United Nations Security Council will vote Monday on the future of the blue helmet peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon that has faced US and Israeli opposition.The Council will vote on a French-drafted compromise that would keep the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), deployed in 1978 to separate Israel and Lebanon, in place for one more year while it prepares to withdraw.In the latest draft text seen by AFP, the Council would signal “its intention to work on a withdrawal of UNIFIL with the aim of making the Lebanese Government the sole provider of security in southern Lebanon.”Under a truce that ended a recent war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, Beirut’s army has been deploying in south Lebanon and dismantling the militant group’s infrastructure there.Lebanon has been grappling with the thorny issue of disarming Hezbollah, with the cabinet this month tasking the army with developing a plan to do so by the end of the year. The Iran-backed militant group has pushed back.Under the truce, Israel was meant to completely withdraw from Lebanon, though it has kept forces in several areas it deems strategic and continues to conduct strikes across Lebanon. The resolution would extend the force’s mandate until August 31, 2026.It was not clear if Washington, which wields a veto on the Security Council, would accept the compromise language, with a State Department spokesman previously telling AFP it would not comment on Council deliberations.The text also contained language “condemning the incidents that affected United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon premises and forces, injuring several peacekeepers” — a reference to strikes by US ally Israel on UNIFIL positions that have caused injuries and damage. Israel was not specifically named.Ahead of the vote, a senior UN official warned that “to completely eliminate (UNIFIL’s) capacity at this point, or very quickly, would not serve anybody in the region,” calling any abrupt withdrawal risky.The official said UNIFIL had facilitated the deployment of 8,300 Lebanese armed forces troops to 120 locations, assisting with logistics, funds and even fuel as well as training support.UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric last week called the force’s support of Lebanon’s army “critical,” adding “we have always felt and known that UNIFIL is a presence of stability along the blue line.”

Donald Trump threatened to deploy National Guard troops Sunday to yet another Democratic stronghold, the Maryland city of Baltimore, as the US president seeks to expand his crackdown on crime and immigration.The Republican’s latest online rant about an “out of control, crime-ridden” city comes as Democratic state leaders — including Maryland Governor Wes Moore — line up to berate Trump on a high-profile political stage.Trump this month deployed the National Guard to the streets of Washington, in a widely criticized show of force the president said amounts to a federal takeover of US capital policing. The Guard began carrying weapons in Washington on Sunday, the military said. Previously, their weapons were available if needed but kept in the armory.In June Trump controversially ordered nearly 5,000 troops to Los Angeles — ostensibly to quell protests against immigration enforcement raids — triggering ferocious opposition from California Governor Gavin Newsom, widely seen as a potential 2028 presidential hopeful.And US media is reporting that the Trump administration also is planning an unprecedented deployment of thousands of National Guard personnel to Chicago, the country’s third-largest city, prompting vocal pushback from Democrats there.As for Baltimore, “if Wes Moore needs help, like Gavin Newscum did in L.A., I will send in the ‘troops,’ which is being done in nearby DC, and quickly clean up the Crime,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, using a derogatory nickname.Trump’s feud with Moore appeared to escalate dramatically this week, with the governor assailing Trump’s provocative suggestion of deploying troops in Maryland and Trump calling Moore “nasty” and threatening to revoke federal funds to help fix a collapsed bridge.On Sunday, Moore told CNN he had invited Trump to walk the streets of Baltimore with him so the governor could counter “this blissful ignorance, these tropes and these 1980 scare tactics” used by the president.”Hey Donald, we can get you a golf cart if that makes things easier,” Moore needled the 79-year-old Trump on X.Trump for his part said he would “much prefer that he clean up this Crime disaster before I go there for a ‘walk,'” as he cited Moore’s “very bad” record on crime.Moore said Maryland’s homicide rate has dropped more than 20 percent since he has been governor, “and the last time the homicide rate was this low in Baltimore City, I was not born yet.”Moore, 46, is a US Army veteran, best-selling author, and the third African-American person elected governor of a US state.- Chicago ‘next’ -The Pentagon meanwhile refused to confirm reports that Chicago would soon receive troops.Trump had said Friday that Chicago and New York — major Democratic-led cities — would receive National Guard deployments similar to Washington.”We’re going to make our cities very, very safe,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I think Chicago will be our next and then we’ll help with New York.”Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both Democrats, strongly rejected the idea.”Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans are trying to paint their party as one of ‘law and order,'” Pritzker posted on X. “That couldn’t be further from the truth.”Chicago recorded 573 homicides in 2024, according to city police, eight percent lower than the year before.

France’s foreign ministry said Sunday it would summon the US ambassador after he criticised the government for what he said was its insufficient action against antisemitism in a letter to President Emmanuel Macron.The letter from Charles Kushner, dated August 25 but leaked to the media on Sunday, echoed Israel’s criticism of France days earlier, which provoked a sharp response from Paris.Kushner’s letter to Macron noted that Monday was “the 81st anniversary of the Allied Liberation of Paris, which ended the deportation of Jews from French soil” under Nazi German occupation.He wrote: “I write out of deep concern over the dramatic rise of antisemitism in France and the lack of sufficient action by your government to confront it…”In France, not a day passes without Jews assaulted in the street, synagogues or schools defaced, or Jewish-owned businesses vandalized,” he added.While “antisemitism has long scarred French life”, the ambassador argued that hatred of Jews “has exploded since Hamas’s barbaric assault on October 7, 2023,” which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.”France firmly refutes these latest allegations,” said a foreign ministry statement in response, hours after the letter’s contents were made public.”The allegations from the ambassador are unacceptable.”The ministry said the 1961 Vienna Convention meant ambassadors were not permitted to interfere in a country’s internal affairs. Kushner would be summoned to the foreign ministry on Monday, it added.- ‘Anti-Zionism is antisemitism’ -His remarks tally with those made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Tuesday accused Macron of fomenting antisemitism, saying it had “surged” in France following the French president’s announcement last month that he will recognise Palestinian statehood.Macron’s Elysee office was quick to hit back at Netanyahu, calling the Israeli leader’s allegation “abject” and “erroneous”.But like Netanyahu, Kushner denounced Macron’s criticisms of Israel over the war in Gaza and his planned recognition of a State of Palestine. Such moves, he said, “embolden extremists, fuel violence, and endanger Jewish life in France”.”In today’s world, anti-Zionism is antisemitism — plain and simple,” the ambassador added.”Surveys show most French citizens believe another Holocaust could happen in Europe. Nearly half of French youth report never having heard of the Holocaust at all.”What are children being taught in French schools if such ignorance persists?,” the letter read.France is home to Western Europe’s largest Jewish population at around half a million people, as well as a significant Muslim community sensitive to the plight of the Palestinian people in Gaza.Both communities have reported a spike in hate crimes since Israel’s retaliatory offensive against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the besieged coastal strip.Macron’s announcement that France would formally recognise a Palestinian state during a UN meeting in September drew a swift rebuke from Israel at the time.With the move, France is set to join a list of nations that has grown since the start of the Gaza war nearly two years ago.France is among at least 145 of the 193 UN members that now recognise or plan to recognise a Palestinian state, according to an AFP tally.

The US ambassador to Paris has upped the pressure on President Emmanuel Macron over antisemitism in France with a letter calling the government’s action on anti-Jewish hatred insufficient, days after similar criticism from Israel.US envoy Charles Kushner’s letter to Macron was dated August 25, which he noted was “the 81st anniversary of the Allied Liberation of Paris, which ended the deportation of Jews from French soil” under Nazi German occupation.In the letter, a copy of which has been obtained by AFP, he wrote: “I write out of deep concern over the dramatic rise of antisemitism in France and the lack of sufficient action by your government to confront it…”In France, not a day passes without Jews assaulted in the street, synagogues or schools defaced, or Jewish-owned businesses vandalized,” he added.While “antisemitism has long scarred French life”, the ambassador argued that hatred of Jews “has exploded since Hamas’s barbaric assault on October 7, 2023,” which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.His remarks tally with those made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Tuesday accused Macron of fomenting antisemitism, saying it had “surged” in France following the French president’s announcement last month that he will recognise Palestinian statehood.Macron’s Elysee office was quick to hit back at Netanyahu, calling the Israeli leader’s allegation “abject” and “erroneous”.- ‘Anti-Zionism is antisemitism’ -But like Netanyahu, Kushner denounced Macron’s criticisms of Israel over the war in Gaza and his planned recognition of a State of Palestine. Such moves, he said, “embolden extremists, fuel violence, and endanger Jewish life in France”.”In today’s world, anti-Zionism is antisemitism — plain and simple,” the ambassador added.”Surveys show most French citizens believe another Holocaust could happen in Europe. Nearly half of French youth report never having heard of the Holocaust at all.”What are children being taught in French schools if such ignorance persists?,” the letter read.France is home to Western Europe’s largest Jewish population at around half a million people, as well as a significant Muslim community sensitive to the plight of the Palestinian people in Gaza.Both communities have reported a spike in hate crimes since Israel’s retaliatory offensive against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the besieged coastal strip.Macron’s announcement that France would formally recognise a Palestinian state during a UN meeting in September drew a swift rebuke from Israel at the time.With the move, France is set to join a list of nations that has grown since the start of the Gaza war nearly two years ago.France is among at least 145 of the 193 UN members that now recognise or plan to recognise a Palestinian state, according to an AFP tally.

Netflix’s monster animated hit “KPop Demon Hunters” ruled the North American box office with a special singalong event, raking in $18 million in a first victory in theaters for the streaming giant, industry estimates showed Sunday.Netflix refuses to report ticket sales data, so the amount is based on projections from rival studios and exhibitors, but it is a huge showing for the famously cinema-averse streamer, whose film has already topped music charts and smashed viewing records.Released in June, “KPop Demon Hunters” is already Netflix’s most-watched animated offering. The weekend singalongs at theaters in five countries were expected to draw legions of fans ready to watch the tale of a Kpop girl group that protects the world from demons with their music — and belt out the movie’s catchy bangers.”This weekend, a streaming production made for viewing at home is connecting on a level that theatrical hits rarely reach,” said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.”For 48 hours, this made-for-television film is playing to sold-out audiences who are singing, dancing, dressing up, and losing themselves in the fun. That’s pop entertainment at its best.”Buzzy horror film “Weapons” — which topped the box office for the last two weeks — will likely be the official winner again this week, given Netflix’s refusal to release official figures. The Warner Bros. movie — which tells the story of the mysterious disappearance of a group of children from the same school class — made $15.6 million from Friday to Sunday, Exhibitor Relations reported. In third place was Disney’s “Freakier Friday” starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, the much-anticipated sequel to the 2003 body-swapping family film, at $9.2 million.”The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” Disney’s reboot of the Marvel Comics franchise, held in fourth place at $5.9 million.And in fifth place was Universal’s family-friendly animation sequel “The Bad Guys 2,” about a squad of goofy animal criminals actually doing good in their rebranded lives, earning $5.1 million.Rounding out the top 10 were:”Nobody 2″ ($3.7 million)”Superman” ($3.4 million)”Honey Don’t” ($3.0 million)”The Naked Gun” ($2.95 million)”Jurassic World: Rebirth” ($2.1 million)

Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump has boasted of ending either six or seven wars — a matter of much dispute — and has been pushing with mixed success to bring peace to Ukraine.One hotspot not yet on his second-term radar has been North Korea, despite Trump’s unusually personal diplomacy during his first term when he met leader Kim Jong Un.Trump could find a chance to pivot on Monday as he welcomes to the White House South Korea’s new President Lee Jae Myung, an advocate of outreach with the North.Trump, who did not secure a deal on Ukraine during an August 15 summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has an “appetite for big news,” said Victor Cha, a top advisor on Asia to former president George W. Bush.”Having the Alaska summit not go as well as he wanted may make the president much more interested in seeing this meeting with South Korea come off very well,” said Cha, Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Trump had expressed striking fondness for Kim after their three meetings, once offering that he and the young totalitarian “fell in love.”But Trump could find a new Kim this time, one emboldened since their diplomatic love affair.North Korea, one of the most sanctioned and isolated countries, has cashed in with Russia by supplying more than 10,000 troops plus weapons to Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, according to Western and South Korean intelligence.”If there is one reason why North Korea’s not interested in any of these dialogues with the South Koreans and the Americans, it’s because of all they’re getting from Russia,” Cha said.Former US president Joe Biden also offered dialogue with North Korea, albeit among lower-ranking officials, but Pyongyang rebuffed him.- Cautious start for Lee -Lee won election in June after a leadership gap due to the impeachment of his conservative predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol for briefly imposing martial law.The transition was awkwardly timed as Trump was taking office, although the new South Korean administration managed to secure a deal similar to other US allies on tariffs.Lee, a former labor lawyer, hails from the left but paradoxically may share more common ground with Trump than South Korea’s conservatives on some issues.Lee and Trump have both in the past questioned the US military commitment to South Korea, where some 28,500 US troops are stationed.But since taking office, Lee has stressed consistency, including by going ahead with joint exercises with the United States that angered North Korea. In a highly symbolic step, Lee traveled before Washington to Japan, reaffirming his commitment to a three-way alliance despite the South Korean left’s historic criticism of Japan over colonial history.His trip comes as tensions spike on the Korean peninsula, with Pyongyang on Saturday test-firing two new air defense missiles, according to the country’s state news agency.Earlier in the week, South Korean troops fired warning shots at several North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the heavily militarized border separating the two countries.- ‘Nuclear power’ flexes -North Korea has always refused to get rid of its nuclear program, a stance likely only to have hardened following US and Israeli bombing of Iran’s sensitive sites.Since January, Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have both broken precedent by calling North Korea a “nuclear power,” although it did not appear they meant to recognize its right to nuclear weapons.Lee has spoken of a three-step approach of freezing, reducing and then dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear program.Rachel Minyoung Lee, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center’s Korea program, said that Lee’s stance “likely will resonate with President Trump, who is keen to engage North Korea.””From the South Korean government’s point of view, getting the Trump administration’s buy-in on its North Korea policy would be a big diplomatic win, as it would not only put the two countries on the same page but also decrease the possibility of Seoul being sidelined from US efforts to engage North Korea,” she said.But she doubted North Korea would back diplomacy with an ultimate goal of denuclearization, phased or not.”It has no reason to be receptive to such a proposition given that the geopolitical situation is working in its favor and it sees longer-term opportunities in its relationship with Russia,” she said.

Civil servants, housewives and retirees alike lined up in Venezuela’s capital Caracas on Saturday as thousands volunteered to join the country’s militia in case there is a US invasion.President Nicolas Maduro called on citizens to respond to the current US “threat” and sign up over the weekend to the Bolivarian Militia, a civilian corps linked to the South American country’s armed forces. The show of force is also intended to send a message to Washington, which has issued a $50 million bounty for Maduro — who is accused by the Trump administration of leading a drug cartel — and has stationed three warships off Venezuela’s coast for what the US says are anti-drug operations.Militia registration centers were set up in the capital’s squares, military and public buildings and even in the presidential palace Miraflores.Volunteers could also sign up in the Mountain Barracks, which is home to the mausoleum of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, in a densely populated area with large housing projects and crumbling brick houses.”Have you previously served?” a militia member dressed in camouflage asked Oscar Matheus.”I’m here to serve our country,” the 66-year-old auditor told AFP. “We don’t know what might happen, but we must prepare and keep resisting. “The homeland is calling us. Our country needs us,” said 51-year-old Rosy Paravabith.- ‘Long live the homeland!’ -Dubbed the Bolivarian Army by Chavez, the Venezuelan Armed Forces do not hide the militia’s political bent.”Chavez lives!” is now their official greeting. Former Venezuelan socialist president Chavez came to power in 1999 and died in office in 2013. Maduro has been in power since, though the US does not recognize the validity of his last two elections.It is unclear how many troops are in the Venezuelan militia.Maduro said this week that the militia alone has more than 4.5 million ready soldiers. However the most recent independent estimate tallied about 343,000 members in 2020, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.”I sign up for Venezuela, long live the homeland!” shouted the volunteers upon registration.Police officers and military reservists also lined up to reaffirm their commitments.After registering, volunteers were shown a documentary about the European blockade on Venezuela’s coast between 1902 and 1903, after then-president Cipriano Castro refused to pay a foreign debt. The 2017 film showed armed farmers, some shooting guns while others analyzed maps, as warships loomed in the distance. Next, the volunteers were taken through a room with weapons on display: a US-made machine gun, a Swedish grenade launcher, a Soviet RPG launcher and a Belgian machine gun. An army lieutenant explained how to use each weapon. “Can this be shot at the sky?” an attendee asked.”It’s better to shoot it straight,” the soldier replied.- ‘Immoral, criminal, illegal’ -The United States has sent armed forces to the Caribbean in the past. But this time, the deployment coincides with US President Donald Trump’s administration increasing pressure on Maduro by doubling its bounty on him to $50 million earlier this month.The US alleges Maduro is leading the Cartel of the Suns, a drug trafficking group that has been designated a terrorist organization. On Friday, Maduro described the US moves as an “illegal” attempt at regime change.”What they’re threatening to do against Venezuela — regime change, a military terrorist attack — is immoral, criminal and illegal,” Maduro said.On the streets of Venezuela, the topic prompted jokes and worries alike, though experts say it is unlikely the US would take direct action.Maduro’s opposition has called for people not to enlist — though many were anyway.”I want to defend the homeland,” said Jesus Borquez, 19.”I know that because of my age I’m not going to carry a rifle,” 78-year-old Omaira Hernandez said. “But I’m willing to help them.”

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is gearing up for the next test of its Starship megarocket on Sunday, after a string of recent failures that has prompted some observers to question its viability.The world’s most powerful launch vehicle is set to lift off from the company’s Starbase in southern Texas at 6:30 pm local time (2330 GMT) for its tenth flight. The mission aims to put the upper stage through a series of trials as it flies halfway around the world before splashing down in the Indian Ocean.Unlike in recent attempts, SpaceX will not try to catch the booster stage with the launch tower’s giant “chopstick” arms.Starship is central to Musk’s ambition of colonizing Mars, while NASA is counting on a modified version to serve as the Artemis lunar lander for returning Americans to the Moon.But all three test flights so far in 2025 have ended in the upper stage exploding — twice in fiery cascades over Caribbean islands and once after reaching space. In June, another upper stage exploded on the ground during a “static fire” test.SpaceX’s “fail fast, learn fast” ethos has long been credited with its remarkable track record, giving it a commanding global lead in launches thanks to its Falcon rocket family. But the Starship setbacks have raised doubts over whether the company can repeat that success with the biggest and most powerful rocket in history.- ‘Lot of pressure’ -Dallas Kasaboski, a space analyst for consulting firm Analysys Mason, told AFP that the recent failures were beginning to take the sheen off SpaceX’s golden reputation. “I think there is a lot of pressure on this mission,” he said. “We’ve had so many tests and it hasn’t proven itself reliable — the successes have not exceeded the failures.”Will Lockett, a former engineer turned commentator went further, arguing on his Substack newsletter that the lack of heavy payload tests showed “the concept of Starship is fundamentally flawed.” He added: “SpaceX is building Starships that are lighter in an attempt to increase payload to usable levels but is therefore making them much weaker than they should be” — leading to structural failures seen during recent tests.Headlines such as “Is Elon Musk’s Starship Doomed?” in New York Magazine have amplified the scrutiny.Musk has staked the company’s future on Starship, planning to eventually retire its current generation of rockets and spacecraft in favor of the new system.Even if the tenth test succeeds, formidable technical hurdles remain — from making the system fully and rapidly reusable at low cost to proving it can refuel super-cooled propellant in orbit, a prerequisite for deep-space missions.Still, SpaceX is pressing ahead, increasing the frequency of launches despite criticism from environmental groups over ecological impacts, and building new facilities in Florida, including launch and landing pads at Kennedy Space Center.