SpaceX hits back-to-back last-second launch aborts with Falcon 9 and Starship

SpaceX suffered a second consecutive last-second launch abort, this time during a Falcon 9 attempt to deploy 24 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg as the first-stage engines ignited. A separate abort struck Starship Flight 13 last Thursday. The incidents involve different rockets and engines (Falcon 9 with Merlin 1D vs Starship’s Raptors) and are not believed connected. SpaceX plans to retry in the near term, with the Falcon 9’s reliability this year continuing to be strong (84 launches so far in 2026).