Musk teases Starship SN11 flight on Tuesday

SpaceX’s high-altitude test flight for its Starship SN11 prototype spacecraft has been postponed until at least Tuesday.

“The FAA inspector couldn’t reach Starbase in time for launch today,” CEO Elon Musk tweeted Monday. “Postponed until tomorrow at the earliest.”

An FAA spokesperson did not immediately return FOX Business’s request for comment.

SPACEX SN11 STARSHIP PROTOTYPE MOVED TO LAUNCH THE PAD IN TEXAS BEFORE THE NEXT TEST FLIGHT

The launch was originally scheduled for Friday, but Musk tweeted that SpaceX was pulling out until Monday, citing “extra crates” needed.

“Do our best to land and fully recover,” Musk said.

As part of the test, the Starship prototype rose 6 feet into the air and performed a “bellyflop” maneuver over the Gulf of Mexico, before straightening up just in time to land.

Starship SN11 will mark SpaceX fourth high-altitude test flight from its facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The aerospace company’s three previous attempts have all ended in violent explosions. However, SpaceX has made progress because SN10, which launched earlier this month, was able to stick the landing before it exploded.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE ROAD BY CLICKING HERE

Musk has big plans for a mission to Mars. In December, he said he remained “very confident” that SpaceX’s spacecraft will land humans on the Red Planet by 2026. The spacecraft will also play a crucial role in Musk’s proposed private commercial space trip planned for. 2023.

The stainless steel vessel is 160 feet high and 30 feet in diameter. SpaceX says it can carry over 100 metric tons into orbit. Company officials have said Starship, like their Falcon 9 rocket, could also begin launching satellites into Earth orbit as early as 2022, according to Space.com.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS

SpaceX has yet to announce a launch window for SN11, but plans to live-stream the test when it takes place.

FOX Business’s Julia Musto and James Leggate contributed to this report