New Delhi, July 17 -- BOCA CHICA, Texas - The ignition sequence started, and then it stopped.

Four Raptor engines on SpaceX's Super Heavy booster failed to fire during the launch attempt Thursday evening at Starbase, triggering an automatic abort that prevented Starship Flight 13 from lifting off the pad. The abort happened during the ignition phase, moments before the vehicle would have committed to flight. SpaceX's livestream graphics indicated roughly four engines that should have started did not, TechCrunch reported.

CEO Elon Musk confirmed the cause shortly after. "Some of the engines didn't start, triggering an automatic launch abort," he wrote on social media. SpaceX will replace two of the Raptor engines before attempting to fly...