{"slug": "starships-singer-nicki-minaj-makes-surprise-appearance-at-spacex-starship-launch", "title": "'Starships' singer Nicki Minaj makes surprise appearance at SpaceX Starship launch", "summary": "Nicki Minaj made a surprise appearance at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas to watch the launch of the company's Starship V3 rocket, but the test flight was scrubbed due to a technical issue with a hydraulic pin. During the countdown, Minaj thanked Elon Musk on the livestream for his work \"for humanity\" and called the launch attempt a \"historic\" moment. SpaceX planned to attempt the launch again the following evening.", "body_md": "SpaceX's Starship was meant to fly, and Nicki Minaj had a front row seat.\nThe launch, which was testing a new version of SpaceX's most powerful rocket, was scrubbed on Thursday due to technical issues.\n\"The hydraulic pin holding the tower arm in place did not retract,\" SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a post on X.\n\"Starships\" singer Minaj made a surprise appearance at the company's Starbase Texas launch site wearing a SpaceX Starship T-shirt.\n\"Major shout-out to Elon,\" Minaj said on the SpaceX livestream during the countdown. \"Elon, thank you for everything that you're doing for humanity.\"\nShe added: \"This is historic. This is a major moment, y'all.\"\nSpaceX was aiming to test Starship V3 for the first time, which has been redesigned to carry larger payloads — eventually, to the moon.\nWelcome to Starbase, @NICKIMINAJ! pic.twitter.com/QhNc3otoXF\n— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 21, 2026\nUltimately, Minaj wasn't able to witness what she said would be her first live rocket launch. Whether it's SpaceX, NASA, or Blue Origin, rocket launches are often canceled at the last minute due to adverse weather or technical problems.\nHowever, the company will try to do it one more time. Musk said there would be another launch attempt on Friday evening if the tower arm could be fixed.\nThey need rappers like me\nIt may have been Minaj's first time at a SpaceX rocket launch, but neither she nor Musk is a stranger to the sphere of President Donald Trump.\nThe rap star has been increasingly supportive of the president and other conservative leaders.\nIn January, Minaj said she was Trump's \"number one fan\" onstage alongside the president.\nMinaj's SpaceX visit also follows in the footsteps of Trump, who has attended at least two rocket launches for Musk's company in recent years. Musk supported Trump's second presidential campaign, including through donations, and later co-led the Department of Government Efficiency.\nMusk has had a busy week. On Monday, he lost his blockbuster lawsuit against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.\nOn Wednesday, SpaceX filed its IPO prospectus publicly. Minaj made \"Starships\" a chart-topper, and now Musk is aiming to make the Starship-maker a record-breaker: It's expected to be the largest IPO in history, with a valuation potentially reaching $2 trillion.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/starships-singer-nicki-minaj-makes-surprise-appearance-at-spacex-starship-launch", "canonical_source": "https://www.businessinsider.com/nicki-minaj-starship-spacex-launch-canceled-elon-musk-texas-2026-5", "published_at": "2026-05-22 12:50:20+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-05-22 13:12:46.055594+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["science", "products", "startups"], "entities": ["SpaceX", "Nicki Minaj", "Elon Musk", "Starship", "Starbase", "NASA", "Blue Origin", "Donald Trump"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/starships-singer-nicki-minaj-makes-surprise-appearance-at-spacex-starship-launch", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/starships-singer-nicki-minaj-makes-surprise-appearance-at-spacex-starship-launch.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/starships-singer-nicki-minaj-makes-surprise-appearance-at-spacex-starship-launch.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/starships-singer-nicki-minaj-makes-surprise-appearance-at-spacex-starship-launch.jsonld"}}