A SpaceX Starship rocket disintegrated spectacularly just minutes after liftoff, raising questions about the risks of modern space exploration. The incident caused disruptions in air traffic and highlighted the challenges private space companies face.

SpaceX launched Starship on Thursday for a seventh test flight, after weather concerns pushed back an experiment that will feature the spacecraft’s first payload deployment test, and while it successfully caught the Super Heavy Booster, Starship lost connection and “experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly.”

SpaceX Starship 25 and Super Heavy booster 9 launched to orbit from the Starbase facility in South Texas. Following the launch, the booster experienced a Rapid Unplanned Disassembly (RUD). Credit: Spa

A SpaceX Starship rocket broke up in space minutes after launching from Texas on Thursday, forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course to avoid falling debris and setting back Elon Musk's flagship rocket program.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk made light of Starship's fiery end. "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!" he said on X.

Elon Musk's company saw mixed results today, with Starship's booster sticking the landing while the upper stage failed during ascent.

While Elon Musk’s spaceflight company repeated a spectacular catch of its powerful booster stage, the upper stage experienced a catastrophic malfunction.

Dramatic footage showing streaks of light zipping across the sky surfaced online following Elon Musk's Starship explosion over the Atlantic Ocean.

After the successful booster recovery, SpaceX officials reported losing contact with the spaceship toward the end of the ascend.

Starship experienced a "rapid unscheduled disassembly," which is a phrase SpaceX coined to describe an explosion.

SpaceX mission control lost contact with the newly upgraded Starship, carrying its first test payload of mock satellites but no crew, eight minutes after liftoff from its South Texas rocket ...

The FAA says it has grounded the Starship vehicle pending a mishap investigation, and it’s working with SpaceX to assess reports of property damage in Turks and Caicos.