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 launched its Starship mega-rocket for the seventh time. It achieve an epic booster catch but the ship was lost.

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.

Falling debris from the SpaceX Starship explosion yesterday created what looked like a meteor shower, or a colorful fireworks show based on videos shared by people in the area, but it also delayed flights.

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 SpaceX lost the upper stage of its new Starship in a flight test, the futuristic spacecraft presages a spaceflight revolution, says a leading U.S. space scholar.

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.

Going forward, SpaceX is likely to offer its gigantic Starship rocket as a competitor to New Glenn, and here, the advantage shifts back to SpaceX. Bigger than New Glenn (120 meters tall versus 98) and with a wider faring to encapsulate cargo (9 meters versus 7), SpaceX's Starship will boast a massive payload advantage over Blue Origin's new rocket.