While the Starship is lost, the mission's first-stage booster successfully returned to the launch tower, where it was caught by the tower's robotic arms.

A fire in the aft section of SpaceX's Starship trigged the apparent explosion that destroyed the spacecraft, the company says.

The seventh test flight of SpaceX’s Starship ended with a successful landing of the rocket’s first stage but also the loss of the Starship vehicle

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

The uncrewed Starship spacecraft was apparently destroyed during its first flight launch of 2025 that blasted off from south Texas.

Elon Musk’s space company was conducting the seventh flight of its Starship rocket.

The incident in which a SpaceX rocket broke up after launch demonstrates the challenges the FAA will face as the number of commercial space flights increases.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told TechCrunch it had to "briefly" slow and divert a number of aircraft in the airspace near Puerto Rico, where

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

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.

No injuries have been reported from falling debris after SpaceX's Starship exploded in the sky over the Bahamas. However, the FAA has halted further test flights while it investigates.