Not to be outdone, commercial space Goliath SpaceX snatched another rocket out of midair in the late afternoon. SpaceX, controlled by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, tested its huge Starship launch vehicle on Thursday afternoon.

The SpaceX Starship - developed by Elon Musk's aerospace company SpaceX - blasted off from Texas on Thursday for its seventh test flight, but it encountered difficulties

Elon Musk’s company managed 138 successful orbital launches in 2024 - more than 40 more than the year before. SpaceX CEO Gwynne Shotwell has said that the firm is aiming for even more launches this year, with a good chunk of them being Starship flight tests.

SpaceX said the ship experienced “a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn,” moments after a dramatic, successful booster catch at the launchpad.

The "rapid unscheduled disassembly" was likely caused by a propellant leak, Elon Musk said, and was captured on video by spectators on the ground.

Debris from the Starship spacecraft that blew up in midair on Thursday prompted flight diversions in the area.

The spacecraft was supposed to soar across the Gulf of Mexico on a near loop around the world similar to previous test flights. SpaceX had packed it with 10 dummy satellites for practice at

SpaceX's Starship was destroyed during its seventh test flight on Thursday night, with the rocket breaking apart less than 10 minutes after blasting off

The US has grounded SpaceX's giant Starship rocket while an investigation is carried out into why one exploded during its latest test flight. The rocket's upper stage dramatically broke up and disintegrated over the Caribbean after launching from Texas on Thursday, forcing airline flights to alter course to avoid falling debris.

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

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