Elon Musk's Starship Blows Up Near Bahamas After Explosion in Space | WATCH

Texas: SpaceX lost contact with its massive Starship rocket on Thursday, just minutes after launch. The 403-foot (123-meter) rocket lifted off from Texas shortly before sunset.

While SpaceX successfully recovered the first-stage booster using giant mechanical arms, the engines on the spacecraft atop the booster began shutting down as it streaked eastward, aiming for a controlled entry over the Indian Ocean, thousands of miles away. Contact was lost with the spacecraft as it spiraled into an uncontrollable spin.

“Unfortunately, this happened last time too, so we have some practice with this now,” SpaceX flight commentator Dan Huot said from the launch site.

Also Read: Musk's SpaceX Delays Starship Launch Test Due to Last-Minute Rocket Issues

The mission, which was intended to last for one hour, failed to deploy the four mock satellites.

The Starship rocket exploded in space during its eighth test flight, scattering debris over parts of Florida and the Bahamas.

The mission, designed to test the rocket's capabilities and deploy dummy satellites, turned disastrous as it reached space.

SpaceX's Statement

In a statement, SpaceX said that during the ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly, and contact was lost.

"During Starship's ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly, and contact was lost. Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses.

We will review the data from today's flight test to better understand the root cause. As always, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship's reliability."

According to Reuteurs reports, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued ground stops at Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Orlando airports due to "space launch debris" until at least 8 p.m. ET.

Several videos captured the spacecraft tumbling and exploding, with smoke billowing nearby.

The Starship's breakup in space occurred after SpaceX's live stream of the mission showed it tumbling uncontrollably.

The incident comes nearly two months after the previous failure of a Starship, which exploded over the Caribbean, raining debris on the Turks and Caicos Islands.

NASA was closely monitoring the mission, as the space agency has already contracted Starship to land astronauts on the Moon later this decade.

SpaceX is working closely with regulatory bodies to determine the cause of the failure and ensure public safety.

Also Read: Donald Trump Moves to Restrain Elon Musk, Says Cabinet Members In Charge of Staff Cuts

SpaceX's Previous Failure

During the previous test, SpaceX successfully captured the booster at the launch pad, but the spacecraft exploded several minutes later over the Atlantic. No injuries or major damage were reported.

According to an investigation that remains ongoing, leaking fuel triggered a series of fires that shut down the spacecraft's engines. The onboard self-destruct system activated as planned.

SpaceX has stated that several improvements were made to the spacecraft following the accident, and the FAA recently cleared Starship for launch once again.

Starships are launched from the southernmost tip of Texas near the Mexican border. SpaceX is also building another Starship complex at Cape Canaveral, Florida, home to the company’s smaller Falcon rockets, which ferry astronauts and satellites to orbit.

(Inputs from AP)