SpaceX suspects a fire may have caused its Starship to break apart during liftoff and send trails of flaming debris near the Caribbean.

Evasive Maneuvers While it may have provided an eye-popping spectacle for spectators on the ground, the mid-flight explosion of SpaceX's Starship on Thursday evening posed a serious threat to nearby aircraft.

The accident occurred during Starship's test flight from the southern tip of Texas. While the booster returned to the launch pad successfully—only the second such recovery in Starship’s history—the spacecraft’s engines shut down one by one,

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

Disruption from increasing rocket launches is becoming a growing issue for commercial airlines

The rocket company said the space vehicle came apart during its ascent. Videos posted to social media showed debris streaking through the sky.

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