A SpaceX rocket exploded shortly after it was launched from Texas on Thursday, grounding flights and triggering warnings about falling spaceship debris. SpaceX confirmed the un-crewed ship had suffered "a rapid unscheduled disassembly" during its ascent into space, and lost contact with the ground.

SpaceX said it has lost contact with its massive Starship rocket during its highly anticipated test launch on Thursday evening.

SpaceX's eighth Starship test flight ended in failure after the rocket lost engines and control before exploding off Florida’s coast.