SpaceX Starship test ends in failure, forcing flight diversions over Gulf of Mexico

Elon Musk’s Starship breaks up in space after launch

A SpaceX Starship prototype disintegrated in flight minutes after launching from Texas on Thursday, forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course due to falling debris and posing a setback to Elon Musk‘s flagship rocket program.

Communication lost mid-flight

The upgraded Starship, carrying its first test payload of mock satellites, lost communication with SpaceX mission control eight minutes after its 5:38 p.m. EST (2238 GMT) liftoff from South Texas. SpaceX Communications Manager Dan Huot confirmed the anomaly, stating, “We did lose all communications with the ship – that is essentially telling us we had an anomaly with the upper stage.”

Video footage captured orange balls of light streaking across the sky over Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, leaving trails of smoke, confirming the dramatic disintegration of the upper stage.

First night in Turks and Caicos and we’re on the beach and see this.

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