A SpaceX Starship rocket disintegrated spectacularly just minutes after liftoff, raising questions about the risks of modern space exploration. The incident caused disruptions in air traffic and highlighted the challenges private space companies face.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk made light of Starship's fiery end. "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!" he said on X.

SpaceX has delivered a new animated look at the launch of Starship to Mars. See the launch, Super Heavy booster re-entry and 'chopsticks' capture, on-orbit fueling and journey to the surface of the Red Planet.

Going forward, SpaceX is likely to offer its gigantic Starship rocket as a competitor to New Glenn, and here, the advantage shifts back to SpaceX. Bigger than New Glenn (120 meters tall versus 98) and with a wider faring to encapsulate cargo (9 meters versus 7), SpaceX's Starship will boast a massive payload advantage over Blue Origin's new rocket.

Dramatic footage showing streaks of light zipping across the sky surfaced online following Elon Musk's Starship explosion over the Atlantic Ocean.

Want to grab yourself a literal piece of space race history? Now you can, on eBay! Pieces of the recently exploded Starship rocket are making their way to the auction site, ranging in price from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, depending on the size of the chunk and where on the spacecraft it comes from.

The FAA says it has grounded the Starship vehicle pending a mishap investigation, and it’s working with SpaceX to assess reports of property damage in Turks and Caicos.

SpaceX's Starship mega-rocket has stumbled on the road to commercial use. On Thursday, it unexpectedly dropped out of communications and exploded as it screamed toward space for its seventh flight.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX suspects a fire is to blame for his 400-foot-tall Starship imploding in space after launching from Texas — sending trails of flaming debris raining down near the Caribbean.

In the lead-up to this launch, SpaceX confirmed it planned to launch a new version of Starship. The updated spacecraft was about 6.5 feet (2 meters) taller than the last one. It also included a raft of internal upgrades to avionics and propulsion to bring Starship closer to orbital operations.

SpaceX launched its Starship mega-rocket for the seventh time on Thursday. It performed an epic booster catch for the second time, but the Starship exploded shortly after. The launch marked the ...