A SpaceX Starship's upper stage exploded minutes after launch from Texas on Thursday, and the rocket was declared a "loss" in the seventh test flight of the heavy-lift spacecraft. The mission was unmanned.

A SpaceX Starship rocket broke up in space minutes after launching from Texas on Thursday, forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course to avoid falling debris and setting back Elon Musk's flagship rocket program.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a launch license for the next Starship flight test on Dec. 17, clearing the way for SpaceX to once again launch the world's largest rocket from south Texas. Ever since, SpaceX has been rapidly preparing for the seventh overall flight test of the 400-foot-tall Starship.

A SpaceX Starship prototype failed in space minutes after launching from Texas on Thursday, forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course to avoid falling debris and setting back Elon Musk's flagship rocket program.

The Federal Aviation Administration has paused SpaceX's the launch of its Starship rocket as the U.S. agency oversees an investigation by the private company of the breakup after a test launch Thursday.

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

Elon Musk's SpaceX launched a pair of Falcon 9 rockets loaded with a combined four dozen Starlink communication satellites into space Tuesday morning from both U.S. coasts.

SpaceX plans to build a new vertical integration facility in Florida by Aug. 2026 for Starship assembly and integration.

SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket is slated to launch for the seventh time on Thursday in a crucial test of its ability to carry and place satellites into orbit.

Frank Sinatra once crooned, "Fly me to the moon. Let me play among the stars," and for two companies, including one here in Texas, SpaceX granted that wish.

The SpaceX test flight is scheduled for this afternoon. See the full schedule with times, and how to watch the Starship launch from Boca Chica.

SpaceX has sent Japanese and U.S. lunar landers on separate missions in a major step in the race to commercialize the Moon.