A SpaceX Starship rocket exploded shortly after liftoff on a test flight Thursday. Jan. 16, 2025. (Greg Munch/TMX)

The incident in which a SpaceX rocket broke up after launch demonstrates the challenges the FAA will face as the number of commercial space flights increases.

SpaceX’s Starship explodes over the Atlantic Ocean Super Heavy booster lands safely during test flight Starship’s upper stage explosion witnessed near Turks and Caicos

Flawed rocket launches by SpaceX and Blue Origin still leave both companies in position to dominate the space sector.

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

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 launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a pair of lunar landers into space early Wednesday, sending Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost and ispace's Resilience on their lengthy journeys to the moon.

Glowing debris soared over the Caribbean on Thursday after SpaceX's Starship exploded on its seventh uncrewed test flight over the Atlantic Ocean.

Government officials in Turks and Caicos said Friday that debris from a SpaceX rocket test that went awry fell over the Caribbean islands but that there have been no reported injuries so far and only minimal damages to property.

The third Starship test flight last March saw the spacecraft reach its planned trajectory and fly halfway around the world before succumbing to the scorching heat of atmospheric reentry. In June, the fourth test flight ended with controlled splashdowns of the rocket's Super Heavy booster in the Gulf of Mexico and of Starship in the Indian Ocean.

SpaceX pulled off its “chopsticks” catch of a Super Heavy rocket booster but lost the Starship spacecraft on Thursday during the vehicle’s seventh uncrewed test flight.