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 is set to launch the seventh test flight of its Starship rocket, which will include a crucial test for how it will deploy satellites.

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

Elon Musk's SpaceX's Starship test flight ended in failure as the spacecraft exploded and broke apart, following a suspected fuel leak in the engine firewall.

The primary objectives for SpaceX were stress-testing the new ship and avionics, catching the booster at the launchpad for potential reuse, deploying the dummy satellites in space, and a targeted water landing. It wasn't immediately known what caused the redesigned spaceship to fail.

The latest flight of the SpaceX Super Heavy-Starship includes multiple upgrades to improve safety and performance of the world's most powerful rocket.

After the successful booster recovery, SpaceX officials reported losing contact with the spaceship toward the end of the ascend.

SpaceX launched 21 of its Starlink internet satellites early Jan. 21, five days after a test flight of the company's Starship megarocket ended in an explosion.

Elon Musk's SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket loaded with nearly two dozen Starlink communication satellites into space early Tuesday from Florida.