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.

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

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

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

SpaceX’s attempt at a test mission involving its prized Starship spacecraft appeared to end in disaster on Thursday after debris was spotted raining down to Earth by bystanders in the Caribbean.

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.

SpaceX dominates this week’s launch manifest with three Falcon 9 missions and the seventh flight of its Starship rocket. The three Falcon 9 missions will see the launches of a batch of Starlink satellites, a Transporter rideshare mission, and two Moon landers.

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

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.

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.

SpaceX suspects a fire may have caused its Starship to break apart during liftoff and send trails of flaming debris near the Caribbean.