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.

Evasive Maneuvers While it may have provided an eye-popping spectacle for spectators on the ground, the mid-flight explosion of SpaceX's Starship on Thursday evening posed a serious threat to nearby aircraft.

The US has grounded SpaceX's giant Starship rocket while an investigation is carried out into why it exploded during its latest test flight. The rocket's upper stage dramatically broke up and disintegrated over the Caribbean after launching from Texas on Thursday, forcing airline flights to alter course to avoid falling debris.

The seventh test of SpaceX's huge Starship rocket was nothing short of exhilarating, with a fiery explosion and a successful booster catch.

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

The rocket company said the space vehicle came apart during its ascent. Videos posted to social media showed debris streaking through the sky.

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 SpaceX Starship - developed by Elon Musk's aerospace company SpaceX - blasted off from Texas on Thursday for its seventh test flight, but it encountered difficulties

When SpaceX's Starship exploded on Jan. 16, debris streaked across Haiti’s skies, sparking panic and curiosity among residents.

Elon Musk‘s SpaceX Starship prototype exploded in the air, merely minutes after taking off for his seventh test flight, disrupting air traffic and forcing “at least” 20 commercial flights to alter course in order to avoid fallen debris from the destroyed rocket.

The agency launched an investigation into the “space vehicle mishap” on Thursday night that forced commercial flights to divert and caused debris to rain toward Caribbean islands.