SpaceX’s Starship rocket broke apart midflight during its seventh test on Thursday, with debris reported over the Gulf of Mexico or the Caribbean Sea. Shortly after losing communication with the spacecraft, videos of debris streaming across the sky began circulating on social media, with SpaceX referring to the incident as a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” on X.

CEO Elon Musk later explained that a fuel and oxygen leak likely caused pressure to build beyond the vent capacity, leading to the failure. Despite this setback, SpaceX plans no changes to its upcoming launches and will implement fire suppression adjustments. Starship is being tested for future missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond, with NASA selecting it for the 2027 Artemis III lunar mission.

The rocket’s booster had successfully returned to its launch site near Brownsville, Texas, but contact with Starship was lost nine minutes into flight. The Federal Aviation Administration briefly diverted air traffic in the region due to falling debris, though operations quickly resumed. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson emphasized the importance of such tests in advancing safe space exploration.

Starship, the most powerful rocket ever developed, plays a crucial role in NASA’s lunar ambitions and Musk’s vision for Mars exploration. While accidents like this underscore the challenges of spaceflight, SpaceX remains committed to refining the rocket system for future crewed missions.