"Preliminary indication is that we had an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall that was large enough to build pressure in excess of the vent capacity."

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

SpaceX confirmed the upper stage had undergone "rapid unscheduled disassembly," the company's euphemism for an explosion.

Blue Origin scored a major win with its New Glenn rocket launch, but SpaceX still leads the space industry with a Falcon fleet and upcoming Starship.

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,

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.

"During the event, the FAA activated a Debris Response Area and briefly slowed aircraft outside the area where space vehicle debris was falling or stopped aircraft at their departure location."

The uncrewed Starship spacecraft was apparently destroyed during its first flight launch of 2025 that blasted off from south Texas.

The Federal Aviation Administration is requiring Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to investigate what went wrong on their respective

SpaceX launched its Starship mega-rocket for the seventh time. It achieve an epic booster catch but the ship was lost.

One just launched the world’s biggest rocket, with mixed success. The other makes small model rockets for hobbyists, and it's stockpiling supplies ahead of Trump's tariffs.