SpaceX CEO Elon Musk made light of Starship's fiery end. "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!" he said on X.

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

The company says that “Starship flew within its designated launch corridor” and “any surviving pieces of debris would have fallen into the designated hazard area.” The falling debris put on a show in the evening sky over the Caribbean and was captured by several tourists who seemed both amazed and slightly anxious about what they were witnessing.

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

SpaceX said the ship experienced “a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn,” moments after a dramatic, successful booster catch at the launchpad.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 27 Starlink craft is scheduled to lift off from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base Sunday, during a 3.5-hour window that opens at 10:35 a.m. EST (1535 GMT; 7:35 a.m. local time). SpaceX will webcast the action live via its X account, beginning about five minutes before launch.

After exploding, the craft sent blazing debris across the sky and forced multiple aircraft flying over and near the Caribbean to divert.

A fire in the aft section of SpaceX's Starship trigged the apparent explosion that destroyed the spacecraft, the company says.

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.

Recent science news covers SpaceX's Starship explosion, a new scent for sniffer dogs aiding cold cases, a Pompeii excavation, and US FAA's investigation into rocket debris in Turks and Caicos. Highlights include a test payload mishap,

US air safety regulators ordered a formal investigation into the explosion of SpaceX’s Starship rocket, a decision that effectively grounds the Elon Musk company’s flagship new vehicle.