SpaceX’s Starship rocket breaks up during 9th test flight

WASHINGTON

SpaceX’s Starship rocket blasted off Tuesday in its ninth test flight of the Elon Musk-led company’s efforts to demonstrate success after two failed missions earlier this year.

"As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly. Teams will continue to review data and work toward our next flight test," SpaceX said on X.

"With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary," it added.

The 400-foot-tall rocket lifted off at 7.37 pm Eastern time (2337GMT) from SpaceX’s Starbase site in Boca Chica, Texas, with approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The test followed upgrades made after upper-stage failures in January and March.