SpaceX lost communication with its Starship spacecraft as it was heading into space during its seventh test flight on Thursday. According to SpaceX, the Starship experienced "a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn" after it launched from Boca Chica, Texas.

Hours after Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin nailed its first-ever orbital mission, SpaceX seized back the spotlight on Thursday as its latest test of Starship, its gargantuan next-generation megarocket, ended with the upper stage dramatically disintegrating over the Atlantic.