Florida: SpaceX’s eighth orbital test of its Starship mega-rocket ended in partial failure on Thursday as the upper stage exploded mid-air, just moments after a successful booster recovery. The test flight launched from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, at around 5:30 pm (2330 GMT).

Videos circulating on social media showed fiery debris streaking across the skies over Florida and the Bahamas. A user on X posted, "Just saw Starship 8 blow up in the Bahamas," confirming the upper stage’s destruction.

During the launch, the booster stage was successfully caught by the launch tower’s “chopstick” arms, marking the third successful booster recovery for SpaceX. However, the upper stage tumbled uncontrollably before SpaceX’s livestream cut out.

SpaceX official Dan Huot acknowledged the failure, stating, "Can confirm we did lose contact with the ship. Unfortunately, this happened last time, too." The previous test on January 16 also saw the upper stage explode over the Caribbean, scattering debris over the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) allowed Thursday’s launch despite not completing its review of the January failure. SpaceX had introduced multiple upgrades for this test, including Starlink simulators designed to mimic satellite deployments before burning up in the atmosphere. However, the fate of the upper stage remains unclear as SpaceX ended its livestream approximately 40 minutes after liftoff.

At 403 feet (123 meters) tall, Starship is the most powerful rocket ever built and a crucial component of Elon Musk’s vision to colonize Mars. NASA also plans to use a modified version of Starship for its Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon.

Musk’s leadership at SpaceX has come under fresh scrutiny amid allegations of regulatory pressure. A Bloomberg report recently claimed that a SpaceX engineer warned FAA employees that their jobs were at risk unless they expedited work on a Starlink-related program. SpaceX has denied the allegations, calling them false.