SpaceX's Starship Test Flight Fails

SpaceX's Starship test flight ends in failure as spacecraft is destroyed. SpaceX launched its Starship rocket on its final test flight on Thursday, but the spacecraft was destroyed after a dramatic booster seizure on the pad.

Elon Musk's company said the spacecraft's six engines shut down one by one and communications were cut off just 8 minutes and 30 seconds into the flight.

“We lost all communication with the craft — essentially an anomaly in the upper stage,” SpaceX communications manager Dan Huot said, confirming the craft was lost a few minutes later.

The spacecraft was supposed to circle the globe from Texas over the Gulf of Mexico, similar to previous test flights. SpaceX had loaded up with 10 dummy satellites to practice releasing them. This was the first flight of the new and upgraded spacecraft.

The SpaceX accident caused widespread disruptions to air traffic, with some flights grounded at Miami International Airport and dozens of commercial flights diverted to other airports or diverted to avoid potential debris, according to flight records on the tracking site FlightRadar24.