A SpaceX Starship rocket broke up in space minutes after launching from Texas on Thursday, forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course to avoid falling debris and setting back Elon Musk's flagship rocket program.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took to X on Thursday night to explain what his company believes may have caused part of the Starship rocket to experience a "rapid unscheduled disassembly."

The latest test of Space X's giant Starship rocket has failed, minutes after launch. Officials at Elon Musk's company said the upper stage was lost after problems developed after lift-off from Texas on Thursday. But the Super Heavy booster managed to return to its launchpad as planned, prompting an eruption of applause from ground control teams.

Despite the failure, Elon Musk appeared to see the bright side, posting: "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!"

SpaceX's seventh Starship test flight will now launch no earlier than Thursday, Jan. 16, at 5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT).

The Starship system is designed to be fully reusable and aims to become a new method of flying cargo and people beyond Earth. The rocket is also critical to NASA's plan to return astronauts to the moon. SpaceX won a multibillion-dollar contract from the agency to use Starship as a crewed lunar lander as part of NASA's Artemis moon program..

After Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin nailed its first-ever orbital flight, Elon Musk's SpaceX is seizing back the spotlight on Thursday with the latest launch of Starship, the gargantuan next-generation rocket that could one day ferry humans to Mars.

SpaceX mission control lost contact with the newly upgraded Starship, carrying its first test payload of mock satellites but no crew, eight minutes after liftoff.

Flawed rocket launches by SpaceX and Blue Origin still leave both companies in position to dominate the space sector.

SpaceX's Starship exploded mid-air during its seventh test flight on Thursday, forcing airlines to divert flights in order to avoid collisions with falling spacecraft debris. Seana Smith and Brad Smith report on the latest developments surrounding this incident.

An investigation has been launched into Elon Musk's explosive Starship test flight that forced dozens of planes to divert on Thursday.