Elon Musk's big SpaceX rocket explodes on a test flight
No one was hurt in the uncrewed test that lifted off Texas' east coast on Thursday morning local time.
After two or three minutes into the flight, the rocket - the biggest ever developed - started to tumble out of control and was destroyed, most probably by onboard charges.
Mr Musk has said his company will try again in a few months.
SpaceX engineers still class Thursday's mission as a success. They like to "test early and often" and are unafraid to break things. They will have gathered much data to work towards the next flight. A second Starship is almost ready to take flight.
"Congrats, @SpaceX team, on an exciting test launch of Starship! Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months," Mr Musk tweeted.
The entrepreneur had tried to temper expectations before the launch. Just getting the vehicle off the ground and not destroying the launch pad infrastructure would be considered "a win", he said.
His wish was granted. Starship cleared its launch complex on the US-Mexico border and picked up pace as it headed out over the Gulf of Mexico. But it was evident within a minute or so that not everything was going to plan.
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