SpaceX launched its Starship rocket was on its final test flight on Thursday, but the spacecraft was destroyed after an excitation booster caught on the pad.

Elon Musk's the company said Starship was broken up – calling it a “rapid unplanned teardown”. The spacecraft's six engines shut down one by one, losing contact just 8 1/2 minutes into the flight.

The spacecraft – a new and improved model that debuted – was to fly from Texas over the Gulf of Mexico in a close round-the-world loop similar to previous test flights. SpaceX had loaded it with 10 dummy satellites to practice launching them.

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship launches for a test flight on Thursday, January 16, 2025 from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (AP Photo/Eric Gay/Associated Press)

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One minute before touchdown, SpaceX used the launch tower's giant mechanical arms to grab the reentry booster, a feat that had only been accomplished once before. The falling booster moved over the launch pad before being caught by a pair of arms called chopsticks.

The excitement of the catch quickly turned to disappointment, not only for the company, but for the crowd gathered in the southern tip of Texas.

“It was great to see a booster land, but obviously we're disappointed with the craft,” SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot said. “It's a flight test. It's an experimental vehicle,” he said.

The latest data from the spacecraft indicated an altitude of 90 miles (146 kilometers) and a speed of 13,245 mph (21,317 km/h).

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship booster returns to the launch pad during a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Thursday, January 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (AP Photo/Eric Gay/Associated Press)

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According to Musk, preliminary analysis indicates that leaking fuel may have created pressure in a cavity above the engine's firewall. He said through X that the area will have fire protection added, increased ventilation and double checking for leaks.

The 400-foot (123-meter) rocket roared off Boca Chica Beach near the Mexican border at noon. The late hours allowed daylight to enter half of the world in the Indian Ocean. But the sleek retro-looking spaceship never got that far.

For the final demo, SpaceX made improvements to the spacecraft and added a fleet of satellite mockups. It was the same size as the test satellites SpaceX's Starlink Like the internet satellites and the spacecraft, it had to be destroyed upon entry.

Musk plans to launch actual Starlinks on Starships before moving on to other satellites and eventually crews.

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship booster returns to the launch pad during a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Thursday, January 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (AP Photo/Eric Gay/Associated Press)

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It was the seventh test flight for the world's largest and most powerful rocket. NASA has reserved a pair of Starships to land astronauts on the Moon later this decade. Musk's goal is Mars.

A few hours ago, another billionaire's rocket company in Florida – Jeff Bezos Blue origin — the newest large rocket New Glenn was launched. The rocket reached orbit on its first flight and successfully placed an experimental satellite thousands of miles above Earth. But the first stage booster was destroyed after missing its landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean.