“We have lost all contact”: a SpaceX rocket explodes in mid-flight a few minutes after takeoff

A SpaceX Starship rocket disassembled in space minutes after takeoff Thursday, forcing planes flying over the Gulf of Mexico to change their route to avoid being hit by debris.

“An anomaly with the upper module”

SpaceX announced that it lost control of the Starship eight minutes after the rocket took off from its launch pad in Texas.

Video shot by Reuters showed balls of orange light descending in the sky above the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, plumes of smoke in their wake.

“We have lost all contact with the rocket, which tells us that there is an anomaly with the upper module”said SpaceX communications manager Dan Huot, before confirming a few minutes later that the spacecraft was lost.

A Starship space module disintegrated upon re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere in March.

“Success is uncertain, but the show is guaranteed!”

Dozens of commercial flights were diverted to avoid colliding with possible debris, according to the FlightRadar24 website.

The United States Civil Aviation Authority (FAA) announced that it had slowed air traffic and diverted planes in the area for some time, but that everything was now back to normal.

SpaceX boss Elon Musk posted a video showing debris on social network X, writing: “Success is uncertain, but the show is guaranteed!”

This failure comes as the New Glenn rocket from Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space company which aims to compete with SpaceX, took off from Florida early Thursday morning for its first mission into space.