The explosion forced airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course to avoid falling debris.
Engineers from Space X said that the 400-foot-tall ship, launched from the company's Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach in Texas, lost altitude control after several engines stopped working 20 seconds before the end of the ascent burn.
Despite the failure, Musk emphasised that the mission yielded valuable data and outlined an accelerated launch schedule going forward.
The Elon Musk-headed SpaceX's newest Starship exploded ahead of a routine engine test in Texas, leading to a complete loss of the aircraft and damage to the immediate area surrounding the stand, the company has said.
SpaceX said it would attempt the first launch of its Starship rocket system on Thursday, April 20, after a launch attempt on Monday, April 17, had to be scrubbed due to issues with the launch vehicle's first stage.
Glimpses of SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its powerful super heavy rocket is prepared for launch at the company's Boca Chica launchpad in Brownsville, Texas.
Despite exploding three minutes into the flight, SpaceX described the mission as a success -- because the spacecraft had gotten off the launchpad and fulfilled the primary purpose of the test-flight.
Minutes after taking off from a launch pad in South Texas, the rocket appears to have exploded above the Gulf of Mexico.
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