SpaceX's Starship explodes during test launch minutes after rocket booster successfully caught

Elon Musk's company said Starship broke apart, what it called a "rapid unscheduled disassembly".

Transcript

00:00A SpaceX Starship rocket was destroyed in a failed launch just eight minutes into the

00:07flight.

00:08Elon Musk's company said it lost contact with the spacecraft after its engines appeared

00:13to shut down one by one.

00:15A minute before the loss, SpaceX used the launch tower's giant mechanical arms to catch

00:20the returning booster, a feat achieved only once before.

00:24But the thrill of the catch quickly turned into disappointment for not only the company

00:28but the crowds who had gathered to watch the launch.

00:32A group of people visiting the Turks and Caicos Islands captured footage of the rocket ship's

00:37debris flying overhead as the wreckage left behind a colorful stream of smoke.

00:43It was supposed to make a near-loop around the world on a test flight after launching

00:47from Texas.