WATCH | SpaceX's Starship explodes midway after eighth test flight

Elon Musk's SpaceX faced a setback on Thursday (March 6) as its Starship exploded in space during the eighth test flight. The debris of the rocket scattered across Florida and Bahamas.

Videos circulated on the social media platform X showed parts of the Starship - set on fire - falling form the sky. Some parts were seen wrapped in colourful smoke.

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The explosion occurred after a few engines cut off which led to the spacecraft losing its altitude control.

The spacecraft was sent on a mission aimed at testing its capabilities and deploy dummy satellites.

The rocket was designed to be the most powerful ever built. It was intended to conduct a suborbital flight, deploying four dummy Starlink satellites and testing reentry maneuvers.

The explosion comes as the second such incident since January this year when the upper stage of Starship exploded over the Caribbean. Debris of that spacecraft was rained on the Turks and Caicos Islands.

This time, the SpaceX had implemented certain modifications in the rocket to address the issues in the previous explosion. Adjustments were made to propellant lines, and vents were added to reduce fire risks.

Despite all the efforts, the spacecraft explosion turned out to be a major setback for SpaceX and its owner, Elon Musk, who dreams to develop an ambitious Starship program.

The local authorities in Florida and Bahamas were alerted and residents were asked to be cautious of any falling debris.