A SpaceX Starship rocket broke up in space minutes after launching from Texas on Thursday, forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course to avoid falling debris and setting back Elon Musk's flagship rocket program.

Starship experienced a "rapid unscheduled disassembly," which is a phrase SpaceX coined to describe an explosion.

The third Starship test flight last March saw the spacecraft reach its planned trajectory and fly halfway around the world before succumbing to the scorching heat of atmospheric reentry. In June, the fourth test flight ended with controlled splashdowns of the rocket's Super Heavy booster in the Gulf of Mexico and of Starship in the Indian Ocean.

Elon Musk's SpaceX's Starship test flight ended in failure as the spacecraft exploded and broke apart, following a suspected fuel leak in the engine firewall.

The latest flight of the SpaceX Super Heavy-Starship includes multiple upgrades to improve safety and performance of the world's most powerful rocket.

After the successful booster recovery, SpaceX officials reported losing contact with the spaceship toward the end of the ascend.

Debris from the rocket's upper stage may have caused property damage, prompting an investigation into Starship's "rapid unscheduled disassembly."

If the weather cooperates, the Starship launch will follow the maiden flight of Jeff Bezos' already weather-delayed New Glenn rocket.

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has suspended SpaceX rocket flights following the explosion of the upper stage of the Starship/Super Heavy. An investigation of the rain of space debris that fell to Earth after the explosion is necessary.