An American tourist who was visiting Turks and Caicos was left shocked when he caught the explosion of SpaceX's Starship rocket on camera while relaxing on a beach

Elon Musk addressed the unexpected breakup of SpaceX's Starship rocket, noting an internal fuel leak caused the incident.

The latest test of Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship, gargantuan next-generation megarocket, ended with the upper stage dramatically disintegrating over the Atlantic,forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course to avoid falling debris.

The rocket company said the space vehicle came apart during its ascent. Videos posted to social media showed debris streaking through the sky.

Mission control loses contact with Starship 8 minutes after liftoff; 20 commercial flights div­ert, alter course to avoid debris.

Starship broke up 8 minutes after launch, moments after its Super Heavy Booster was successfully caught by mechanical arms on ground

SpaceX launched its Starship rocket on its latest test flight Thursday, but the spacecraft was destroyed following a thrilling booster catch back at the pad. Elon Musk’s company said the spacecraft's six engines appeared to shut down one by one, with contact lost just 8 1/2 minutes into the flight.

The agency launched an investigation into the “space vehicle mishap” on Thursday night that forced commercial flights to divert and caused debris to rain toward Caribbean islands.

After boosting Donld Trump through extreme sycophancy, turning Twitter into the red-pilled X, and dousing the once-and-future president with $239 million in campaign contributions, Musk earned himself a starring role in Trump’s second administration. But he didn’t want to be a secretary of anything; rather, he wanted DOGE.

Footage of the incident, captured by a family vacationing in the Turks and Caicos, showed the wreckage leaving behind what one of the onlookers called a “rainbow” of debris.