SpaceX said its Starship space vehicle broke up during a flight meant to test the megarocket's capabilities. Videos on social media appeared to show debris streaming across the sky.

By Joey Roulette WASHINGTON (Reuters) -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.

The Supreme Court upheld on Friday a law banning TikTok in the United States on national security grounds if its Chinese parent company ByteDance does not sell it, putting the popular short-video app on track to go dark in just two days.

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 Starship broke apart — what it called a “rapid unscheduled disassembly.

La nave espacial Starship sufrió un “desmontaje rápido e imprevisto durante su ascenso”, confirmó Space X tras las fallas en el vuelo de prueba.

A SpaceX Starship prototype failed in space minutes after launching from Texas on Thursday, forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course.

Elon Musk’s company revealed that the spacecraft’s six engines shut down one by one, leading to the loss of contact and the mission’s abrupt end. The spacecraft was supposed to soar across the Gulf of Mexico from Texas on a near loop around the world similar to previous test flights.

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

The SpaceX Starship suffered an explosion during a flight test from Texas, impacting nearby flights. Concurrently, a scientist in Belgium is developing a scent to solve cold cases. Meanwhile, archaeologists in Pompeii have unveiled an opulent bath complex.

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.

Government officials in Turks and Caicos said Friday that debris from a SpaceX rocket test that went awry fell over the Caribbean islands but that there have been no reported injuries so far and only minimal damages to property.