The United States immobilizes SpaceX spacecraft after the explosion of a test flight

The United States has grounded SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket while an investigation is underway into why it exploded during its latest test flight.

The rocket’s upper stage ruptured and disintegrated dramatically over the Caribbean after its launch from Texas on Thursday, forcing airline flights to alter course to avoid falling debris.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was working with SpaceX and other authorities to confirm reports of damage to public property in the Turks and Caicos Islands. There were no reports of injuries.

The aviation regulator has asked Elon Musk’s company to conduct a “mishap” investigation, which will review the findings before deciding whether Starship can fly again.

The FAA confirmed it had activated a “debris response area” to briefly slow planes out of the area. where the rubble fellor prevent aircraft from leaving their departure points.

He added that several aircraft asked to divert due to low fuel levels while they were held outside the affected area.

Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket ever built and is key to Musk’s ambitions to colonize Mars.

Thursday’s uncrewed launch was Starship’s seventh test mission and the first involving a taller, improved version of the rocket.

Starship’s upper stage, two meters taller than previous versions, was a “next-generation craft with significant improvements,” SpaceX said before the test.

It was to make a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean approximately one hour after launch from Boca Chica, Texas.

The Starship system lifted off at 17:38 EST (22:38 GMT) and the upper stage separated from its Super Heavy booster almost four minutes into the flight as planned.

But then SpaceX communications director Dan Huot reported in a live broadcast that mission teams had lost contact with the ship.

The Super Heavy booster managed to return to its launch pad approximately seven minutes after liftoff as planned, prompting an explosion of applause from ground control teams.

SpaceX later confirmed that the upper stage had undergone an “unscheduled rapid disassembly.”

In a post on his social media platform

The billionaire added that “so far nothing suggests delaying the next launch beyond next month.”

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket, collectively called Starship, are 403 feet (123 m) tall and intended to be fully reusable, the company says.

NASA hopes to use a modified version of the rocket as a human lunar lander for its Artemis missions to return to the Moon.

In the more distant future, Musk wants Starship to make long-distance trips to Mars and back, about a nine-month trip each way.

Starship’s test launch on Thursday came hours after the first flight of the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket system, backed by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos.

It was a big step forward for Bezos and his company, which has been reaching the point of putting a rocket into orbit for years.

Both Bezos and Musk want to dominate the space vehicle market.