SpaceX holds ninth Starship test flight in Texas

BOCA CHICA, Texas (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - SpaceX launched its Starship megarocket Tuesday night from its facility in Texas.

The ninth uncrewed Starship test flight lifted off just after 7:30 Central, and though the launch was successful, the mission encountered problems some 30 minutes into the flight.

The first-stage super heavy booster exploded shortly before its expected splash down, and fuel leaks on the upper-stage vehicle caused it to spin uncontrollably before its planned re-entry through Earth's atmosphere.

SpaceX posted to X saying that the "Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly."

At the time, the vehicle was on track to splashdown in the Indian Ocean. However, it's still unknown precisely where the vehicle broke up and landed.

This comes after two previous launches failed. The most recent in early march when mission controllers lost contact with the upper-stage vehicle roughly nine minutes after liftoff.

The 400-foot-tall Starship is the most powerful rocket ever developed and intended to be used for future missions to Mars.