Starship's fiery fate: Another setback for SpaceX's Mars dreams

SpaceX's ambitious Starship programme suffered another blow as its latest test flight ended in a fiery explosion over the Caribbean, marking the second major failure this year (via Reuters).

The massive rocket lifted off from Texas as planned, but minutes later, it spun uncontrollably in space before breaking apart, sending debris streaking through the skies near south Florida and the Bahamas.

The Federal Aviation Administration briefly halted flights at several Florida airports due to falling wreckage, while SpaceX acknowledged a critical engine failure that led to a total loss of the vehicle.

With Starship playing a central role in Elon Musk's vision of human settlement on Mars, the repeated mishaps could raise concerns about the program's pace and reliability. For now, it remains to be seen how quickly SpaceX can recover from this setback.