The Super Heavy booster, meanwhile, was successfully caught in the launch tower's mechanical arms for only the second time

A fire in the aft section of SpaceX's Starship trigged the apparent explosion that destroyed the spacecraft, the company says.

The company says that “Starship flew within its designated launch corridor” and “any surviving pieces of debris would have fallen into the designated hazard area.” The falling debris put on a show in the evening sky over the Caribbean and was captured by several tourists who seemed both amazed and slightly anxious about what they were witnessing.

SpaceX confirmed the upper stage had undergone "rapid unscheduled disassembly," the company's euphemism for an explosion.

The FAA says it has grounded the Starship vehicle pending a mishap investigation, and it is working with the company to assess reports of property damage in Turks and Caicos.

The seventh test flight of SpaceX’s Starship ended with a successful landing of the rocket’s first stage but also the loss of the Starship vehicle

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

SpaceX launched Starship on Thursday for a seventh test flight, after weather concerns pushed back an experiment that will feature the spacecraft’s first payload deployment test, and while it successfully caught the Super Heavy Booster, Starship lost connection and “experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly.”

The FAA grounded SpaceX's Starship pending an investigation into the failure that caused the rocket to break apart midflight. The regulator noted in a statement that it has received "reports of public property damage on Turks and Caicos" islands in the Caribbean.

"During the event, the FAA activated a Debris Response Area and briefly slowed aircraft outside the area where space vehicle debris was falling or stopped aircraft at their departure location."

The United States on Friday grounded SpaceX’s Starship and ordered Elon Musk’s company to investigate why the spaceship spectacularly disintegrated in a