May 27, 2025, 9:06 PM 2:04 The SpaceX Starship rocket launches from Starbase, Texas, as seen from South Padre Island on May 27, 2025. SpaceX mission control lost contact with the upper stage of Starship as it leaked fuel, spun out of control, and made an uncontrolled reentry after flying halfway around the world, likely disintegrating over the Indian Ocean, officials said. (Photo by Sergio FLORES / AFP) (Photo by SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images) Sergio Flores/AFP via Getty Images Elon Musk and SpaceX are getting a little closer to sending humans to Mars, but they still have plenty of work to do. After the last two test flights ended prematurely with the destruction of the spacecraft, Tuesday's Starship launch demonstrated that the vehicle could successfully reach orbit. However, an apparent propellant leak after the craft entered its suborbital trajectory caused a loss of attitude control, leaving the spacecraft spinning and mission control unable to control the craft. Without the ability to steer the craft, SpaceX said it re-entered Earth's atmosphere at an angle that is not ideal for its heat shield. As a result, most of it was expected to burn up, with the remaining pieces falling into the Indian Ocean. The company said it cleared a large area of the landing zone to ensure public safety. The company posted a statement on X reading, "As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly. Teams will continue to review data and work toward our next flight test. With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today's test will help us improve Starship's reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary.” This screengrab from SpaceX live shows the SpaceX Starship rocket launching from Starbase, Texas, on May 27, 2025. SpaceX launched its next test flight of its Starship megarocket -- the linchpin of founder Elon Musk's Mars ambitions -- after the vessel's last two outings ended in fiery explosions. The launch window opened at 6:30 pm (2330 GMT) from the company's Starbase facility near a southern Texas village that recently voted to become a city, also called Starbase. SPACEX/AFP via Getty Images MORE: SpaceX loses another Starship in latest launch, with debris seen streaking across the sky This screengrab from SpaceX live shows the SpaceX Starship rocket launching from Starbase, Texas, on May 27, 2025. SpaceX launched its next test flight of its Starship megarocket -- the linchpin of founder Elon Musk's Mars ambitions -- after the vessel's last two outings ended in fiery explosions. SPACEX/AFP via Getty Images Mounted atop a Super Heavy rocket that's powered by 33 Raptor engines, the uncrewed Starship successfully lifted off from SpaceX's Starbase test facility in South Texas just after 7:30 p.m. ET. The sound of the building shaking was audible as all 33 engines lit on the powerful rocket that propelled Starship past the tower and into its planned suborbital trajectory. At nearly 400 feet tall, SpaceX says the Starship and its booster are the most powerful rocket system ever developed. And unlike the company's partially reusable Falcon 9, SpaceX aims for Starship to be fully reusable and capable of launching, landing and flying again with minimal maintenance. The SpaceX Starship rocket launches from Starbase, Texas, as seen from South Padre Island on May 27, 2025. SpaceX mission control lost contact with the upper stage of Starship as it leaked fuel, spun out of control, and made an uncontrolled reentry after flying halfway around the world, likely disintegrating over the Indian Ocean, officials said. (Photo by Sergio FLORES / AFP) (Photo by SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images) Sergio Flores/AFP via Getty Images Tuesday's launch is part of SpaceX's iterative approach to engineering. With each mission, the company evaluates the data, makes adjustments to the spacecraft, and builds upon its previous successes and lessons learned from failures. Those flight test learnings are applied to future vehicles and missions until Starship is ready for passengers. For Tuesday's mission, SpaceX made significant modifications to the upper stage based on lessons learned from previous flight tests, including the last two that resulted in the destruction of the Starship. During Starship's eighth flight test in early March, several engines shut down unexpectedly about 5 1/2 minutes into the launch, resulting in SpaceX losing control of the craft. Communication with the vehicle was lost several minutes later. After an investigation, the company said a "hardware failure" with one of the engines caused fuel to mix and ignite where it shouldn't have. And while the ship wasn't instructed to self-destruct, SpaceX says it likely did so automatically. SpaceX Starship Flight 8 launches from Orbital Launch Pad A at Boca Chica beach, March 6, 2025, in Boca Chica Beach, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images As Starship broke up, debris fell across South Florida and parts of the Atlantic, leading to ground stops at nearby airports. Photos and videos shared on social media showed rocket debris streaking across the sky. SpaceX Starship's Super Heavy Booster approaches the launch pad at Starbase near Boca Chica, Texas, March 6, 2025, during its 8th test flight. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images A similar failure occurred in January when stronger-than-expected vibrations caused a propellant leak and explosion. In both cases, the upper stage was lost, but the first-stage booster was successfully returned to the launch site and caught using giant robotic "chopsticks" attached to the launch tower. SpaceX said it has made significant modifications to the upper stage based on what it learned from previous flight tests and noted that while both failures occurred around the same time during the missions, the causes were unrelated. MORE: How Elon Musk's SpaceX may take over a corner of the Texas coast