Cruise Ship Passengers in Disbelief as SpaceX Starship Blows Up

A SpaceX Starship broke apart during its https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-8">eighth flight test on Thursday, March 6, just two months after its failed https://newswire.storyful.com/story/318094">seventh mission. Footage captured by Bob Parker aboard the MS Zaandam, a cruise ship operated by Holland America Line, shows the rocket break apart above the Atlantic Ocean. Speaking to Storyful, Parker compared the sight to fireworks. "I came out on deck after dinner. I saw strange light in the sky and remembered I just saw a news alert about the SpaceX launch. Thought that might be it, so I shot video, then I saw what looked light fireworks," he said. In a post to https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1897803612098900131">X , SpaceX said "the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly" during its ascent, cutting off contact. "We will review the data from today's flight test to better understand root cause," the company said. "As always, success comes from what we learn, and today's flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship's reliability." (Footage by Bob Parker/Storyful via Getty Images UGC)