Meanwhile, the EU celebrated a successful satellite deployment on the second launch of its Ariane 6 rocket from French Guiana. The project had cost overruns and years of delays, but the successful mission on Thursday was a huge victory for Europe as it seeks to become more independent from the United States on space missions.

Like last time, Starship had mock satellites to release once the craft reached space on this eighth test flight as a practice for future missions. They resembled SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites, thousands of which currently orbit Earth, and were meant to fall back down following their brief taste of space.

After SpaceX’s Starship rocket exploded during a test flight in January, the company had hoped its nect launch attempt would go better. But again, controllers lost contact with the upper-stage vehicle.

Last-minute problems have delayed the latest launch of SpaceX's mega rocket Starship. Monday evening's countdown got down to the 40-second mark.

The FAA has ordered SpaceX to investigate what caused a second Starship rocket to explode in Thursday night’s launch. NBC News’ Tom Costello reports on the engine failure and debris that fell from the sky.

The new version of Starship will be tested again in four to six weeks. A third consecutive failure could indicate fundamental problems with the updated design.

A SpaceX rocket exploded during a test flight Thursday night, causing debris to rain down from Florida to Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean.

Less than ten minutes after it took off, the spacecraft lost contact with control teams and exploded in the sky. A series of failures for the company has hampered progress.