SpaceX's Starship spacecraft triggered its automation termination system before reaching orbit, according to the company's broadcast on Saturday.
The Starship spacecraft was expected to reenter the Earth's atmosphere later this morning and splashdown near the coast of Hawaii.
Earlier in the launch, the Starship spacecraft successfully separated from the Super Heavy Booster. The booster was expected to splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico but exploded several seconds after the hot-stage separation.
The Starship is the centerpiece of SpaceX – a company, manufacturer of space technology, founded in 2002 by Elon Musk – that efforts to develop a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry humans to the Moon and on long-duration flights to Mars and beyond. The system is designed for in-space refueling and the ability to land at destinations across the solar system and return to Earth.