Starbase was officially formed earlier this month after Elon Musk's aerospace and defense contractor prevailed in a local election

Although the flight did not end as well as SpaceX officials hoped, the company made some tangible progress Tuesday. Most importantly, it broke the streak of back-to-back launch failures on Starship's two most recent test flights in January and March.

The largest, most powerful launch vehicle ever built is meant to be a key part of SpaceX’s plans to send humans to Mars—and NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the moon, too

Starship 's two stages separated as planned on Flight 9, and the upper stage even reached space, which was an improvement over the giant vehicle's most recent two flights. But SpaceX ended up losing both stages before they could accomplish their full flight goals.

After back-to-back Starship upper stage failures, SpaceX on Tuesday again launched the world's most powerful rocket, but faced new problems.

The consecutive failures may have decreased the likelihood SpaceX can meet NASA’s goal of landing on the moon in 2027, experts said.

The failure of SpaceX’s ninth Starship launch has raised fresh concerns about the future of the rocket, but is there any alternative to Elon Musk’s approach to space?

Get live updates on the Starship rocket launch from SpaceX's Starbase headquarters in Texas. See what time it launches, where to watch and news on Musk's company.

The spacecraft began spinning as it skimmed space toward an entry in the Indian Ocean. The first-stage booster ended up in the Gulf of Mexico in pieces.

Musk will discuss progress and next steps toward building a human presence on the Red Planet ahead of Starship’s ninth test flight today.

The White House confirmed to Reuters that Musk's offboarding began last night following a decision 'at a senior staff level.'