A SpaceX Starship rocket broke up in space minutes after launching from Texas on Thursday (January 16), forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course to avoid falling debris and setting back Elon Musk's flagship rocket program.

SpaceX mission control lost contact with the newly upgraded Starship, carrying its first test payload of mock satellites but no crew, eight minutes after liftoff from its South Texas rocket facilities at 5:38 p.m. EST (2238 GMT).

Eyewitness footage showed fiery debris falling over the skies of Turks and Caicos Islands after the rocket exploded during its test flight. Reuters was able to confirm the location from road layout, parking lot and trees that matched satellite imagery. The date was verified by metadata on the original footage.

The last time a Starship upper stage failed was in March last year, as it was reentering Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, but rarely has a SpaceX mishap caused widespread disruptions to air traffic.