SpaceX's mega rocket Starship booster returns to the launch pad (Image: AP) Elon Musk's ambitious Mars venture suffered a major setback as his SpaceX Starship erupted in a fiery disaster during its seventh foray into the skies. A throng of spectators had assembled in Texas to witness the much-anticipated launch of the state-of-the-art spaceship, which was embarking on its maiden flight with hopes of completing an impressive circuit above the Gulf of Mexico. Yet a mere ten minutes after takeoff, catastrophe struck—the spacecraft catastrophically disintegrated, with SpaceX describing it as a "rapid unscheduled disassembly". The vessel's six engines seemed to fail sequentially on the way up. SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot said: "It was great to see a booster come down, but we are obviously bummed out about ship... It's a flight test. It's an experimental vehicle." In stark contrast, the Associated Press has categorically stated that the Starship met its end in destruction. Social media is abuzz with purported videos depicting the rocket being consumed by flames. The California-founded space firm elucidated on X regarding the mishap: "Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn. Teams will continue to review data from today's flight test to better understand root cause. With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today's flight will help us improve Starship's reliability," reports The Mirror. Elon Musk is one of the richest people in the world (Image: Getty Images) Poised to be the colossus among rockets at nearly 400 feet tall, the calamitous Starship was stowing 10 decoy satellites slated for deployment practice during the ill-fated test voyage. The final data received from the spacecraft showed an altitude of 90 miles (146 kilometres) and a speed of 13,245 mph (21,317 kph), but then problems arose, disappointing both the company and the crowds gathered at the southern tip of Texas. SpaceX had made enhancements to the spacecraft for the latest demo and included a fleet of satellite mock-ups. The test satellites were the same size as SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites and, like the spacecraft, were designed to be destroyed upon re-entry. Musk intends to launch actual Starlinks on Starships before progressing to other satellites and, eventually, crews. This was the seventh test flight for the world's largest and most powerful rocket. NASA has booked two Starships to land astronauts on the moon later this decade. Crowds gathered to watch the mega rocket's maiden liftoff (Image: AP)