Comments The commercial space industry is booming, and it’s only expected to keep growing as more billionaire-led companies send rockets into the sky. Elon Musk’s SpaceX continues to dominate the space industry with dozens of launches each year, but it could soon have some serious competition with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launching its rival New Glenn rocket for the first time in January. Plenty more launches are to come, including another test of SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket, which exploded while in flight in March. Blue Origin is also set to send Katy Perry into space aboard its New Shepard as part of an all-woman mission on April 14th. SpaceX’s latest Starship explosion lights up the sky over the Caribbean again BOCA CHICA BEACH, TEXAS – MARCH 06: SpaceX Starship Flight 8 prepares for takeoff from Orbital Launch Pad A at Boca Chica beach on March 06, 2025 in Boca Chica Beach, Texas. The SpaceX Starship Flight 8 test launched and successfully caught its booster upon descent. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) Screenshot: SpaceX Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. Similar to the aftermath from SpaceX’s failed seventh test flight on January 16th, yesterday’s explosion following the launch of Starship’s eighth test flight created another spectacle in the night sky as debris rained down over parts of the Caribbean causing flights to be delayed and diverted in Florida and Turks and Caicos Islands. Following a successful launch, Starship separated from the Super Heavy booster rocket which returned to the launch pad and was captured by the launch tower for the third time. But during the upper stage’s ascent burn, “an energetic event in the aft portion of Starship resulted in the loss of several Raptor engines,” according to a statement SpaceX shared to its website last night. That caused Starship to lose attitude control and spin uncontrollably before exploding. SpaceX lost communications with the craft nine minutes and 30 seconds after the launch.