How many SpaceX rockets have exploded?

Massive Starship spacecraft of SpaceX, an American space technology company, exploded in space on Thursday minutes after lifting off from Texas, US.

The explosion halted air traffic in parts of Florida.

With this, the eighth test spacecraft, the upper portion of the most powerful launch system ever built exploded in space disrupting air traffic.

It was the second consecutive failure for the vehicle this year for Elon Musk’s Mars rocket programme.

The Starship spacecraft mission lifted off at 5:30pm from South Texas with the spacecraft riding atop a 232-foot-tall rocket booster.

A SpaceX live stream showed that Starship broke up in space shortly after it began to spin violently with its engines cut off. Several videos of the incident, which went viral on social media, showed that fiery debris streak through the dusk skies near south Florida and the Bahamas.

The heavy booster separated as planned from the Starship’s upper stage after about 2 ½ minutes of firing.

The Starship craft had continued toward space for nearly 10 minutes into the flight but it suddenly began to experience issues. During the livestream, several engines of the vehicle cut out visibly. Then the spacecraft started to tumble before the company’s control room lost contact with it.