The debris fell into the Indian Ocean away from inhabited areas. SpaceX was unable to conduct several tests it had planned during the flight, such as deploying simulators of the next-generation Starlink satellites and assessing improvements to the heat shield tiles.

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

SpaceX's last two efforts to make progress on its Starship and Super Heavy rocket ended with streaks of debris hurtling across the sky. The Federal Aviation Administration, though, is now satisfied it's safe for SpaceX to try again.