Boca Chica, United States (AFP) —Elon Musk’s SpaceX on Thursday once again lost the upper stage of its massive Starship rocket in a fiery explosion, even as the booster was successfully caught in its latest orbital test — a near replay of the previous attempt.

Minutes after liftoff and booster separation, a live video feed showed the upper stage tumbling uncontrollably before the signal abruptly cut out.

Dramatic footage circulating online captured red-hot debris raining down over the Bahamas.

“Can confirm we did lose contact with the ship. Unfortunately, this happened last time, too,” SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot said, referring to January’s flight, which also ended with the upper stage disintegrating over the Caribbean.

The fallout was felt immediately in US airspace.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) briefly activated a “debris response area,” delaying flights from airports stretching from Newark and Philadelphia to Miami.

The agency confirmed SpaceX will be required to conduct a mishap investigation before it can fly again.

Despite the setback, SpaceX’s “fail fast, learn fast” approach has helped it become the world’s dominant launch services provider.

But Musk’s status as one of President Donald Trump’s closest advisors and his influence over federal regulators are raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest.