SpaceX's Starship rocket, designed to eventually send astronauts to the moon and beyond, completed nearly an entire test flight to space on its third try but was destroyed during its return to Earth after making it farther than ever before.

• During a live webcast of the flight, SpaceX commentators said mission control lost communications with the spacecraft during its atmospheric re-entry at hypersonic speed.
• The vehicle was nearing a planned splashdown in the Indian Ocean about an hour after launch from south Texas.
• A few minutes later, SpaceX confirmed that the spacecraft had been "lost," presumably either burning up or coming apart during re-entry or crashing into the sea.