SpaceX plans to launch the new "Version 3" of its Starship megarocket by the end of 2025 and is working to send the vehicle to Mars a year later, Elon Musk said.

Starship is unlike other rockets. And SpaceX is testing it to destruction—deliberately. The biggest, heaviest, most powerful rocket humans have ever made, SpaceX’s Starship, blazed into the skies late Tuesday on its ninth test flight.

The consecutive failures may have decreased the likelihood SpaceX can meet NASA’s goal of landing on the moon in 2027, experts said.

After launch, an apparent propellant leak entered its suborbital trajectory left Starship spinning and mission control unable to control the craft.

SpaceX's Starship Flight 9 fails after a booster loss and payload door malfunction, with the spacecraft falling into the Indian Ocean as an FAA investigation begins.

SpaceX's latest unmanned Starship launch experienced various hiccups on Tuesday, May 27 and eventually broke up about an hour after it took off.

SpaceX has made several hardware changes and improvements to the rocket since its last test flight, which was foiled by an engine anomaly.

SpaceX has faced criticism for its previous Starship test failures. Its executives insist that building fast, destroying expensive hardware, and learning quickly from mistakes are all part of the company's philosophy — in stark contrast with NASA 's much slower approach.