SpaceX launched its mega rocket Starship on Saturday, but lost the booster and then the spacecraft minutes into the test flight.

The booster had sent the rocketship toward space, but communication was lost eight minutes after liftoff from South Texas and SpaceX declared that the vehicle had failed.

The trouble cropped up as the ship's engines were almost done firing to put it on an around-the-world path. Minutes earlier, the booster exploded, but not until its job was done, putting the ship on a course toward space.

At 400 feet, Starship is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built.

The first test flight in April ended in an explosion soon after liftoff.

AP