WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A SpaceX Starship rocket broke up in space minutes after launching from Texas on Thursday, forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course to avoid falling debris and setting back Elon Musk's flagship rocket program.

President Donald Trump's new administration is likely to do away with the White House's National Space Council, a cabinet policy panel that lobbyists at Elon Musk's SpaceX have been pushing to axe, according to three people familiar with the plans.

SpaceX said the ship experienced “a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn,” moments after a dramatic, successful booster catch at the launchpad.

WASHINGTON - SpaceX lost its Starship rocket during its seventh test flight on Jan 16, an unexpected setback after the company had made steady progress during its test flight campaign for the vehicle.

The incident in which a SpaceX rocket broke up after launch demonstrates the challenges the FAA will face as the number of commercial space flights increases.

Elon Musk has been condemned as "a mixture of mad and right-wing extremist" by professor Jens-Christian Wagner, a historian who runs the Buchenwald concentration camp memorial, the largest in Germany.

Flawed rocket launches by SpaceX and Blue Origin still leave both companies in position to dominate the space sector.

Qantas Airline flights have been delayed due to the risk posed by falling debris from SpaceX rockets during reentry over the Southern Indian Ocean.

SpaceX's Starship Explodes in Flight Test, Forcing Airlines to Divert By Joey Roulette WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A SpaceX Starship rocket broke up in space minutes after launching from Texas on ...

It underscores how special interests see the billionaire as a shortcut to Trump to push their agenda. Read more at straitstimes.com.

President Donald Trump's "first buddy," Elon Musk, was seemingly everywhere in D.C. on Inauguration Day. Where (and with whom) was the billionaire?

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