Australian airline Qantas delayed some flights by up to six hours to avoid potential rocket debris over the Indian Ocean.

Qantas is asking Elon Musk's SpaceX to be more precise with the areas and timings for rocket re-entries to prevent disruption.

Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, pulled off a daring booster catch on its most ambitious test flight yet, but the spacecraft was lost. Follow for the latest news.

Starship's previous six test flights occurred in April and November of 2023 and March, June, October and November of last year. SpaceX aimed to conduct a chopsticks catch of Super Heavy on Flight 6 as well, but a communication issue with the launch tower nixed that try, and the booster diverted for a Gulf of Mexico splashdown.

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.

By Joey Roulette WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A SpaceX Starship prototype failed 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.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk made light of Starship's fiery end. "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!" he said on X.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve had to delay several flights between Johannesburg and Sydney due to advice received from the US Government regarding the re-entry of SpaceX roc

"Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn. Teams will continue to review data from today's flight test to better understand root cause. With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability," it read.

The last time a Starship upper stage failed was in March last year, as it was reentering Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.

Qantas Airways Ltd. has been forced to delay some flights between Australia and South Africa in recent weeks following a warning from the US government about SpaceX rocket debris reentering the Earth’s atmosphere over the Southern Indian Ocean.

Starship’s seventh test flight, which had been set for Monday afternoon, has been delayed to Wednesday. The launch window is from 3:45 p.m. to 5:38. p.m.