Starship - which is Elon Musk-founded SpaceX's largest - roared away from its base in Texas on Monday morning local time.
After completing its mission to deliver 26 new advanced Starlink satellites, the 124-metre-tall rocket returned to Earth. However, the journey was shorter than the planned ten hours. After three hours, the craft crashed into the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii - where it overturned and caught fire.
The satellites will complement the 11,000 older satellites already in orbit.
The launch is Starship's 14th in three years, but it is its first time in orbit. The project is seen as preparation for participating in NASA's Artemis programme, which is focused on the moon.
