On its third attempt to conquer the cosmos, the rocket soared higher than ever, only to meet a fiery fate on its return trip.

As space enthusiasts and the SpaceX team held their breath, the Starship's test flight took a nosedive into disaster. The spacecraft was destined for a splash in the Indian Ocean, but despite the size of its target, it just went silent.

The live feed turned into a horror show as a red inferno engulfed the rocket, signalling a premature end to its journey.

Despite the setback, SpaceX's head honcho Elon [look at me] Musk and his team are spinning the narrative, calling it 'progress'. Progress is anything better than the ship exploding soon after or a little later after launch.

NASA's big cheese, Bill Nelson, however, agreed with Musk that it was "a successful test flight". But with the Starship biting the dust and skipping a crucial engine test, one must wonder if this is just smoke and mirrors. SpaceX vows to keep the tests coming hopefully with better sucess before they stick human in one.