The unmanned SpaceX Starship launched successfully on Thursday morning around 8:30 a.m. local time from a launchpad in South Texas, then exploded a few minutes afterward.

The Details: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted shortly after the explosion, saying they learned a lot for the next test launch. It's unclear what caused the rocket to come apart, according to SpaceX's Quality Systems Engineering Manager Kate Tice, but the data will be reviewed and SpaceX will work toward their next flight text.

Key Quote: If the rocket gets “far enough away from the launchpad before something goes wrong, then I think I would consider that to be a success,” Elon Musk said before the flight. “Just don’t blow up the launchpad.”

For Context: The first attempt at a launch was scrubbed on Monday due to a problem during fueling. Thursday's launch was the first of the Starship's two sections together, and during the flight, the first-stage booster was expected to drop into the Gulf of Mexico. The flight was expected to last an hour and a half.

How the Media Covered it: Sources across the political spectrum covered the launch and explosion of the SpaceX Starship, with some right-rated media focusing more on the successful launch, and noting that Musk estimates an 80% chance that one of the Starships under construction will reach orbit in 2023.