The SpaceX spacecraft was destroyed on its way back to Earth after completing its third test flight, developers confirmed.

The 120-meter-long system, which weighs approximately 5,000 tons when fully fueled, took off from SpaceX’s Starbase spaceport in Boca Chica, Texas, in the Gulf of Mexico, as we reported yesterday. The ship first flew around the world, but contact was lost when the Starship re-entered the atmosphere in the final stages of testing. The developers confirmed that it either burned or disintegrated after entering the atmosphere.

“The ship is lost. So there will be no flooding today,” said Dan Huot of SpaceX. “But it’s incredible to see how far we’ve come this time.”

SpaceX’s billionaire founder Elon Musk said on his social network X: “SpaceX has come a long way.”

Two previous attempts had resulted in explosions for both the 33-engine Super Heavy booster and Starship, which is designed to carry up to 100 astronauts. When put together, they are 10 meters longer than the Saturn V rocket that sent men to the moon in 1969.

The first attempt to launch the starship took four minutes, the second took eight minutes. The third flight lasted more than 50 minutes. During the third flight, several tests were conducted, including opening the payload hatch and internal refueling in space.