"The light show was completely silent — we didn’t hear anything. But the reflection on the water from the burning debris was quite pretty!"

Seven minutes later, Starship's huge first-stage booster, known as Super Heavy, returned to Starbase for a dramatic catch by the launch tower's "chopstick" arms. It was the third time that SpaceX has demonstrated this jaw-dropping technique.

Elon Musk aims to change spaceflight forever with Starship, but SpaceX hasn't quite gotten the rocket right. Starship flight 8 lost control Thursday.

The failure of a SpaceX Starship test flight on Thursday scattered debris over parts of the Caribbean, prompting numerous flight diversions around Turks and Caicos and temporary ground stops at four Florida airports.

US aviation authorities have halted all flights at several Florida airports over concerns about debris from SpaceX's Starship, which spun out of control shortly after launch. A ground stop was in effect for airports in Orlando and Miami after the failed launch over the Atlantic Ocean.