Shortly after SpaceX's massive Starship launched from Texas on its first full test early Thursday, the 400-foot stack of hardware began to tumble until it broke apart in a fiery explosion over the Gulf of Mexico. The overall demonstration mission – a test of the new rocket's ability to ignite and clear the pad's 500-foot tower – was successful. At liftoff, however, several of the rocket's 33 Raptor engines failed to fire up as planned. Then came the more than a minute-long tumble at roughly three minutes into flight, which kicked off just after the rocket's Starship upper stage and Super Heavy booster failed to separate.