US aviation authorities temporarily halted 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 placed on airports in Orlando and Miami after the failed launch over the Atlantic Ocean. It has since been lifted. No injuries or damage have been reported.

SpaceX confirmed the un-crewed ship had suffered “a rapid unscheduled disassembly” during its ascent into space, and lost contact with the ground.

A statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the flights in and out of airports would be delayed due to a “space launch incident”. This was the eighth mission to test the rocket, and its second consecutive failure.

The 123m (403ft) spaceship was meant to re-enter Earth’s orbit over the Indian Ocean after a one-hour flight.

Its Super Heavy booster, which helps it leave the ground, did manage successfully to return to the launchpad.

SpaceX, which is owned by billionaire Elon Musk, said teams immediately started co-ordinating with safety officials for “pre-planned contingency responses”.

The statement added that SpaceX would review data “to better understand root cause” of the accident.

“As always, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship’s reliability.”‘

Musk has yet to comment on Thursday’s explosion.

The incident follows a test in January, which saw a Starship rocket fail minutes after launching from SpaceX’s Texas facility.

The FAA also briefly closed airports at the time, due to concerns about falling debris.

After January’s incident, the FAA grounded Starship launches and noted the failed effort led to property damage in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean.

“Unfortunately this happened last time too, so we have some practice at this now,” SpaceX flight commentator Dan Huot told reporters at the launch site on Thursday.

Footage posted on X purported to show flaming rocket debris falling over the Caribbean Sea. In the Bahamas, people posted that they were seeking shelter in order to take cover from debris.

Starship is the biggest, most powerful rocket ever built, and is key to Musk’s ambitions for colonising Mars.

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket – collectively referred to as Starship – is intended to be fully reusable, the company says.

Nasa hopes to use a modified version of the spaceship as a human lunar lander for its Artemis missions to return to the Moon.

In the more distant future, Musk wants Starship to make long-haul trips to Mars and back – about a nine-month trip each way.

Dozens of counties across Central and South Florida were on alert for fire weather conditions on Thursday, the National Weather Service (NWS) warning that a combination of strong winds and low relative humidity could contribute to extreme fire behavior in the Sunshine State.

Why It Matters

A red flag warning is issued by the NWS to notify local fire officials of potentially hazardous weather conditions expected within the next 12 to 24 hours. Wildfires have hit California and the Carolinas so far this year.

What To Know

As of Thursday morning, red flag warnings had been issued across central and east central Florida. The map below shows where Red flag warnings and fire weather watches were in place in Florida from Thursday morning.

Counties included:

• Brevard
• Charlotte
• DeSoto
• Flagler
• Hardee
• Highlands
• Indian River
• Lake
• Lee
• Levy
• Marion
• Martin
• Okeechobee
• Orange
• Osceola
• Polk
• Putnam
• Seminole
• St. Lucie
• Sumter
• Volusia

Winds near 20 mph were expected, gusting to around 30 mph, along with relative humidity between 25 and 35 percent, according to the NWS.

“Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly,” it warned.

Meanwhile, there were fire weather watches in place across South Florida.

These included Broward, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach Counties.

Here, the service said drought conditions combined with low relative humidity values would lead to “increased fire weather concerns.”

Residents in affected areas were urged to avoid any outdoor burning.

The NWS issues fire weather watches up to 72 hours before the conditions are expected to occur, while a red flag warning “is issued when the conditions are expected to occur within the next 24 hours.”

What People Are Saying

The NWS red flag warnings stated: “A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now … or will shortly. A combination of strong winds … low relative humidity … and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.”

NWS Jacksonville said on X: “Despite a little rain yesterday, drought conditions will combine with low humidity and gusty winds, creating optimal conditions for rapid wildfire spread across central FL today.”

Meteorologist Brooke Silverang said on X, Wednesday: “All of Florida’s East Coast is under a Fire Weather Watch on Thursday. Fires can spread easily.”

What Happens Next

At the time of writing, the latest red flag warnings were in place until 6 p.m. The NWS said the fire weather watch for South Florida was in effect through Thursday evening.

Todd Golden’s Florida basketball team has owned the state of Alabama this season. It started out with a Feb. 8 trip to Auburn, a game the Gators won 90-81.

Then, just over a month later, Florida beat Alabama 99-94. On Wednesday, after the win, Golden was asked what his team did to become so successful on the road.

“I think it’s the strength of our team,” Golden said. “We have a very mature team, workmanlike approach. We’re very consistent and for whatever reason, I feel like we really hone in and do a great job of preparing on the road and making sure we come in with a great mentality.”

The Gators beat the Crimson Tide mostly off the strength on the glass. Golden’s squad outrebounded Alabama 50-35, grabbing 16 offensive boards, which it turned into 19 second-chance points.

Florida also won in transition, scoring 22 fast-break points to Alabama’s 10. The Gators fought off several UA comeback attempts to move to 26-4 on the season, 13-4 in SEC play.

“You’re gonna have to deal with some highs and lowes and you can’t allow your emotions to affect you negatively,” Golden said. “And I thought we did a great job doing that. But I think we’re one of the best teams in America, and to do that, you have to go on the road and beat good teams, and we did that with Auburn and we did that again tonight with Alabama.”

The Gators will be the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament, which begins next Wednesday in Nashville. Auburn already earned the league’s regular season championship, while Alabama backed into clinching a double-bye on Wednesday, when Missouri lost at Oklahoma.

Florida will close out the regular season against Ole Miss in Gainesville on Saturday. Alabama and Auburn will face off in Neville Arena that same day, tipping off at 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.