NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has left the building, and while President Trump’s nominee awaits a confirmation hearing, the head of Kennedy Space Center will keep things afloat.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk made light of Starship's fiery end. "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!" he said on X.

Debris from the Starship spacecraft that blew up in midair on Thursday prompted flight diversions in the area.

Hours after Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin nailed its first-ever orbital mission, SpaceX seized back the spotlight on Thursday as its latest test of Starship, its gargantuan next-generation megarocket, ended with the upper stage dramatically disintegrating over the Atlantic.

"America is leading humanity back to the Moon, onward to Mars, and into a golden age of space exploration," Nelson wrote,

SpaceX suspects a fire may have caused its Starship to break apart during liftoff and send trails of flaming debris near the Caribbean.

Nelson and NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy left the agency on Monday (Jan. 20), the day that Donald Trump began his second term as president. Trump has appointed Janet Petro, who most recently served as director of Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, as NASA's interim chief.

After exploding, the craft sent blazing debris across the sky and forced multiple aircraft flying over and near the Caribbean to divert.

Bill Nelson, NASA administrator, congratulated SpaceX for the completion of its seventh test flight and second successful booster catch. "Spaceflight is not easy," he said on X, which is also ...

SpaceX's Elon Musk said preliminary indications ... It’s anything but routine,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson posted on X after the accident. “That’s why these tests are so important."