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SpaceX launched its huge Starship rocket on the program's eighth test flight Thursday, but a malfunction of some sort triggered multiple upper stage engine shutdowns and for the second flight in a row, the vehicle failed to reach its planned sub-orbital altitude and broke apart in a shower of debris.

The eighth launch of SpaceX’s fully integrated Starship rocket will largely repeat the mission objectives of the previous flight, which saw the breakup of the Ship upper stage of the Turks and Caicos Islands. SpaceX is currently targeting Thursday, March 6, at 5:30 p.m. CST (6:30 p.m. EST, 2330 UTC).

The Dragon capsule will launch atop a SpaceX rocket to carry 4 astronauts to space on March 12.