Granted, Blue Origin poses an even bigger threat to Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Boeing (NYSE: BA) and their United Launch Alliance (ULA) joint venture, which charges $110 million for Vulcan rocket launches. Airbus ' (OTC: EADSY) Arianespace charges $77 million for an Ariane 62 launch, and is probably worried, too.

Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, pulled off a daring booster catch on its most ambitious test flight yet, but the spacecraft was lost. Follow for the latest news.

By Joey Roulette WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A SpaceX Starship rocket broke up in space minutes after launching from Texas on Thursday, forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course to avoid falling debris and setting back Elon Musk's flagship rocket program.

SpaceX launched the seventh test flight of its Starship rocket on Thursday, but lost communication with the uncrewed upper stage of the rocket that continues on into space.

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 mega rocket, ended with the upper stage dramatically disintegrating over the Atlantic.

The "rapid unscheduled disassembly" of Elon Musk's Starship sparked chaos as some airspace throughout the Caribbean was closed for an hour and a half.

SpaceX just stacked its Starship megarocket to prepare for the vehicle's seventh test flight, which is scheduled for Jan. 13.

Despite the failure, Elon Musk appeared to see the bright side, posting: "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!"

Blue Origin's New Glenn finally roared into orbit in the early hours of Thursday, with SpaceX's Starship rocket set to launch hours later.

SpaceX's Starship Explodes in Flight Test ... The failure came a day after Blue Origin, billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space company, successfully launched its giant New Glenn rocket ...

Starship’s future ... Bezos and Musk have also butted heads in a purely business sense, as SpaceX and Amazon are slated to compete in the satellite internet business, and Bezos’ Blue Origin ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A SpaceX Starship rocket broke up in space minutes ... The failure came a day after Blue Origin, billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space company, successfully launched ...