An uncrewed vehicle operated by SpaceX exploded during a test flight on Thursday, temporarily disrupting air travel as pieces of it streaked across the sky.

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SpaceX launched its Starship rocket from a company site in Texas a little after 5:30 p.m. ET, the company's seventh mission of a powerful-but-still-experimental vehicle that consists of a booster that propels a spacecraft stacked on top.

The spacecraft separated from the booster shortly after liftoff, as designed, but soon thereafter exploded, according to a livestream of the mission provided by SpaceX. Not long after the anomaly, social-media users began posting videos of what apparently were parts of the spacecraft burning through the sky.

"Teams will continue to review data from today's flight test to better understand" the mishap's root cause, SpaceX said in a post on X. The company didn't respond to a request for additional comment.

The explosion prompted aircraft flying in the Caribbean region to hold their positions or divert to other routes to avoid any potential debris from the spacecraft, according to Flightradar24, an aviation-tracking service.

Departures from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport faced departure delays after the spacecraft's failure, according to notices published on the Federal Aviation Administration's website.

Following the loss of the spacecraft, the FAA said it activated a debris-response plan to guard against planes potentially getting hit. That kept aircraft from flying through certain areas. The federal agency oversees private space launches and re-entries to ensure those missions don't create safety risks.

"The FAA briefly slowed and diverted aircraft around the area where space-vehicle debris was falling. Normal operations have resumed," the agency said around 7:45 p.m.

SpaceX's test flight Thursday included a successful catch of the rocket's booster just over seven minutes after liftoff, repeating a feat it had accomplished in October.