The Federal Aviation Administration has paused SpaceX's the launch of its Starship rocket as the U.S. agency oversees an investigation by the private company of the breakup after a test launch Thursday.

The spacecraft was supposed to soar across the Gulf of Mexico on a near loop around the world similar to previous test flights. SpaceX had packed it with 10 dummy satellites for practice at

The upper stage of SpaceX's Starship rocket exploded minutes after launch from Texas on Thursday, leading the aerospace company to declare the vessel a "loss" in the seventh test flight of the heavy-lift spacecraft.

The incident in which a SpaceX rocket broke up after launch demonstrates the challenges the FAA will face as the number of commercial space flights increases.

While the midair destruction of SpaceX's Starship rocket made for an unsuccessful flight test, it also created an amazing visual.