Billionaire Elon Musk’s commercial space flight company, SpaceX, lost control of its ninth Starship test flight 30 minutes after the uncrewed rocket vehicle was launched into space from Texas, the Reuters news agency reports.

The Starship then re-entered the atmosphere earlier than planned on Wednesday after an onboard leak triggered uncontrollable spinning in space, according to Reuters.

The test flight flew beyond the point of past failures, before losing control, Reuters added.

In a post on social media, SpaceX said the Starship experienced a “rapid unscheduled disassembly”.

“With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary,” the company added.

Musk has spent billions of dollars on Starship’s development. The South African-born billionaire claims the initiative is part of his commercial space flight company’s plan to colonise the planet Mars.

The latest test launch comes after a SpaceX Starship exploded shortly after takeoff on March 6.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) diverted several flights and briefly halted departures at four Florida airports, including Miami International Airport, as debris from that failed flight fell in the area.