SpaceX made multiple changes in the wake of a January Starship failure, only to suffer a second straight vehicle breakup Thursday.

SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot initially said the countdown was paused for an issue with the lower-stage booster but soon said another unidentified issue with the upper-stage Starship had arisen.

"During Starship's ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost. Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned ...