SpaceX has recently conducted its second test flight of Starship, the world's most powerful rocket. Despite ending in a mid-air explosion, the test flight marked significant improvements over the first flight, making it a key milestone for SpaceX.

The key features of this Starship mission consisted of the successful ignition of all 33 Raptor engines on the Super Heavy booster, the implementation of a functional stage separation technique known as “hot staging," and the observed improvement in launch infrastructure resilience due to a newly introduced water deluge system. However, both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage had to be blown up mid-flight for reasons yet to be clarified by SpaceX.

Despite the explosive end of the test flight, SpaceX considers it a successful day, primarily because of the data collected that could help in better understanding the rocket's performance. 

Analyst QuickTake : In April 2023 , SpaceX's first-ever Starship spacecraft exploded mid-air after taking off from the Starbase spaceport in Texas. Despite facing engine and stage separation failures, it managed to climb to a height of just under 25 miles. Meanwhile, NASA officials recently revealed that SpaceX's Starship will need "in the high teens" of launches for Artemis lunar landings. This number is significantly higher than what the company's leadership had previously communicated.