Starship’s second test flight is a success (although the world’s largest rocket has exploded)

Elon Musk himself congratulated his team after the “exciting” second flight. He emphasized that all 33 of Super Heavy’s Raptor engines were at the appointment, and that the disconnection was successful.

“With a test like this, success is about what you learn from it. Today’s test will help us increase Starship’s reliability as we look to the future and interplanetary plans,” SpaceX said.

But Bill Nelson, the boss of the American space agency NASA, also had praise in store. He congratulated the SpaceX crew for the “progress” made today. “Space travel is a tough adventure where you have to have the right attitude – just do things and dare to innovate. Today is an opportunity to learn – and then fly again.”