Starship Explosion Caused by Propellant Dump, Says Musk

Despite the setback, SpaceX's upcoming flight in February remains unaffected and plans for demonstrating reentry capabilities and propellant transfer are underway.

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, revealed that the explosion of the Starship’s upper stage during its second test flight in November 2023 was caused by a propellant dump gone wrong.
The explosion occurred when liquid oxygen had to be vented from Starship as the vehicle neared the end of its engine burn, which led to a fire and explosion.
Despite the explosion, the incident will not impact the megarocket’s upcoming scheduled flight in February.
During the third demonstration mission, SpaceX aims to conduct an in-space engine burn using the header tank at the top of the rocket, to demonstrate reentry capabilities.
SpaceX is also planning to conduct an initial test of transferring propellant from the header tank to the main tank, a process being developed with NASA funding, as it’s a requirement for the Artemis missions.