It was detonated after they tried multiple rotations of the entire rocket which is mind blowing the control they have. Although separation was not successful, the booster burn was successful. So for first launch of this heavy booster, getting it off ground was most important testing. Where is NASA testing for their moon program? Or are they going to buy bus tokens from SpaceX?
Yet 50+ years ago we could pull this off without a hitch....all with less computing power than your watch. They claim they lost all the technology to go back to the moon....while standing in front of the craft that took them there at NASA. A little fuel and that thing should be good to go.....
We saw the amateur rocket guys launching on the Black Rock Desert, pretty cool. They've even put one into space from there, but mission parameters matter. Just putting it out there is one thing, bringing it back is another parameter.
Most of that rocket launched today was stainless steel. I gather from that they were weighing this thing heavy to see how that acceleration would play out. Static testing in test cells is one thing. "Sending it" is another, with a bunch more data to gain and go over. SpaceX impresses me more than the Boeing SLS, coming from a guy who worked at Boeing.
All you have to do is look at the heads up touch display on the SpaceX on launches to ISS versus what we have seen before. All they do is cutting edge. Make it easier for astronauts. Not harder.