Watch the Launch

Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Starship | SN8 | High-Altitude Flight Test

On Wednesday, December 9, Starship serial number 8 (SN8) lifted off from our Cameron County launch pad and successfully ascended, transitioned propellant, and performed its landing flip maneuver with ...

12.5 km Flight

Overview

Destination: Suborbital
Mission: Test Flight

Suborbital Suborbital Pad A SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA
SN8 - SpaceX Starship Landing Pad

The SN8 Starship prototype was destroyed when attempting to land after a first flight to an altitude of 12.5 km or 41,000 ft.

Updates

Nosu • Dec. 9, 2020, 10:55 p.m.


Nosu • Dec. 9, 2020, 9:26 p.m.

new T-0 22:40 UTC


scottm3 • Dec. 9, 2020, 9:25 p.m.

NET 22:40 utc


Nosu • Dec. 9, 2020, 8:58 p.m.

updated T-0


Nosu • Dec. 9, 2020, 8:49 p.m.

Changed T-0 to 21:10 UTC, will be updated again once SpaceX stream is live


Starship Prototype

Family:
Configuration: Prototype

Prototype of SpaceX's Starship, a fully reusable second stage and space vehicle.

See Details
Specifications
  • Stages
    1
  • Length
    50.0 m
  • Diameter
    9.0 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    9.0 m
  • Launch Mass
    45.0 T
  • Thrust
Family
  • Name
    Starship Prototype
  • Family
  • Variant
    Prototype
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Starship Prototype
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Booster Info


SN8


Type: Core
Flight Proven: No
First Flight: December 9, 2020
Last Flight: December 9, 2020
Flights: 1
Landings Attempted: 1

Landing Information

SN8 was destroyed when attempting to land back near its launch site after its first flight.

Result: SN8 did not land successfully.

SpaceX

SpaceX

(SpX)

CEO: Elon Musk Founded: 2002 Successes: 711 Failures: 15 Pending: 124

Agency Type:

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.

INFO WIKI
SpaceNews

Congress raises concerns about FAA’s handling of Starship launch license violation

As SpaceX gears up for another test flight of a Starship prototype, the Federal Aviation Administration is facing new scrutiny from Congress for how it handled SpaceX’s violation of its launch license on an earlier test flight.

SpaceNews

SpaceX violated launch license in Starship SN8 launch

The FAA said that SpaceX violated the conditions of a launch license for its Starship vehicle during a launch in December, prompting an investigation that delayed tests of another vehicle.

Spaceflight Now

FAA approves Starship test after saying SpaceX violated safety rules on last flight

SpaceX defied public safety rules on its most recent Starship launch over South Texas in December, the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday as it approved a license for SpaceX’s next high-altitude Starship test flight scheduled for…

Teslarati

Relive SpaceX’s high-altitude Starship launch debut in 4K [video]

SpaceX has published a 4K recap of Starship serial number 8’s (SN8) spectacular high-altitude launch debut, highlighting all crucial aspects of the...

Spaceflight Now

Photos: Delta 4-Heavy rocket lights up Cape Canaveral

These photos show the fiery liftoff of a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral on Dec. 10, riding three pillars of flame from its hydrogen-fueled RS-68A main engines.

SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA

Suborbital Pad A


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