SpaceX's Starship SN8 prototype launch attempt was aborted on Dec. 8, 2020 at the private spaceflight company's Boca Chica, Texas facility. SpaceX was attempting to fly Starship to an altitude of about 8 miles (12.5 kilometers)
As early as Tuesday, December 8, the SpaceX team will make the first attempt of a high-altitude suborbital flight test of Starship serial number 8 (SN8) from our site in Cameron County, Texas.
The schedule is dynamic and likely to change, as is the case with all development testing.
Today’s window for the test opened at 7:00 a.m. CST and goes through 5:00 p.m. CST, and we also have opportunities available on Wednesday and Thursday.
This suborbital flight is designed to test a number of objectives, from how the vehicle’s three Raptor engines perform, and the overall aerodynamic entry capabilities of the vehicle, including its body flaps, to how the vehicle manages propellant transition. SN8 will also attempt to perform a landing flip maneuver, which would be a first for a vehicle of this size.
With a test such as this, success is not measured by completion of specific objectives but rather how much we can learn as a whole, which will inform and improve the probability of success in the future as SpaceX rapidly advances development of Starship.
This will be a live feed of the flight test and will start a few minutes prior to liftoff. Stay tuned to our social media channels for updates as we move toward our first high altitude flight test of Starship!