Starship SN8 was the first SpaceX Starship prototype to perform a high-altitude flight test.
SN8 launched from SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas, test site on 9 December 2020. The prototype climbed to roughly 12.5 kilometres, shut down its engines, performed a controlled horizontal “belly-flop” descent, and attempted to relight its engines for a landing.
The vehicle followed the aerodynamic maneuver that became central to Starship’s planned return from orbit. SN8 reached the landing zone but struck the ground at high speed and was destroyed. The test was still considered valuable because it demonstrated several difficult flight behaviors for the first time.
SN5 and SN6 had previously completed shorter hop tests, so they were not the first high-altitude Starship prototypes. SN9 repeated the maneuver in January 2021, while SN10 became the first to land after the maneuver, although it was later destroyed by a landing-related failure.