The upcoming prototype of the Starship spacecraft called SN8 will try to reach a height of 60,000 feet, ie about 18 kilometers, during a test flight. Elon Musk informed about it.
The head of SpaceX and Tesla also revealed that the upper cone (nose cone) and SN8 flaps could be “finished in about a week”.
SN8 Starship with flaps & nosecone should be done in about a week. Then static fire, checkouts, static fire, fly to 60,000 ft & back.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 12, 2020
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While each of the previous SN5 and SN6 prototypes had only one Raptor engine, the SN8 will already have three. However, he will have to pass a series of tests before “jumping” to 18 kilometers.
Experts do they believethat the SN8 will perform an unusual maneuver during this flight, the so-called “belly-flop”. Several enthusiasts have even created a video that shows what it might look like:
