On December 9, 2020, SpaceX conducted a test flight of the Starship prototype SN8 from its facility near Boca Chica, Texas. The objective was to reach about 40,000 feet, then land near the site. The vehicle was destroyed upon landing.

The complete video of the test flight is on the SpaceX YouTube channel at    • Starship | SN8 | High-Altitude Flight...  .

After the anomaly, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted:

"Successful ascent, switchover to header tanks & precise flap control to landing point! Fuel header tank pressure was low during landing burn, causing touchdown velocity to be high & RUD, but we got all the data we needed! Congrats SpaceX team hell yeah!!"