--- title: "Starship Test Flight to 50,000 Feet Could Happen as Soon as Next Week" description: "According to local road closure filings, SpaceX is getting ready for its next big test flight: Starship's first flight to 12 miles." date: "2020-11-05" modified: "2020-11-05" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/starship-test-flight-12-miles-next-week" categories: - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" tags: - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "the digest" --- # Starship Test Flight to 50,000 Feet Could Happen as Soon as Next Week ![According to local road closure filings, SpaceX is getting ready for its next big test flight: Starship's first flight to 12 miles.]() *\Image: NASASpaceFlight\* ## It's a Date According to local [road closure filings](), SpaceX is getting ready for its next big test flight: Starship's first high-altitude flight, to 50,000 feet (roughly 9.5 miles), at its testing facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The filings, published on Wednesday, say that SpaceX is looking at a time window on November 9, from 9 am to 9 pm. The listed purpose is a second static fire test of the company's SN8 Starship prototype, followed by a "15 \[kilometer\] flight." Musk [initially claimed]() that SN8 will "fly to 60,000 feet," or 12 miles in September. Later that month, Musk [scaled that target down]() to just 15 kilometers, or 50,000 feet. ## Gaining Altitude Thanks to renders by SpaceX enthusiasts — which gained SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's [stamp of approval]() earlier this week — we have a pretty good idea of what such a test flight could look like. SN8's maiden voyage, however, won't include a Super Heavy booster, which is currently in early development, nor will it feature all six Raptor engines planned for the Starship itself. ## Testing Testing The prototype has only been [outfitted with three]() engines so far, which the company successfully ran through their paces during their [first test firing on October 20](). It also outfitted SN8 with a nosecone and two aerodynamic flaps, giving us a much better picture of what the finished product will look like. Early prototypes looked far more [like a water tower]() than a rocket ready to transport 100 passengers to Mars. **READ MORE:** [SpaceX’s high-altitude Starship launch debut officially has a date]() \[*Teslarati*\] **More on Starship:** *[Elon Musk: This Fan-Made Video Is “Very Close” to Showing Actual Starship Flight]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()