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Flown metal spacecraft component recovered from the wreckage of SpaceX Starship SN8, which crashed during the return from its first flight on December 9, 2020. The piece measures 22.5˝ x 15˝ x 4˝, with the top engraved with capital letters, “SKIRT-H.” Accompanied by a letter of provenance from Steve Jurvetson of Future Ventures, who is pictured on the reverse standing next to the remains of the historic SN8, with a SKIRT-H panel visible on the interior structural ribbing of the Starship SN8. The letter reads, in part: "SpaceX's SN8 was the first fully complete Starship upper-stage test flight. It demonstrated first-of-its-kind controlled aerodynamic descent and a landing flip maneuver. These techniques will enable landings where no runways exist, including moon, Mars, and beyond. I personally collected this structural element from the wreckage of SN8 on December 10, 2020, the day after its first and final flight. We held a board meeting that day and walked around Starbase afterward.
Space.com summarized the test flight in their reporting: 'SpaceX’s Starship spaceflight system just took a big step on its path to Mars. The latest Starship prototype, a shiny silver vehicle known as SN8, launched on an epic high-altitude test flight today (Dec. 9), taking off at 5:45 p.m. EST (2245 GMT) from SpaceX’s facility near the South Texas town of Boca Chica.
The goal was to soar about 7.8 miles (12.5 kilometers) into the sky, perform some complex aerial maneuvers—including a “belly flop” like the one the final Starship will perform when coming back to Earth on operational flights—and then land safely near the launch stand.
The 165-foot-tall (50 meters) SN8 appeared to notch all of these big milestones, except for the final one: The vehicle hit its landing mark but came in too fast, exploding in a dramatic fireball 6 minutes and 42 seconds after liftoff.
SN8’s rapid unplanned disassembly did nothing to dampen the spirits of SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, who was thrilled by the results of the test flight. '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!!' Musk tweeted that evening. 'Mars, here we come!''
