Starship SN7

Block 1 Starship Prototype

Mission Profile

Starship SN7 was a SpaceX Starship propellant tank test article, intentionally tested to destruction on 14 June 2020 at Boca Chica, Texas to establish the ultimate pressure limit of the 304L stainless steel tank design. Rather than building a full Starship prototype, SpaceX constructed a short barrel section specifically to gather structural limits data, pressurizing it with liquid nitrogen until it failed at approximately 7.6 bar — well above the expected 6 bar design requirement. The controlled destruction test validated SpaceX's decision to switch from 301 to 304L stainless steel and gave engineers high confidence in the material margins. SN7.1, a second identical test article, followed in September 2020 to validate further structural refinements.