Overview
Starship is a two-stage, fully reusable super heavy-lift launch system under development by SpaceX. The complete vehicle consists of the Super Heavy first-stage booster (powered by 33 Raptor engines) and the Starship upper stage/spacecraft (powered by 6 Raptor engines). When fully stacked, it stands approximately 121 metres tall and produces roughly 74 meganewtons (16.7 million pounds-force) of thrust at liftoff — nearly twice the thrust of the Saturn V that carried Apollo astronauts to the Moon.
Starship is designed to be fully reusable — both stages returning to the launch site for rapid turnaround and re-flight. If SpaceX achieves this goal at scale, it would reduce per-kilogram launch costs by an order of magnitude or more compared to current expendable and partially reusable vehicles, fundamentally changing the economics of space transportation.
Specifications
| Parameter | Super Heavy (Booster) | Starship (Upper Stage) |
|---|---|---|
| Height | ~71 m | ~50 m |
| Diameter | 9 m | 9 m |
| Engines | 33 × Raptor 2 (sea-level) | 3 × Raptor (SL) + 3 × Raptor Vacuum |
| Propellant | Liquid methane / LOX | Liquid methane / LOX |
| Thrust (SL) | ~74 MN (16.7 Mlbf) | ~14.7 MN (combined) |
| Construction | Stainless steel (301/304L) | Stainless steel (301/304L) |
| Recovery method | Propulsive return, "chopstick" catch by launch tower | Propulsive belly-flop landing |
Payload Capacity
Starship's payload capacity depends heavily on the mission profile and whether the vehicle is expended or recovered. In fully reusable mode, SpaceX targets 100–150 tonnes to LEO. In an expendable upper-stage configuration (unlikely to be used routinely), theoretical capacity could exceed 200 tonnes. For comparison, Falcon 9 carries 22.8 tonnes to LEO and Falcon Heavy carries 63.8 tonnes.
The payload bay is approximately 8 metres in internal diameter and roughly 17 metres tall in its cargo configuration — large enough to carry entire space station modules, large space telescopes, or massive batches of next-generation Starlink V2 satellites (potentially 40–60 per flight).
Test Flight Programme
Starship's development has followed SpaceX's iterative "test, fail, fix, fly again" philosophy, with a rapid series of integrated flight tests (IFTs) from the Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas:
- IFT-1 (April 2023) — first integrated flight. Multiple Raptor engines failed during ascent; the vehicle was destroyed by the flight termination system at approximately T+4 minutes. The launch pad suffered severe damage.
- IFT-2 (November 2023) — successful hot-staging separation (a first for SpaceX). The booster was lost during boostback, and the Ship reached near-orbital altitude before being lost during coast.
- IFT-3 (March 2024) — Ship reached orbital velocity for the first time but was lost during re-entry. Demonstrated in-space engine relight and payload door opening.
- IFT-4 (June 2024) — both booster and Ship achieved controlled splashdowns in their respective target zones — a major milestone for the reusability programme.
- IFT-5 (October 2024) — the Super Heavy booster was caught by the launch tower's mechanical arms ("chopsticks") on return — the first-ever catch of an orbital-class rocket booster. The Ship completed a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
- IFT-6 (November 2024) — continued testing with another successful booster return to the launch site vicinity and Ship splashdown with improved thermal protection performance.
- IFT-7 (January 2025) — flew upgraded Raptor engines and demonstrated further reusability milestones including a second booster catch attempt.
Testing has continued through 2025 and into 2026, with flights progressively validating reusability, orbital operations, payload deployment and thermal protection systems. SpaceX's goal is to reach a high flight rate with rapid booster and Ship reuse.
Mission Roadmap
Starship is central to several major programmes:
- Starlink V2 — full-size Starlink V2 satellites are designed to be launched by Starship in batches of 40–60, dramatically accelerating constellation deployment and enabling more capable satellites with direct-to-cell capability.
- NASA Artemis HLS — a modified Starship has been selected as the Human Landing System (HLS) for NASA's Artemis III and IV lunar missions, which will return astronauts to the Moon's surface. The HLS variant requires in-orbit refuelling via multiple Starship tanker flights before departing for the Moon.
- Mars — Starship is SpaceX's intended vehicle for eventual crewed missions to Mars, leveraging in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) to produce methane and LOX propellant from Martian resources for the return journey.
- Point-to-point — SpaceX has explored using Starship for ultra-fast Earth-to-Earth transport, though this application remains speculative and faces significant regulatory hurdles.