 Starship prototype SN20 at thelaunch site; the distinctivestainless steel structure is visible as well as the edges of the darkthermal protection tiles that cover the windward side of the vehicle. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | SpaceX | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Country of origin | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator | SpaceX | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Applications |
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| Website | spacex | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Specifications | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spacecraft type | Crewed, reusable | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Payload capacity | 200,000 kg (440,000 lb) (planned)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crew capacity | Up to 100 (planned) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Volume | 1,000 m3 (35,000 cu ft) (planned) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wingspan | 17 m (56 ft) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Production | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | In development | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Launched | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Failed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lost | 1
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| Maiden launch | 20 April 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Related spacecraft | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Derivatives | Starship HLS | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Flown with | SpaceX Super Heavy | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Starship is aspacecraft andsecond stage[4] under development by Americanaerospace companySpaceX. Stacked atop its booster,Super Heavy, the pair compose SpaceX'ssuper heavy-liftspace vehicle, also calledStarship. The spacecraft is designed to transport both crew and cargo to a variety of destinations, including Earth orbit, theMoon, and Mars. It is designed to bereusable and capable oflanding propulsively by firing its engines to perform a controlled descent[5] into the arms of a tower on Earth or with landing legs on otherplanetary bodies.[6] It is intended to enable long-durationinterplanetary flights with a crew of up to 100 people.[4] It is also claimed by SpaceX to be capable of enabling travel to anywhere on Earth in under an hour.[7] Furthermore, it has been proposed to be used torefuel other Starship spacecraft, enabling them to reach higher orbits and other space destinations.Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, estimated in a tweet that eight launches would be needed to completely refuel a Starship inlow Earth orbit.[8] However, some estimates include as many as twenty refueling flights.[9]
Development began in 2012, when Musk described a plan to build a reusable launch vehicle with substantially greater capabilities than theFalcon 9 and the plannedFalcon Heavy. The rocket evolved through many design and name changes. On July 25, 2019, theStarhopper prototype performed the first successful flight atSpaceX Starbase nearBoca Chica, Texas.[10] In May 2021, the SN15 prototype became the first full-size test spacecraft to take off and land successfully.[11] On April 20, 2023, Starship 24 performed thefirst full flight test on top of a Super Heavy booster, followed by asecond test on November 18, 2023, when Starship 25 successfully completedhot staging and passed theKármán line, becoming the first Starship to reach space as well as the heaviest object to ever reach space, before exploding at 148 km.[12][13] As of March 2025[update], SpaceX has conducted six more flight tests of Starship, successfully achieving orbital velocities and gradually testing the atmospheric reentry and vertical landing capabilities of the vehicle by performing controlled splashdowns into the Indian Ocean.[14] In April 2024, Elon Musk announced two new versions of Starship,Block 2 andBlock 3. Both versions are expected to be taller, and have increased thrust.[1]
The Block 2 version of Starship is 52.1 m (171 ft) tall, 9 m (30 ft) wide,[1] and is composed of four general sections: the engine bay, the oxygen tank, the fuel tank, and the payload bay.[2] The retired Block 1 was constructed in a similar manner, though it was only 50.3 m (165 ft) tall.Elon Musk stated in 2021 that the vehicle has adry mass of roughly 100 t (220,000 lb).[2] The windward side is protected by aheat shield, which is composed of eighteen thousand[15][16] hexagonal black tiles that can withstand temperatures of 1,400 °C (2,600 °F).[17][18] It is designed to protect the vehicle duringatmospheric entry and to be used multiple times with minimal maintenance between flights.[19] Thesilica-based tiles are attached to Starship with pins,[18] and have small gaps in between to allow forheat expansion.[20][2] Afterflight test 4, SpaceX added a secondary ablative layer under the primary heat shield,[21] though this was only added to the flaps of theflight test 6 vehicle.[22] This ablative layer is likely composed of pyron, which is similar in composition tocarbon composites.[23] The total mass of the heat shield and ablative layer of a Block 1 ship is 10.5 t (23,000 lb).[24]
The propellant tanks on Starship are separated by a common bulkhead, similar to the ones used on theS-II andS-IVB stages on theSaturn V rocket.[25] While Block 2 vehicles use an elliptical dome,[26] the common and forward domes of the Block 1 design were more conical.[27] Block 1 vehicles only had 24stringers within the oxygen tank,[28] while Block 2 vehicles had these added to the methane tanks.[26] The vehicle's tanks hold 1,500 t (3,300,000 lb) of propellant,[1] consisting of 1,170 t (2,580,000 lb) of liquid oxygen and 330 t (730,000 lb) of liquid methane.[b]
Fuel is fed to the engines via four downcomers, with three smaller downcomers feeding theVacuum Raptors/RVacs and the central downcomer feeding the inner three engines.[26] The central downcomer connects to a large sump, instead of directly to the methane tank itself.[29] The original design only featured a single downcomer.[30] The LOX downcomer extends into the LOX tank, with a small expanded portion of unknown purpose.[31] Two additional downcomers route methane and oxygen from the header tanks.[32] A camera is located on the walls of the tank, pointed towards the payload bay.[33]
The oxygen tank terminates with the thrust structure of the vehicle.[27] The RVacs are mounted directly to the aft dome, which has reinforcements mounted inside of the tank.[27] The three sea level engines are mounted on the thrust puck, which forms the bottom of the aft dome.[34] A conical steel structure is mounted inside the bottom of the dome, reinforcing the thrust puck enough to enable its support of the inner three engines.[35] The propellant lines on the vehicles are allvacuum jacketed, reducing boiloff while in orbit.[36][30]
Starship is powered by sixRaptor engines, which are housed within a dedicated shielding compartment.[37] Blocks 1 through 3 feature three sea-level engines, as well as three engines optimized for operation in the vacuum of space, called RVacs.[38] Block 4 ships are expected to feature three additional RVacs.[38] The sea-level engines are equipped withgimbal actuators, and reignite for the landing burns.[23] AfterStarship's second flight test, this gimbaling system was switched from a hydraulic system to an electric one, enabling the removal of the hydraulic power units.[39] This change was made to the booster after thefirst flight test.[39] There are four engine chill lines onboard the vehicle, though two of these lines may serve another purpose.[40]
Each engine is protected by a dedicated shielding compartment.[40] Beginning with S25, the Block 1 design had between 14 and 16 such vents.[40] Additional vents were added after flight 7.[41] Thefire suppression system, which uses gaseous nitrogen to purge the engine bay during flight, was upgraded after flight 7.[42] A similar system on the booster uses carbon dioxide to purge the individual engine compartments during flight and static fires.[39]
The Raptor engine uses afull-flow staged combustion cycle, which has both oxygen and methane-rich turbopumps.[43][44] Before 2014, only two full-flow staged-combustion rocket engine designs had advanced enough to undergo testing: the SovietRD-270 project in the 1960s and the Aerojet RocketdyneIntegrated Powerhead Demonstrator in the mid-2000s.[45] To improve performance, the engines burn supercooled propellant.[4]
The Block 1 version of the ship (used through November 2024) produces a total of 12.25 MN (2,750,000 lbf)[1] almost triple the thrust of theSaturn V second stage, with this being expected to increase to 15.69 MN (3,530,000 lbf) for Block 2 boosters and later up to 26.48 MN (5,950,000 lbf) with the Block 3 vehicle.[1]
During unpowered flight in orbit,control authority is provided bycold gas thrusters fed with residualullage gas.[27] Four such thrusters are located just below the payload bay,[46] and two on the oxygen tank.[47] Near the top of the nosecone, there are two vents connected to the header tanks.[47] Additional vents were added at the base of the vehicle after flight two.[48]
The payload bay hosts the nosecone, header tanks, forward flaps, multiple COPVs, and the "PEZ dispenser".[49] The header tanks are mounted at the tip of the payload bay.[27] The LOX header tank forms the top of the nosecone, with the methane header tank attached directly below it.[50] These tanks terminate in a conical sump, which are attached to the downcomers.[51] Several COPVs are mounted in the space around the methane header tank, providing the startup gas for the engines,[49] with twelve additional COPVs within the base of the payload bay.[52]
The nosecone has substantial internal reinforcement, mainly around the forward flap attachment points and lifting points for the chopsticks.[49] The number of internal stringers was increased between Block 1 and Block 2 vehicles.[53] Additional reinforcements are used to support the PEZ dispenser on ships equipped with one.[53] Four Starlink antennas are located within the nosecone.[54]
The PEZ dispenser is used to deploy Starlink satellites into LEO.[27] It was first added to S24, though it was permanently sealed untilflight 3. It consists of the dispenser mechanism and the door.[27] The door opens by folding into the payload bay.[55]
The dispenser itself is mounted directly to the forward dome.[56] It has a truss structure for its base, with solid steel used elsewhere.[56] A mobile track is used in the base, enabling the dispenser to push the satellite out of the vehicle.[56] After dispensing a satellite, the next payload is lowered onto the base, and is deployed.[56] The opposite occurs during loading, with the dispenser raising its payloads to receive another satellite.[56] In order to prevent the satellite from floating out of the mechanism during zero-g operations, the dispenser locks the satellites in position using a "retention frame". This is lowered alongside the satellites during operation.[56]
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Starship controls its reentry with four flaps, two aft flaps mounted to the sides of the engine bay and LOX tank and two forward flaps on the payload bay.[57] Substantial reinforcements are present in the nosecone for the support of the forward flaps.[26] According to SpaceX, the flaps replace the need for wings ortailplane, reduce the fuel needed for landing, and allow landing at destinations in the Solar System where runways do not exist (for example, Mars). The flap's hinges are sealed inaerocovers because they would otherwise be easily damaged during reentry.[2] Static wicks are present on the flaps, aiding in the discharge of static electricity.[54]
Despite this, damage to the forward flaps was observed on flightsfour,[57]five,[23] andsix,[58] with near complete loss occurring on flight 4.[59] Beginning with Block 2, the design of these forward flaps was significantly changed, moving leeward and becoming thinner and angled.[33] This sets them at an approximately 140-degree angle, compared to the 180-degree angle of the aft flaps and previous version of the forward flaps.[30] This change was made to prevent the static aero from creating a tendency for the Ship to pitch up, even when the forward flaps were stowed,[60] and also reduces the heating on the static aero and forward flaps observed on the last three flights of the Block 1 ship.[61] Both sets of flaps feature cameras in their hinges.[33]
The manufacturing process starts with rolls ofstainless steel, which are unrolled, cut, and welded along an edge to create a cylinder of 9 m (30 ft) diameter, 1.83 m (6.00 ft) tall, and 3.97 mm (0.156 in) thick,[62] and approximately 1600 kg (3,600 lb) in mass.[c] Twenty-one such rings are used in the Starship spacecraft.[30]
These rings are stacked and robotically welded along their edges to form stacks of three to five rings in the Starfactory.[50] Following this, the domes are installed within the forward, aft, and common ring stacks.[50] Cutouts are made for the header tank downcomers in the forward dump, a sump is added to the common dome,[50] and aft dome is integrated with the thrust puck at this point.[50] Heat tile pins are added to the ring stacks, along with the secondary thermal protection system.[50] Following this, the thermal protection system's tiles are attached.[50]
The nosecone is assembled from two different segments.[50] The header tanks are inserted into the tip of the nosecone, as well as the motors and structural frames for the forward flaps.[50] Heat shield tiles are added at this stage.[50]
The segments are stacked vertically, beginning with the nosecone being lowered onto the payload bay.[50] This process continues until the vehicle is integrated with the aft barrel, completing the structure of the vehicle.[50] Following this, the aft flaps are installed onto the vehicle.[50]
The vehicle is then rolled to theMassey's test site, where it is cryogenically tested.[63] These tests fill both tanks with liquid nitrogen, which is nonflammable, while pressing on the thrust puck to simulate the raptor engines.[50] After returning to the production site, the engines are installed.[50] It is static fired at Massey's,[64] and then is rolled to the launch site for flight.[65]
For a non-Starlinksatellite launch, Starship is planned to have a large cargo door that opens to release payloads, similar toNASA'sSpace Shuttle, and close upon reentry instead of ajettisonable noseconefairing. Instead of acleanroom, payloads are integrated directly into Starship'spayload bay, which requires purging the payload bay with temperature-controlledISO class 8 clean air.[66]
Crewed Starship vehicles would replace the cargo bay with a pressurized crew section and have alife-support system. For long-duration missions, such ascrewed flights to Mars, SpaceX describes the interior as potentially including "private cabins, large communal areas, centralized storage,solar storm shelters, and a viewing gallery".[66] Starship's life support system is expected to recycle resources such as air and water from waste.[67]
Starship has been proposed to be able to refuel by docking with separately launched Starship propellant tanker spacecraft in orbit.[38] If this concept proves successful, it could potentially increase the spacecraft's mass capacity, theoretically allowing it to reach higher-energy targets. As of 2025 this concept has not been demonstrated. Some proposed missions that would require this in-space refueling include:geosynchronous orbit, the Moon, and Mars.[68] A Starshippropellant depot could cache methane and oxygen on-orbit and be used by Starship to replenish its fuel tanks.[36]
Starship Human Landing System (HLS) is a crewed lunar lander variant of the Starship vehicle that would be modified for landing, operation, and takeoff from the lunar surface.[69] It features landing legs, a body-mountedsolar array,[70] a set of thrusters mounted mid-body to assist with final landing and takeoff,[70] twoairlocks,[69] and an elevator to lower crew and cargo onto the lunar surface.[71]
Varying estimates have been given about the number of tanker launches required to fully fuel HLS, ranging from between "four and eight" to a number "in the high teens".[72][73] These launches will reportedly have to be in "rapid succession" in order to manage schedule constraints and cryogenic fuel boil-off.[72] When fully fueled, Starship HLS is designed to land 100 t (220,000 lb) of payload on the Moon.[74][75][76]
In October 2012, the company made the first public articulation of plans to develop a fully reusable rocket system with substantially greater capabilities than SpaceX's existing Falcon 9.[77] Later in 2012,[78] the company first mentioned the Mars Colonial Transporter rocket concept in public. It was to be able to carry 100 people or 100 t (220,000 lb) of cargo to Mars and would be powered by methane-fueled Raptor engines.[79] Musk referred to this new launch vehicle under the unspecified acronym "MCT",[77] revealed to stand for "Mars Colonial Transporter" in 2013,[80] which would serve as part ofthe company's Mars system architecture.[45] SpaceX COOGwynne Shotwell gave a potential payload range between 150 and 200 tons tolow Earth orbit for the planned rocket.[77] According to SpaceX engine development headTom Mueller, SpaceX could use nineRaptor engines on a single MCT booster or spacecraft.[81][45] The preliminary design would be at least 10 meters (33 ft) in diameter, and was expected to have up to three cores totaling at least 27 booster engines.[45]
In 2016, the name of the Mars Colonial Transporter system was changed to theInterplanetary Transport System (ITS), due to the vehicle being capable of other destinations.[82] Additionally, Elon Musk provided more details about the space mission architecture, launch vehicle, spacecraft, and Raptor engines. The first test firing of a Raptor engine on a test stand took place in September 2016.[83][84]
TheITS second stage was planned to be used for long-duration spaceflight, instead of solely being used for reaching orbit. The two proposed variants aimed to be reusable.[85] Its maximum width would be 17 m (56 ft), with three sea level Raptor engines, and six optimized for vacuum firing. Total engine thrust in a vacuum was to be about 31 MN (7,000,000 lbf).[86] It would have 1,950 tonnes (4,300,000 lb) of propellant, and a dry mass of 150 tonnes (330,000 lb).[86]
In September 2017, at the 68th annual meeting of theInternational Astronautical Congress, Musk announced a new launch vehicle calling it theBFR, again changing the name, though stating that the name was temporary.[87] The acronym was alternatively stated as standing forBig Falcon Rocket orBig Fucking Rocket, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the BFG from theDoom video game series.[88]
The BFR was designed to be 106 meters (348 ft) tall, 9 meters (30 ft) in diameter, and made ofcarbon composites.[89][90] The upper stage, known as Big Falcon Ship (BFS), included a smalldelta wing at the rear end withsplit flaps forpitch and roll control. The delta wing and split flaps were said to expand theflight envelope to allow the ship to land in a variety ofatmospheric densities (vacuum, thin, or heavy atmosphere) with a wide range of payloads.[89][87]: 18:05–19:25 The BFS design originally had six Raptor engines, with four vacuum and two sea-level. By late 2017, SpaceX added a third sea-level engine (totaling 7) to allow greater Earth-to-Earth payload landings and still ensure capability if one of the engines fails.[91][d]
In December 2018, the structural material was changed from carbon composites[92][85] to stainless steel,[93][94] marking the transition from early design concepts of the Starship.[93][95][96] Musk cited numerous reasons for the design change; low cost and ease of manufacture, increased strength of stainless steel atcryogenic temperatures, as well as its ability to withstand high heat.[97][95] The windward side would be cooled during entry by allowing fuel or water to bleed throughmicropores in a double-wall stainless steel skin, removing heat byevaporation. The liquid-cooled windward side was changed in 2019 to use reusable heat shield tiles similar tothose of the Space Shuttle.[98][99]
In 2019, SpaceX began to refer to the entire vehicle as Starship, with the second stage being called Starship and the boosterSuper Heavy.[100][101][102][103]
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The first tests started with the construction of the first prototype in 2018,Starhopper, which performed severalstatic fires and two successful low-altitude flights in 2019.[104] In June 2020, SpaceX started constructing a launch pad for orbital Starship flights. In August and September 2020, SN5 and SN6 conducted a 150 m (500 ft) hop test.[105][106] This was followed by a 12.5 km (7.8 mi) flight test in December 2020, using SN8. Despite a full successfully ascent burn, SN8 failed during the landing attempt, due to low methane header tank pressure.[107]
On February 2, 2021,Starship SN9 launched to 10 km (6.2 mi) in a flight path similar to SN8. The prototype crashed upon landing because one engine did not ignite properly.[108] A month later, on March 3,Starship SN10 launched on the same flight path as SN9.[109] The vehicle landed hard and crushed its landing legs, and detonated ten minutes later.[110] On March 30,Starship SN11 flew into thick fog along the same flight path.[111] The vehicle exploded during descent,[111] possibly due to excess propellant in a Raptor's methane turbopump.[112] On May 5, 2021, SN15 launched, completed the same maneuvers as older prototypes, and landed safely.[113] SN15 had a fire in the engine area after landing but it was extinguished.[114]
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Booster 7 and Ship 24 conducted several static fire and spin prime tests before launch,[115]: 20 [116] with the first such test doing significant damage to Booster 7 on July 11, 2022.[117] After a launch attempt aborted on April 17, 2023,[118]Booster 7 andShip 24 lifted off on 20 April at 13:33 UTC in thefirst orbital flight test, with the vehicle being destroyed before stage separation.[78]
On November 18, 2023, Booster 9 and Ship 25 lifted off the pad.[119] After a successful stage separation, the second stage continued its ascent until it reached an altitude of ~149 kilometres (93 mi), before the flight termination system activated, and destroyed the vehicle.[120] It appeared to re-enter a few hundred miles north of theVirgin Islands, according toNOAA weather radar data.[121]
Flight 3 launched from theSpaceX Starbase facility along theSouth Texas coast around 8:25 CDT on March 14, 2024, coincidentally the 22nd anniversary of its founding.[122][123] After stage separation, the Starship vehicle reached orbital velocity. While on an almost-orbital trajectory, the vehicle conducted several tests after engine cutoff, including initiating apropellant transfer demo and payload dispenser test.[124][125] It attempted tore-enter the atmosphere,[126][127] and at an altitude of around 65 km (40 mi), all telemetry from Ship 28 stopped, indicating a loss of the vehicle.[128]
Thefourth flight test of the full Starship configuration launched on June 6, 2024, at 7:50 AM CDT.[129] The goals for the test flight were for the ship to survive peak heating during atmospheric reentry.[130] The ship survived atmospheric reentry and successfully ignited its engines for a controlled splashdown.[131]
Flight 6 was flown on November 19, 2024, successfully relighting a Raptor engine in the vacuum of space, paving the way forpayload deployments on future flights.[132] Astuffed toybanana served as the zero-g indicator, becoming Starship's first payload, though it remained within the vehicle for the duration of the flight.[132]Eric Berger claimed that, due to the success of the in-space relight, Starship would likely be "cleared to travel into orbit".[133]
Starship is the fully reusable spacecraft and second stage of the Starship system.
(SpaceX discussion at 30:15-31:40)We'll have the next generation rocket and spacecraft, beyond the Falcon and Dragon series ... I'm hoping to describe that architecture later this year at the International Astronautical Congress. which is the big international space event every year. ... first flights to Mars? we're hoping to do that in around 2025 ... nine years from now or thereabouts.
[Musk] added that, since the presentation last month, SpaceX has revised the design of the BFR spaceship to add a "medium area ratio" Raptor engine to its original complement of two engines with sea-level nozzles and four with vacuum nozzles. That additional engine helps enable that engine-out capability ... and will "allow landings with higher payload mass for the Earth to Earth transport function."
SpaceX's Starship system represents a fully reusable transportation system designed to service Earth orbit needs as well as missions to the Moon and Mars. This two-stage vehicle – composed of the Super Heavy rocket (booster) and Starship (spacecraft)
Musk tackles the hardest engineering problems first. For Mars, there will be so many logistical things to make it all work, from power on the surface to scratching out a living to adapting to its extreme climate. But Musk believes that the initial, hardest step is building a reusable, orbital Starship to get people and tons of stuff to Mars. So he is focused on that.
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