SpaceX Starship

Starship is a two-stage fully <a href="/facts/Reusable_launch_vehicle/j0WC10op">reusable</a> <a href="/facts/Super_heavy-lift_launch_vehicle/JSwbocv8">super heavy-lift launch vehicle</a> under development by American aerospace company <a href="/facts/SpaceX/2tKHsVdJ">SpaceX</a>. On 20 April 2023, with the <a href="/facts/Starship_flight_test_1/PdjvjIyV">first Integrated Flight Test</a>, Starship became the most massive and most powerful vehicle ever to fly. SpaceX has developed Starship with the intention of lowering launch costs using <a href="/facts/Economies_of_scale/gtAYHuNT">economies of scale</a>. SpaceX aims to achieve this by <a href="/facts/Fully_reusable_orbital_launch_vehicle/j0WC10op">reusing both rocket stages</a> by catching them with the launch and integration tower, increasing payload mass to orbit, increasing launch frequency, <a href="/facts/Mass_production/31Cmgjuc">mass-manufacturing</a> the rockets and <a href="/facts/General-purpose_technology/QCmNL7Jv">adapting it to a wide range</a> of space missions. Starship is the latest project in SpaceX's <a href="/facts/SpaceX_reusable_launch_system_development_program/kuah4fl8">reusable launch system development program</a> and <a href="/facts/SpaceX_Mars_colonization_program/zjbYEwHv">plan to colonize Mars</a>.
Starship's two stages are the <a href="/facts/SpaceX_Super_Heavy/wXKtwRfS">Super Heavy booster</a> and the <a href="/facts/SpaceX_Starship_(spacecraft)/FGWc9PxL">Starship spacecraft</a>. Both stages are equipped with <a href="/facts/SpaceX_Raptor/cRHRm8ge">Raptor engines</a>, the first flown and mass-produced <a href="/facts/Staged_combustion_cycle/eINPGPr5">full-flow staged combustion cycle</a> engines, which burn <a href="/facts/Liquid_methane/kBHneYnh">liquid methane</a> (natural gas) and <a href="/facts/Liquid_oxygen/qnI0KDTb">liquid oxygen</a>.
As of 2024, Starship is in development with an <a href="/facts/Iterative_and_incremental_development/wqT31VIC">iterative and incremental approach</a>, involving <a href="/facts/List_of_Starship_launches/jN5xUfJ7">test flights of prototype vehicles</a>. As a successor to SpaceX's <a href="/facts/Falcon_9/mNck6vby">Falcon 9</a> and <a href="/facts/Falcon_Heavy/vh7so7BW">Falcon Heavy</a> rockets, Starship is intended to perform a wide range of space missions. For missions to further destinations, such as <a href="/facts/Geosynchronous_orbit/nR2yaeUg">geosynchronous orbit</a>, the <a href="/facts/Moon/zKHqEMPb">Moon</a>, and <a href="/facts/Mars/AQGtVvz0">Mars</a>, Starship will rely on <a href="/facts/Orbital_propellant_depot/srD0zEyR">orbital propellant refilling</a>; a ship-to-ship propellant transfer demonstration is expected to occur in 2025. SpaceX also plans other versions of the Starship spacecraft, such as cargo (deploying SpaceX's <a href="/facts/Starlink/99JTqw3z">second-generation</a> <a href="/facts/Starlink/99JTqw3z">Starlink</a> satellite constellation) and human spaceflight (the <a href="/facts/Starship_HLS/1bjx1dx2">Human Landing System</a> variant will land astronauts on the Moon as part of the <a href="/facts/Artemis_program/QHBrKFI8">Artemis program</a>, starting in 2027).

SpaceX Starship open-in-new

SpaceX Starship