Starship

Starship ignition during launch on its fifth flight
Function	Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	SpaceX
Country of origin	United States
Project cost	More than US$15 billion[1]
Cost per launch	$100 million (expendable)[2]
Size
Height	Block 1: 121.3 m (398 ft)[3] Block 2: 123.1 m (404 ft) Block 3: 124.4 m (408 ft) Block 4: 142 m (466 ft) (est.)
Diameter	9 m (30 ft)
Mass	5,000 t (11,000,000 lb)
Stages	2
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	Block 1: 15 t (33,000 lb)[3] Block 2: 35 t (77,000 lb) Block 3: 100 t (220,000 lb) Block 4: 200 t (440,000 lb) (est.)
Volume	614 m3 (21,700 cu ft)[4]
Associated rockets
Comparable	Energia Long March 9 N1 Saturn V Space Launch System
Launch history
Status	In development
Launch sites	Starbase, OLP-2 & OLP-1 (under reconstruction) Cape Canaveral, SLC-37 (under construction) Kennedy, LC-39A (under construction)
Total launches	13 Block 1: 6 Block 2: 5 Block 3: 2
Success(es)	8 Block 1: 4 Block 2: 2 Block 3: 2
Failures	5 Block 1: 2 (FT-1, FT-2) Block 2: 3 (FT-7, FT-8, FT-9) Block 3: 0
First flight	April 20, 2023; 3 years ago (2023-04-20)
Last flight	July 24, 2026; 26 days ago
Stage info First stage – Super Heavy Height 71 m (233 ft) Diameter 9 m (30 ft) Empty mass 275 t (606,000 lb) Gross mass 3,675 t (8,102,000 lb) Propellant mass 3,400 t (7,500,000 lb) Powered by 33 × Raptor engines Maximum thrust 89.5 MN (20,100,000 lbf)[5] Specific impulse SL: 327 s (3.21 km/s) Propellant CH4 / LOX Second stage – Starship Height Block 1: 50.3 m (165 ft) Block 2: 52.1 m (171 ft) Diameter 9 m (30 ft) Empty mass Block 1: ~100 t (220,000 lb)[6] Block 2: 85 t (187,000 lb)[7] Gross mass Block 1: ~1,300 t (2,900,000 lb) Block 2: 1,585 t (3,494,000 lb) [a] Propellant mass Block 1: 1,200 t (2,600,000 lb) Block 2: 1,500 t (3,300,000 lb) Powered by 3 × Raptor engines 3 × Raptor vacuum engines Maximum thrust 12,300 kN (2,800,000 lbf) Specific impulse SL: 327 s (3.21 km/s) vac: 380 s (3.7 km/s) Propellant CH4 / LOX
[edit on Wikidata]

Starship is a two-stage, fully reusable, super heavy-lift launch vehicle under development by American aerospace company SpaceX. Currently built and launched from Starbase in Texas, it is intended as the successor to the company's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets,^[8] and is part of SpaceX's broader reusable launch system development program. If completed as designed, Starship would be the first fully reusable orbital rocket and have the highest payload capacity of any launch vehicle to date. As of July 24, 2026, Starship has launched 13 times, with 8 successful flights and 5 failures.

The vehicle consists of two stages: the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft, both powered by Raptor engines burning liquid methane (the main component of natural gas) and liquid oxygen. Both stages are intended to return to the launch site and land vertically at the launch tower for potential reuse.^[9] Once in space, the Starship upper stage is intended to function as a standalone spacecraft capable of carrying crew and cargo.^[10] Missions beyond low Earth orbit would require multiple in-orbit refueling flights. At the end of its mission, Starship reenters the atmosphere using heat shield tiles similar to those of the Space Shuttle.^[11] SpaceX states that its goal is to reduce launch costs by reusing and mass producing both stages.

SpaceX initially expressed ambitions to use Starship for crewed missions to Mars,^[12] but the plan was revised to prioritize returning humans to the Moon.^[13] SpaceX has also proposed a wide range of missions for Starship, such as deploying large satellites, space station modules,^[14] and space telescopes.^[15] A crewed variant, the Starship Human Landing System, is being developed under a contract with NASA as part of the Artemis program, with a docking test as part of Artemis III, currently scheduled for 2027,^[16] and a crewed lunar landing scheduled for 2028.^[17]

SpaceX began developing concepts for a super heavy-lift reusable launch vehicle as early as 2005. Starship's current design and name were introduced in 2018. Development has followed an iterative and incremental approach, involving a high number of prototype vehicles and test flights. The first full Starship rocket was launched April 20, 2023, exploding four minutes after liftoff.^[18] The program has failed to meet many of its optimistic schedule goals, with several setbacks in development, including the failure of the first four Block 2 upper stages in 2025.^[19]

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