SpaceX · In Development · us · Launch Vehicle
Starship / Super Heavy
Fully reusable two-stage megarocket targeting 100+ t to LEO; 13 suborbital test flights, first orbital attempt (Flight 14) NET September 28, 2026.
Verified 2026-09-24 · First flight 2023-04-20
Systems cutaway
33× Raptor 2/3 engines on Super Heavy booster (sea-level); 3× Raptor + 3× Raptor Vacuum on Starship upper stage; methane/LOX (methalox); 80,800 kN total liftoff thrust.
Stainless steel 304L construction; 9 m diameter; ~71 m Super Heavy booster + ~52 m Starship upper stage; heat shield tiles on ship belly.
Autonomous flight termination; Starlink-derived communication backhaul; SpaceX proprietary flight computers.
Super Heavy booster caught by Mechazilla tower arms (first successful catch IFT-5 Oct 2024; repeated on IFT-7 Jan 2025, IFT-8 Mar 2025); Ship targets propulsive splashdown/return-to-launch-site.
Specs & Metrics
- Payload to LEO ↑ better
- 100,000 kg
- design target, fully reusable; up to 200,000 kg expendable
- Maximum payload mass deliverable to low Earth orbit (~200–400 km circular), in the vehicle's stated reference configuration.
- Liftoff Thrust ↑ better
- 80800 kN
- Total first-stage thrust at liftoff (sea-level), in kilonewtons, summing all active engines and solid strap-ons.
- Liftoff Mass ↓ better
- 5000 t
- Total vehicle mass at liftoff including propellant, payload, and all stages, in metric tonnes.
- Vehicle Height ↓ better
- 124 m
- Full stack height at liftoff, in metres, including fairing or spacecraft.
Subsystems
33× Raptor 2/3 engines on Super Heavy booster (sea-level); 3× Raptor + 3× Raptor Vacuum on Starship upper stage; methane/LOX (methalox); 80,800 kN total liftoff thrust.
Stainless steel 304L construction; 9 m diameter; ~71 m Super Heavy booster + ~52 m Starship upper stage; heat shield tiles on ship belly.
Autonomous flight termination; Starlink-derived communication backhaul; SpaceX proprietary flight computers.
Super Heavy booster caught by Mechazilla tower arms (first successful catch IFT-5 Oct 2024; repeated on IFT-7 Jan 2025, IFT-8 Mar 2025); Ship targets propulsive splashdown/return-to-launch-site.
Program roadmap
- slipped
Ship-to-ship propellant transfer flight test (NASA OIG: slipped from March 2025 to March 2026)
2026-03↗ - achieved
Starship V3 first flight with Starlink simulator payload deployment (Flight 12, ~22 Starlink simulators deployed)
2026-05↗ - achieved
Flight 13 — 20 Starlink V3 satellites deployed on a suborbital trajectory; ship splashed down intact, booster hit the Gulf hard
2026-07-24↗ - planned
Flight 14 — first orbital flight and first Starlink V3 satellites deployed into the constellation
2026-09↗ - planned
NASA Artemis III — a Starship V3 test article docks with crewed Orion in low Earth orbit; crewed lunar landings follow in 2028
2027↗