SpaceX Starship: The Complete Guide to the Most Powerful Rocket Ever Built

Update (September 28, 2026): Starship reached orbit for the first time on Flight 14 on September 28, 2026. SpaceX reports that the ship deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites, completed a deorbit burn and splashed down in the Pacific after about 3 hours in orbit; the Super Heavy booster splashed down in the Gulf. Starship remains in flight testing. See our Flight 14 report. The September 24 note below describes the program before that flight.

Update (September 24, 2026): The specifications below now use the figures SpaceX publishes for the current (V3) vehicle, and several statements have been corrected. Starship is still in flight testing: all 13 flights to that date had been suborbital, and Flight 14, the first planned orbital flight, was then targeted for no earlier than September 28, 2026, pending FAA approval. See our Starship tracker.

SpaceX's Starship is the tallest and most powerful launch vehicle ever built. The current version stands 124 meters tall, and SpaceX rates its Super Heavy booster at 8,240 tonnes-force (about 81 MN, 18.1 million pounds) of thrust at liftoff. Designed to be fully reusable and, per SpaceX, to carry more than 100 metric tons to orbit, Starship represents a paradigm shift in space transportation.

Key Specifications

• Height: 124 m (407 ft), full stack (Super Heavy + Starship upper stage); earlier versions stood about 121 m
• Diameter: 9 m (30 ft)
• Super Heavy booster: 33 Raptor engines, 8,240 tonnes-force (about 81 MN) at liftoff (SpaceX)
• Starship upper stage: 6 Raptor engines (3 sea-level, 3 vacuum), designed for orbital insertion and landing (first flew to orbit on Flight 14, September 28, 2026)
• Payload to orbit: 100+ metric tons fully reusable (SpaceX design figure; SpaceX publishes no expendable figure)
• Payload to Moon surface: about 100 metric tons with orbital refueling (SpaceX's stated goal; not yet demonstrated)
• Propellant: Liquid methane (CH4) and liquid oxygen (LOX), chosen for manufacturability on Mars

Full Reusability

Both stages are designed to be caught and reused. The Super Heavy booster returns to the launch site and is caught by mechanical arms ("Mechazilla") on the launch tower, eliminating the need for landing legs and saving mass. The Starship upper stage performs a belly-flop reentry and propulsive landing. SpaceX demonstrated the first successful booster catch on Flight 5 in October 2024; the upper stage has not yet been caught.

Mission Applications

• Artemis HLS: Starship is one of NASA's two Human Landing Systems: a Starship HLS pathfinder is to dock with Orion on Artemis III's restructured Earth-orbit demonstration, and NASA says lander readiness will decide whether Starship or Blue Origin's Blue Moon lands the Artemis IV crew (the first lunar landing since Apollo 17)
• Starlink deployment: SpaceX says Starship will deploy its larger next-generation V3 Starlink satellites; Flight 14 deployed 26 into orbit on September 28, 2026, per SpaceX, against 20 to 28 of the smaller V2 Mini satellites on a Falcon 9
• Point-to-point Earth: Theoretical 30-minute flights between any two cities on Earth (not yet demonstrated)
• Mars colonization: SpaceX's long-term vision: Starship designed from the start for Mars transit with ISRU propellant production

Track Starship launches and SpaceX missions at SpaceNexus Mission Control.