Starship is a fully reusable spacecraft developed by SpaceX, designed for a wide range of missions, including satellite launches, cargo transport, crewed missions to the Moon and Mars, and even interplanetary travel. It is the central component of SpaceX's goal to make space travel more affordable and sustainable. The system consists of two parts:
- Starship (the spacecraft) – This is the upper stage of the system, which is intended to carry crew and cargo to a variety of destinations in space. It is designed to be fully reusable, capable of landing back on Earth or other planets and being flown again with minimal refurbishment.
- Super Heavy (the booster) – This is the first stage, a massive rocket booster that is designed to lift Starship into space. The Super Heavy booster is also designed to be reusable, landing back on Earth after launch, to be refurbished and reused for future missions.
Together, the Starship system is designed to be a next-generation vehicle capable of carrying large amounts of cargo and people into orbit and beyond. Starship's features include:
- Full reusability: The spacecraft and booster are both designed to be reusable, drastically reducing launch costs.
- Large payload capacity: Starship will be capable of carrying over 100 metric tons to low Earth orbit (LEO) and is expected to be used for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
- Interplanetary capabilities: Starship is being developed with the vision of human missions to Mars and other planets in the future.
- Advanced materials: The spacecraft is built using stainless steel, which gives it high strength and resistance to heat during re-entry, as well as providing a sleek, shiny appearance.
- 2012: SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, unveils the concept of a fully reusable spacecraft designed for interplanetary travel. Initially called the Mars Colonial Transporter (MCT), the idea is to develop a vehicle capable of carrying humans to Mars.
- 2016: The Mars Colonial Transporter (MCT) concept is rebranded as BFR (Big Falcon Rocket), with both the spacecraft (Starship) and booster (Super Heavy) designed for interplanetary travel, as well as for Earth-to-Earth transportation.
- 2018: The project is renamed again, with the spacecraft referred to as Starship and the booster as Super Heavy. SpaceX announces plans for Starship to be a fully reusable launch system for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
- 2019: SpaceX begins constructing full-scale Starship prototypes at its facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
- The first prototype, Starhopper, undergoes a series of tests, including low-altitude test flights.
- Starhopper successfully completes its first flight tests, including a hover test and a flight to around 150 meters.
- 2020: SpaceX continues testing Starship prototypes like SN1, SN2, SN3, and so on.
- Starship SN4 performs a series of static fire tests before experiencing a failure in May 2020.
- Later prototypes, SN5 and SN6, achieve successful high-altitude test flights with successful landings.
- 2021:
- Starship SN15 successfully completes a high-altitude test flight and lands safely, marking a major milestone in the development of the vehicle.
- The Starship SN16 and SN17 prototypes continue test flights, with some successful and others having failures, but they provide valuable data for future development.
- April 2023:
- SpaceX attempts its first orbital test flight of the full Starship system. This involves the Starship spacecraft atop the Super Heavy booster.
- The test flight experiences issues and ends in failure, but it provides critical data for further development.
- 2024 and Beyond:
- SpaceX continues to refine the Starship system with plans to conduct more orbital test flights, ultimately aiming for operational flights, including crewed missions to the Moon (via NASA's Artemis program) and eventually to Mars.
- SpaceX intends for Starship to become the most powerful and reusable launch vehicle ever, revolutionizing space travel and opening the door to interplanetary colonization.
