Starship is SpaceX’s next-generation fully reusable spacecraft and super heavy-lift launch vehicle. Standing 120 meters tall when stacked with Super Heavy, it is the largest and most powerful rocket system ever constructed.

Its mission is bold: make humanity multiplanetary. Starship is designed to carry crew and cargo to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, plus eventually enable point-to-point travel on Earth at hypersonic speeds.

Key innovations include:

• Stainless steel construction for durability and rapid reusability
• 33 Raptor engines on the Super Heavy booster (methane + liquid oxygen)
• 6 Raptor engines on the Starship upper stage
• Heat shield tiles for atmospheric re-entry
• Propellant transfer capability in orbit

As of May 2026, Starship has completed multiple successful test flights, achieved the first booster catch with the “Mechazilla” tower arms, and is preparing for uncrewed lunar missions and eventual crewed Mars flights.

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2019 – Starship concept publicly unveiled by Elon Musk
2020 – First prototype (SN8) performs high-altitude test flight
2021 – SN15 achieves successful high-altitude flight and landing
2023 – First integrated flight test (IFT-1) reaches space (Elon: "Starship is real")
2024 – Multiple IFT flights (IFT-2 to IFT-5), heat shield testing, and booster catch attempts begin
2025 – First successful booster catch with Mechazilla tower arms
2026 – Preparing for uncrewed lunar landing mission and orbital refueling tests