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This article is about the SpaceX launch vehicle. For other uses, see Starship (disambiguation).

Steel rocket facing backward on a launch mount
Top of a steel booster inside a construction bay
Starship spacecraft SN16 and Super Heavy booster BN4
Function
Manufacturer
Country of origin
  • United States
Size
Height
  • 121.3 m
  • 398 ft
Diameter
  • 9 m
  • 29.5 ft
Mass
  • 5,000 t
  • 11,000,000 lb
Launch history
Launch sites
Capacity
Payload to low Earth orbit
Mass
  • 150 t
  • 330,000 lb
Volume
  • 1,000 m³
  • 35,000 ft³
Payload to Moon
Mass
  • 100 t
  • 220,000 lb
Volume
  • 1,000 m³
  • 35,000 ft³
Payload to Mars
Mass
  • 100 t
  • 220,000 lb
Volume
  • 1,000 m³
  • 35,000 ft³
Stages information
First stage – Super Heavy
Height
  • 71 m
  • 232 ft
Diameter
  • 9 m
  • 30 ft
Empty mass
  • 200 t
  • 440,000 lb
Propellant mass
  • 3,400 t
  • 7,500,000 lb
Powered by
Maximum thrust
  • 7,590 Tf
  • 74,500,000 N
  • 16,700,000 lbf
Propellant
Second stage – Starship
Height
  • 50 m
  • 164 ft
Diameter
  • 9 m
  • 30 ft
Empty mass
  • 100 t
  • 220,000 lb
Gross mass
  • 1,300 t
  • 2,900,000 lb
Propellant mass
  • 1,200 t
  • 2,650,000 lb
Powered by
Maximum thrust
  • 14,700,000 N
  • 1,500 Tf
  • 3,300,000 lbf
Propellant
[edit on Wikidata]

Starship is a fully reusable launch vehicle under development by American aerospace company SpaceX, with the ultimate purpose of enabling Mars exploration and colonization. The launch vehicle consists of a Super Heavy booster stage and a Starship spacecraft, both powered by Raptor rocket engines that burn liquid oxygen and liquid methane propellant. It is the largest and most powerful rocket ever constructed.

Starship's large volume and mass capacity to space and full reusability should make it both cost-competitive and able to serve many facets of spaceflight, examples of which are interplanetary spaceflight, space tourism, and fast flights between locations on Earth. With these capabilities, the rocket is incorporated into many space programs, such as the dearMoon project, NASA's Artemis program, and SpaceX's Mars program.

Early concepts of the launch vehicle were first outlined as early as 2005, and its development began in 2016. In July 2019, a prototype vehicle achieved stable flight, hovering with its Raptor engines at the Starbase facility. The first complete Starship spacecraft prototype achieved flight, later crashing upon landing on 9 December 2020. SpaceX currently plans for Starship's first orbital launch attempt to be in early 2022.

Background

Since the 1940s, there have been numerous concepts and proposals for a human mission to Mars. However, none of them made it into the technology development phase, partly because of numerous technical and political challenges. Notable examples of defunct human mission to Mars organizations established in the 21st century are Mars One and Inspiration Mars Foundation.[1]

The cost of accessing space has been a barrier to achieving a developed space economy.[2] There was not much competition between launch providers in the United States before private spaceflight became more established. Preference for existing contractors made competition even more difficult for new entrants.[3] Only in the early 2010s did a substantial amount of competition begin, alongside the growth of the commercial sector.[2] Notable space vehicles made by private companies include the Falcon 9, Electron, and LauncherOne.[4]

SpaceX has been striving for reusability since at least 2009, by attempting to recover and eventually reuse the first stage of Falcon 9, its previous launch vehicle. Initially, both stages were equipped with parachutes, but the mechanism failed to survive the extreme heat of atmospheric re-entry.[5] By late 2012, SpaceX abandoned parachute recovery, instead using the first stage's engines to land propulsively and abandoning reusing Falcon 9's second stage. The company then built the Grasshopper, a technology demonstrator for first stage landing.[6] Technologies developed for second stage reuse were instead transferred to Starship's development.[7]

Design

Starship's goal is to be a fully reusable orbital launch and reentry vehicle.[8] It measures 9 m (30 ft) in diameter and 120 m (390 ft) high,[9] 9 m (30 ft) taller than the Saturn V.[10] The vehicle consists of two stages, a Super Heavy booster and a Starship spacecraft.[11] Both stages have a body made from SAE 304L stainless steel[12] and powered by Raptor and Raptor Vacuum engines.[13] Since SpaceX develops Starship via operational testing—flying prototypes directly instead of testing each component—its design can change rapidly.[14] Starship's reusability and stainless-steel construction has influenced other rockets such as the Terran R[15] and Project Jarvis.[16]

It is planned for one Starship launch to be able deliver more than 100 t (220,000 lb) of payload to low Earth orbit in a fully-reusable configuration. By refueling the Starship spacecraft using additional Starship tanker vehicles, Starship can carry payloads to higher Earth orbits, the Moon, Mars, and other destinations in the Solar System.[17][18] The launch vehicle can be used to launch almost any space payload, instead of being specialized for only one facet of spaceflight.[19]

Raptor rocket engine

Main article: SpaceX Raptor
Picture of Raptor engines
A rocket engine with nozzle and intricate plumbing
Sea level-optimized Raptor engine
Rocket engine firing with purple-orange flame
First test firing of the sea-level Raptor engine, with methane combusted to produce a purple-orange flame

Both the Starship spacecraft and the Super Heavy booster are powered by the Raptor rocket engine, burning liquid oxygen and liquid methane. Methane was chosen as Starship's propellant, since it is cheaper, burns more cleanly than other hydrocarbons, can be produced on Mars via in-situ resource utilization, among other reasons.[20] All Raptor engines have their nozzle regeneratively cooled and should be able to fire many times. It could possibly reach a thousand firings as a long-term goal.[21] All Raptor engines will run with slightly more methane, as a stoichiometric mixture would result in unmanageable combustion temperatures, damaging the engine.[22]

The Raptor engine is the only operational full-flow staged combustion cycle engine. Although the Integrated Powerhead Demonstrator and RD-270 have the same power cycle, they were not placed into any operational vehicle.[20] A general full-flow staged combustion cycle methane engine has two preburners connected to their matching turbopumps. One is fed with an oxygen-rich mixture, and the other fed with a methane-rich mixture. Unlike other engines, the engine combusts all propellant inside the combustion chamber and provide engine turbines with more thrust and efficiency.[23]

Variants

SpaceX intends to build many variants of the Raptor engines. The larger nozzle also increase the engine variant's specific impulse or fuel efficiency in space to about 380 s. Later Starships will be equipped with an improved version of Raptor called Raptor 2, which features increased thrust but a slightly decreased specific impulse. A SpaceX factory at Hawthorne will produce Raptor Vacuum and test new engine designs, while most of the Raptor 2 variant will be produced at a new SpaceX facility in McGregor.[22]

Super Heavy booster

The Super Heavy booster measures 70 m (230 ft) tall[9]. The current orbital prototype booster is configured with 29 sea level-optimized Raptor engines, twenty fixed and nine steerable, but later boosters will have 33 sea level-optimized Raptor 2 engines, with twenty fixed and thirteen steerable.[24][25] Its tanks can hold about 3,600 t (7,900,000 lb) of propellant, consisting of about 2,800 t (6,200,000 lb) of liquid oxygen and 800 t (1,800,000 lb) of liquid methane. Without propellant, Super Heavy's dry mass is expected to be between 160 t (350,000 lb) to 200 t (440,000 lb).[22] Each booster can generate about twice the thrust of the S-IC, Saturn V's first stage.[24]

Four grid fins are installed at the top of Super Heavy and controlled by battery powered electric motors. They control Super Heavy's descent[22] and touchdown into the tower's mechanical arms.[26] The grid fins rotate but do not retract like those on Falcon 9. Musk cited complexity, mass, and insignificant drag for the design choice. For attitude control in space, Super Heavy uses cold gas thrusters fed by evaporated propellant gases, and exploit the Coriolis effect to separate from the spacecraft.[22]

Super Heavy, like all conventional rockets, does not operate silently. A noise level assessment by the Federal Aviation Administration determined that a Starship orbital launch could generate more than 115 dB A-weighted at up to a 3.7 km (2.3 mi) radius, and up to 90 dB A-weighted throughout most of Brownsville, a nearby city, comparable to that of a lawn mower.[27] According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 115 dB is the upper limit for safe noise exposure over a 15 minute period, beyond which hearing damage may occur. Landings would be quieter than launches; residents of Brownsville might experience noise levels in the range of 60 dB A-weighted,[28] comparable to the volume of a human conversation.[29]

Spacecraft

Starship components
Orange and steel pipes attached to craft's steel body
A steel dome as a part of a Starship prototype, used to create tank walls
Large steel dome on a supporting structure
Pins for mounting heat shield tiles
Interior of a steel nose cone with segmented sheets of steel
Interior of Starship nose cone, with an oxygen header tank on top

The Starship spacecraft is attached to the top of the booster and is 50 m (160 ft) tall.[9] The closest estimate of Starship's dry mass is less than 100 t (220,000 lb).[22] The spacecraft can hold 1,200 t (2,600,000 lb) of propellant,[9] split into two main and two header tanks. One main and one header tank hold liquid oxygen, while the other two hold liquid methane. The liquid methane header tank is between the two main tanks, while the liquid oxygen header tank is mounted at the nosecone. Header tanks store the fuel required to flip and land the spacecraft.[30] The current prototype orbital Starship has six Raptor engines are mounted on its bottom. Three are optimized for operating in the atmosphere, and the other three are Raptor Vacuum.[31] Later Starships will have nine Raptor engines, three sea-level Raptor 2 engines and six vacuum optimized Raptor engines.[32]

The spacecraft has four body flaps to control the vehicle's falling velocity and orientation. Two forward flaps are mounted at the nose cone and two aft flaps are mounted near the bottom.[33] Starship's heat shield is made from thousands of black ceramic tiles attached to the hull by mounting pins, with a thermal blanket underneath.[34] The tiles are mostly hexagonal (with variant shapes for complex areas), spaced to accommodate thermal expansion. No launch escape system is planned.[22]

Starship is expected to have 1,100 m3 (39,000 cu ft) of storage volume, far larger than any other spacecraft.[17] The Apollo command and service module's pressurized space is less than 1% of its size, offering 8.95 m3 (316 cu ft) of pressurized space.[35] The spacecraft is expected to experience about 2 g of side and downward acceleration, and up to 6 g of upward acceleration during liftoff. The payload area experience the maximum overall sound pressure level of around 135 dB at Starship's liftoff and transonic flight,[36] less than the Space Shuttle's 142 dB.[37] Landing may generate more than 60 dB A-weighted noise as perceived in Brownsville, similar to Super Heavy landing's noise level and considerably lower than vehicle liftoff.[28]

Variants

SpaceX plans multiple Starship variants, including cargo and crew. The cargo variant will feature a large door replacing conventional payload fairings, which can launch, store, capture, and return payloads. The payload door is closed during launch, opens to release its payload once in orbit, and closes again during reentry. It is possible to mount the payload to the inside of the payload bay's sidewalls using trunnions, making it more suitable for payloads that require more support or ride-share missions.[36] Starship crew variants can be adapted for missions to the Moon, Mars, and other destinations.[38]

Another potential variant of the spacecraft is the Starship tanker, which can refuel other ships to increase the spacecraft's delta-v budget (similar to its operating range).[39] In 2019, SpaceX partnered with NASA to further develop in-orbit cryogenic propellant fueling technologies.[40] Starship may adapt to offer earthbound point-to-point flights.[38]

Starship HLS will serve as the crewed lunar lander for NASA's Artemis program. It offers much higher cargo capacity than other Artemis HLS alternatives. The lunar lander will not have flaps or a heat shield and will not use Raptor engines to land. Aa smaller set of landing thrusters is used instead. Due to its height, an elevator will transport cargo and astronauts to the lunar surface.[41] Starship HLS will be accompanied by Starship tankers and Starship propellant depot variants. Starship tankers transfer propellant to the Starship depot, fueling another ship one fueling session. The receiving ship will remain in space after mission completion.[42]

Applications

Commercial

Audience watching violinist floating and performing
Artist's illustration of a violin performance inside Starship during a space tourism mission

Starship launch cost estimates vary widely, ranging from Musk's $2 million per launch to a satellite market analyst's $10 million.[43] According to SpaceX, the launch vehicle may replace all SpaceX's existing launch vehicles and spacecraft, the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Dragon 2, because it may be more capable and less expensive.[44]

One potential use for Starship is space tourism, an example of which is the dearMoon project announced by Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa.[45] Originally planning to use a Crew Dragon capsule,[46] the project now plans to perform a flight around the Moon with Starship. Its crew is expected to consist of Maezawa and eight others.[47]

The vehicle may facilitate point-to-point flights – coined 'Earth-to-Earth' by SpaceX – by traveling between spaceports on Earth. The company estimated a 40 minutes flight time between New York City and Shanghai via this mode of transport. SpaceX president and chief operating officer, Gwynne Shotwell, predicted that it could become cost-competitive with business class travel.[48] However, John Logsdon, academic on space policy and history, stated that point-to-point travel would require high acceleration rates that make it impractical.[49] As of October 2020, the United States Transportation Command Rocket Cargo program is the only group dedicated to researching this mode of transportation.[50]

Morgan Stanley predicted that the launch vehicle along with the Starlink communication satellite constellation may "transform investor expectations of the space industry". The firm explained that the projects are intertwined, since improvements in launch capacity and cost aid Starlink satellite launches, and Starlink profits can be fed back into Starship development.[51] Although one Falcon 9 launch can orbit sixty satellites,[52] one Starship launch can orbit four hundred.[53] Some planetary science researchers incorporate Starship into their research, citing launch cost and capacity.[54]

Exploration

Starship could launch larger science payloads, because of its larger capacity and cheaper launch costs. The 8 m (26.2 ft) and 15.1 m (49.5 ft)-diameter mirror variants of the Large Ultraviolet Optical Infrared Surveyor space telescope could benefit from this.[55]

Starship HLS planned an uncrewed landing demonstration before the crewed lunar landing during the Artemis 3 mission.[56] A NASA Office of Inspector General report details how the Starship HLS lander may integrate to an Artemis human lunar mission. First, the lunar lander is placed into a lunar orbit. Then, the crew on board the Orion spacecraft are launched with the Space Launch System. Orion docks with Starship HLS, and transfers some crew into the lander. After landing and returning, the lunar crew transfers back to Orion and returns to Earth, while Starship HLS remains behind.[42]

Colonization

See also: SpaceX Mars program
Illustration of the terraforming of Mars at various stages

SpaceX has stated that its goal is to colonize and terraform Mars for humanity's long-term survival.[57] Musk estimated that a Martian city hosting a million people could sustain itself. Excluding population growth, at least ten thousand crewed Starships and a hundred thousand Starships delivering cargo would be needed.[58] He estimated that this would deliver roughly 1 million t (2.2 billion lb) of payload to Mars.[59]

SpaceX also announced publicly that they might mass-produce Starships, and travel to other destinations around the Solar System.[59] However, SpaceX's schedule for its Mars program suffered many delays, invalidating Musk's optimistic predictions.[60]

The Sabatier reaction may be used to create liquid methane and liquid oxygen on Mars in a power-to-gas plant, fueling return missions.[61] The reaction works by exposing carbon dioxide and hydrogen to a catalyst at temperatures above 375 °C (700 °F) at a high pressure. Carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas can be obtained from Mars's atmosphere and ice, while the catalyst used may be nickel, ruthenium, or another transition metal. However, the Sabatier reaction is very energy inefficient, requires an extensive thermal management system, and the resultant methane must be purified before use.[62]

Operations

Facilities

SpaceX is building multiple launch sites, including the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, their offshore platforms, and their Starbase facility.[52] Starbase, located east of Brownsville in southern Texas, serves as Starship's primary spaceport and manufacturing location. The spaceport had hosted all Starship test flights as of December 2021.[63]

Starbase

Main article: SpaceX Starbase
Starbase sites
Construction bays for Starship
Starbase build site entrance, inside are bays and stainless-steel rings
Spaceport in construction
Starbase launch site, with fuel farm, launch tower, and cranes visible

Starbase consists of a manufacturing facility and launch site.[64] Both operate around the clock. Starship's production line can manufacture prototypes simultaneously. Most of the vehicles' raw materials are rolls of steel, which are unrolled, cut, and welded into steel rings. A Starship spacecraft consists of seventeen rings stacked and edge-welded, topped by a nose cone.[65]

Most testing is done at Starbase, which includes two launch complexes; each consists of a launch pad, a launch tower, and a tank farm. The launch pad contains a water sound suppression system, and twenty clamps that stabilize the booster until launch.[66] The launch tower consists of steel truss sections and a lightning rod on top,[67] while a pair of mechanical arms catch/recover it.[68] Each tank farm consists of eight tanks: three for liquid oxygen, two for liquid methane, two for liquid nitrogen, and one for water.[66]

However, some residents of Boca Chica Village and Brownsville have criticized Starship development claiming that SpaceX conducted test flights along with infrastructure construction without explicit government permission,[69] forced them to sell their houses, and caused noise pollution.[70] Environmental groups claimed that the Starship development program threatened nearby wildlife.[71] As of December 2021, the FAA was assessing the site's draft environmental impact statement.[72]

Others

Main articles: Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A and SpaceX Starship offshore platforms
class=notpageimage|
Location of Starship spaceports

As of December 2021, SpaceX was constructing a Starship launch pad named Launch Complex 49 at the Kennedy Space Center. It was located north of Launch Complex 39B,[73] alongside another launch location within Launch Complex 39A. Two tank farms holding liquid methane or liquid oxygen were to be placed at launch complex's first and second corner, while its last corner would host a road.[74]

SpaceX is constructing floating platforms to launch Starship at sea. The offshore platforms—named Phobos and Deimos, previously Valaris 8501 and Valaris 8500 respectively—were oil drilling rigs owned by Valaris plc.[75] Their main decks measure 78 m (260 ft) long by 73 m (240 ft) wide, with a helicopter deck on top of one of their corners. Four columns extrude at each corner at the bottom, measuring 15 m (49 ft) long and 14 m (46 ft) wide each.[76]

Launch profile

Belly flop maneuver and landing of Starship spacecraft

The booster and spacecraft are stacked onto a launch mount and loaded with propellant. At liftoff, the booster engines ignite. Approximately three minutes into flight, the booster's engines shut down and the stages separate via the Coriolis effect.[22] The booster flips its orientation and performs a boostback burn with its center engine cluster, followed by a controlled descent and landing burn. As it approaches the launch site, it is caught by a pair of mechanical arms that arrest any remaining velocity and reposition the booster onto its mount, allowing another launch cycle to begin.[26] Meanwhile, the Starship spacecraft accelerates to orbital velocity and circularizes its orbit.[77]

Once in orbit, the spacecraft may refuel and increase its delta-v budget. The higher energy budget allows it to reach further destinations, such as geostationary orbit, the Moon, or Mars. Starship fires its engines again to achieve the appropriate orbit and proceeds to its destination.[38] Once its mission is completed, it may perform additional burns to lower its orbit in preparation for reentry.

For destinations with a substantial atmosphere, such as the Earth and Mars, Starship uses its reaction control system (RCS) to orient its heat shield to windward in what SpaceX calls a "belly flop" maneuver. During descent, it uses a combination of RCS and flap adjustments to maintain an optimal angle. The maneuver increases the vehicle's wet area, thereby changing the amount of aerodynamic drag exerted and reducing its terminal velocity.[78]

A thesis analyzed that the belly flop maneuver can reduce the g-force exerted to astronauts and reduce the amount of propellant needed for landing.[30] It predicted that Minutes before touchdown, Starship would overshoot the landing point by about 100 m (300 ft) while the landing flip is performed. A pseudospectral optimal control algorithm predicted that the spacecraft would intentionally tilt 20° further from the ground's normal line to guide itself back, and then reduce its tilt to zero upon touchdown. The result predicted that the Raptor engines' throttle peaks to about ninety percent at five seconds after the flip and shortly before touchdown.[78]

During landing, only Starship's header tanks are used, primarily because propellant in the main tanks cannot be pumped while Starship is in the belly-flop position. Even if that problem is addressed, the main tanks will still be impractical due to propellant slosh, difficulties with pressurization, and insulation.[30]

Development

For the main article, see SpaceX Starship development. For a list of test articles flights, see List of SpaceX Starship launches.

SpaceX's development approach is iterative and incremental.[79][80] SpaceX has built and launched many Starship prototypes to collect data and refine its design, similar to Falcon 9 development.[22] Many exploded prototypes exploded during testing.[71]

Conceptual designs

Artist's depiction of a white rocket
Illustration by SpaceX of the 2018 carbon-composite design of Starship in flight

In November 2005, SpaceX first referenced a launch vehicle concept with Starship's capabilities. Musk briefly mentioned a theoretical heavy‑lift launch vehicle code-named BFR, powered by a larger version of the Merlin engine called Merlin 2.[81] At least from 2012, SpaceX had internal plans for another spacecraft called the Mars Colonial Transporter, but made little information public.[82]

In September 2016 at the 67th International Astronautical Congress, Musk announced the Interplanetary Transport System.[83] The launch vehicle was to be 122 m (400 ft) tall and 12 m (39 ft) wide, conceived to be a fully-reusable carbon-composite launch vehicle that could put 300 t (660,000 lb) to low Earth orbit. The booster would have had forty-two Raptor engines, and the spacecraft would have had have nine. In orbit, these spacecraft could fuel each other, giving them sufficient propellant to reach destinations deeper in the Solar System.[84] Although the cost per launch might be cheap because both stages land, funding for the Interplanetary Transport System was not explained.[85] In September 2016, the atmospheric-optimized Raptor engine was first fired.[86]

At the following International Astronautical Congress, in September 2017, Musk announced a revised launch vehicle called the Big Falcon Rocket. The launch vehicle was downsized to 106 m (348 ft) tall and 9 m (30 ft) wide, launching 150 t (330,000 lb) to low orbit. The booster engine count was reduced to thirty-one, and the spacecraft to six.[87] In addition to ferrying crew to Mars, it could replace all Falcon 9 missions, clean up space debris, land on the Moon, and travel between locations on Earth at high speeds.[88] After the talk, Musk clarified on Reddit that the delta wing heat shield on the spacecraft was to offer more orientation control.[89]

In September 2018, the dearMoon project was announced, to be funded by billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. Musk presented a revised design that would have been 106 m (348 ft) tall and the same 9 m (30 ft) wide. Maezawa, along with six to eight other artists, was to fly a free-return trajectory around the Moon to "create amazing works of art for humankind, for children of the next generation". Its spacecraft would have seven Raptor engines at its bottom, along with two forward flaps at the top and three aft flaps at the bottom. While all of its flaps could move to control the spacecraft's descent, these aft flaps could also be used as landing legs.[90] Two months later, on November 2018, the booster was first termed Super Heavy, while the spacecraft was renamed Starship.[11]

Prototypes

Template:Starship Timeline

Starhopper–SN6: Hops

Short steel rocket with its fins touching the ground
Starhopper during construction
Crane hooking onto a steel vessel body
A crane lifting Starship SN5

Starhopper was the first prototype to operate a full-flow staged combustion cycle rocket engine.[91] The vehicle was equipped with a Raptor engine and three non-retractable legs.[33] It was noticeably shorter than a Starship spacecraft. Starhopper performed two tethered hops in early April 2019 and hopped untethered up to about 20–30 m (70–100 ft) two months later, doing a controlled hover at a low speed.[92] On 27 August 2019 the vehicle hopped to 150 m (500 ft), and traveled to the landing pad 100 m (300 ft) away.[93] Starhopper was then retired. As of August 2021, it was repurposed as a radio communication, weather, ground station, and water tank at Starbase.[94]

SpaceX then constructed Starship Mk1 at Starbase and Starship Mk2 at the SpaceX facility in Cocoa, Florida. In late September 2019, Musk presented more detail about the booster, the spacecraft's method to control its descent, its heat shield, orbital refilling feature, and potential destinations outside Mars.[95] The spacecraft design once again changed, reducing the three aft flaps to two. Musk mentioned that stainless steel would replace carbon composites. The rationales were cost, high melting point, strength at cryogenic temperature, and ease of manufacturing. Although these prototypes were planned to fly,[96] Mk1 was destroyed during a pressure stress test two months later[97] and Mk2 did not fly because the Florida facility was deconstructed throughout 2020.[98]

In January 2020 SpaceX purchased two drilling rigs from Valaris plc for $3.5 million each during their bankruptcy proceedings, planning to repurpose them as offshore spaceports.[75] After the Mark series, SpaceX named subsequent prototypes with the prefix "SN" for "serial number".[9] No prototypes between SN1 and SN4 flew[99][100] During a pressure test, SN1 buckled and burst,[99] SN2 was repurposed as a test tank,[101] SN3 collapsed during another pressure test,[102] and SN4 exploded after its fifth engine firing.[100] During the interval, the company accelerated the construction of manufacturing and support infrastructure at Starbase, including large tents, stations, and repurposed intermodal containers. When linked together, these facilities act as a production line, making Starship construction quicker.[65]

In June 2020 the first orbital launch pad was constructed.[66] Around that time, Starship SN5 was built with a distinctive cylindrical shape with no flaps or nose cone attached. The test vehicle only consisted of one Raptor engine, full-size propellant tanks, and a mass simulator on top. SN5 performed a 150 m (500 ft)-high hop on 5 August 2020, successfully landing on a nearby pad.[103] On 3 September, Starship SN6 repeated the hop.[104] A week later, SpaceX pressure stress tested SN7.1 tank, switching from SAE 301 stainless steel grade in prior prototypes to SAE 304L stainless steel grade used on later prototypes.[105] In the same September, the company first fired its Raptor Vacuum engine.[106]

SN8–SN15: Flights

Steel rocket on a mount
Starship SN9 on a mount with a flap open
Play media
Animation depicting a successful flight of Starship SN8–SN16

SN8 was the first complete Starship prototype. The vehicle underwent four static fire tests between October and November 2020, with damage to the pad and ingestion of fragments of pad material into engine internals during the third test resulting in premature shutdown.[107] The fourth test was successful, and on 9 December 2020 SN8 flew, reaching an altitude of 12.5 km (7.8 mi) before performing the belly flop maneuver. Just before touchdown SN8 returned to vertical and attempted to land, but due to a fuel feed issue instead impacted the pad at high velocity, resulting in loss of the prototype.[108] The test provoked condemnation from FAA Associate Administrator Wayne Monteith, as SpaceX had ignored FAA warnings that weather conditions at the time could have exacerbated damage from a possible in-flight explosion to nearby homes.[109]

Two months later, on 2 February 2021, Starship SN9 rose to the sky, performing almost identical flight path as SN8. Like its predecessor, the vehicle attempted a landing burn, but crashed into the ground at an angle. Both SN8 and SN9 flights had been under scrutiny from FAA, as debris from the explosion make the surrounding area dangerous.[110] However, after reexamination, these issues later deemed insignificant by the agency.[111] In March 2021, a month later, the company submitted a public Starbase spaceport's construction plan, which it would have two sub-orbital launch pad, two orbital launch pads, two landing pads, two test stands for prototypes, and a large tank farm storing propellant. The company also proposed the incorporation of surrounding Boca Chica Village into a city named Starbase,[112] raising concerns about SpaceX's authority, power, and potential abuse for eviction.[113]

On 3 March 2021, after an abort three hours earlier, Starship SN10 flew in the same flight path. The vehicle then landed successfully, although leaned due to its crushed legs. However, just minutes after, SN10 exploded, with one possible cause being a rupture in propellant tank.[114] After getting approval from the FAA,[115] just three weeks later, on 30 March 2021, Starship SN11 flew into thick fog with the same flight path as SN10. Sometime in the descent, the vehicle exploded, producing debris up to 8 km (5 mi) away.[116] In April 2021, the first tank was placed into the fuel farm for the first orbital launch pad.[66]

Starship SN12, SN13, and SN14 were not fully assembled. Instead, various improvements on vehicle's structure, software and Raptor engines were featured on Starship SN15. The vehicle flew on 5 May 2021, did the same maneuvers as prior prototypes, and landed successfully without explosion.[117] One day later, the FAA stated that the then under-construction launch tower at Starbase may complicate its environmental impact assessment.[118]

SN20–: Launches

Workers near a tall spacecraft with heat shield
Examination of Starship SN20's heat shield
Steel rocket firing its engines
Engine firing of Starship SN20 near Super Heavy boosters and launch tower

In July 2021, Super Heavy BN3 first fired three of its engines, but the booster was not meant to fly.[119] Super Heavy BN4 was the first to be capable of mating with Starships, while Starship SN20 was the first to feature a body-tall heat shield, mostly made of black hexagonal heat tiles. A month later, SN20 stacked on top BN4, briefly becoming the first stacked Starship launch vehicle.[120] Another month later, in September 2021, the FAA began to obtain comments from the public for the environmental review of Starbase activities.[118] In October 2021, the catching mechanical arm was installed onto the first launch tower, forming the recovery system, and the last tank insulation cover was installed, marking the completion of the first tank farm.[66]

The comment period of FAA's environmental review ended on 1 November 2021.[118] On 26 November 2021, a day after Thanksgiving in the United States, Musk sent an internal email to all SpaceX employees claiming that the Raptor engine's production line was not sufficiently mature, thus creating a risk of bankruptcy for the company.[121] Two weeks later, just north of Launch Complex 39B, NASA announced the new Launch Complex 49 that will launch Starship at the Kennedy Space Center.[73]

SpaceX explained the planned trajectory of the first orbital flight of the Starship system in a report sent to the Federal Communications Commission. The launch vehicle is planned to launch from Starbase, then Super Heavy will separate and do a soft landing around 30 km (20 mi) from the shoreline. The spacecraft will continue flying with its ground track passing through the Straits of Florida, and then softly land around 100 km (60 mi) northwest from the island of Kauaʻi. The whole spaceflight will last about ninety minutes.[77][122]

References

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