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SpaceX Starship

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Starship
Steel rocket on a mount, next to a tower
Starship launch vehicle assembled and stacked at Starbase
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
Capacity
Payload to low Earth orbit
Mass
  • 150 t
  • 330,000 lb
Volume
  • 1,000 m³
  • 35,000 ft³
Launch history
Launch sites
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, super-heavy-lift launch vehicle currently developed by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer. It is the tallest and most powerful launch vehicle ever built.[1] Starship is a two-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle, consisting of the Super Heavy booster stage and the Starship second stage or spacecraft. The spacecraft has four main variants: cargo, crew, propellant tanker, and lunar lander.

Both Starship stages are designed for rapid reuse after a vertical landing. Both use liquid oxygen plus liquid methane for propellant, and are powered by Raptor engines. Starship is designed to deliver 100 t (220,000 lb) to low Earth orbit. Once in orbit, the spacecraft can be refueled by Starship tankers for transport to higher orbits or destinations in the inner Solar System; the spacecraft can then either enter the planet's atmosphere and use its engines to land retropropulsively, or be left in outer space.

As of July 2022, two Starship launch sites (Starbase in Texas and Kennedy Space Center in Florida) and two offshore platforms are under construction. They will be the starting point for many planned space missions, made possible due to the rocket's reduced launch cost and increased launch frequency. In the short term, Starship will deploy satellites and space probes, serve commercial astronauts, and explore the Moon via the Artemis program. In the long term, the rocket may aid SpaceX's ambition of colonizing Mars and enable fast travel between Earth's spaceports.

SpaceX had envisioned a large-capacity launch vehicle concept since as early as 2005. Over the next dozen years, the vehicle's design and construction techniques were refined, specifying the methane fuel in 2012 and stainless-steel construction in 2019. Starship's development program adopted an iterative and incremental methodology, meaning frequent prototypes construction, testing, and refinement. As of July 2022, the program has achieved important milestones, such as operating the Raptor engine in vehicles (Starhopper) and demonstrating the use of stabilizing flaps (Starship SN8–SN15). A full-scale orbital test flight is expected to take place by the end of 2022.

Background

Further information: History of SpaceX, SpaceX reusable launch system development program, and SpaceX Starship development

In November 2005,[2] before SpaceX launched the Falcon 1, its first rocket,[3] CEO Elon Musk first referenced a long-term and high-capacity rocket concept named BFR. The BFR would be able to launch 100 t (220,000 lb) to low Earth orbit and equipped with Merlin 2 engines. The Merlin 2 is in direct lineage to the Merlin engines used in the Falcon 9 and comparable to the F-1 engines used in the Saturn V.[2]

In July 2010,[4] after the final launch of Falcon 1 a year prior,[5] SpaceX presented launch vehicle and Mars space tug concepts at a conference. The launch vehicle concepts were called Falcon X, Falcon X Heavy, and Falcon XX; the largest of all is the Falcon XX with a 140 t (310,000 lb) capacity to low Earth orbit. To deliver such payload, the rocket was going to be as tall as the Saturn V and use six powerful Merlin 2 engines.[4] Around 2012,[6] the company first mentioned the Mars Colonial Transporter rocket concept in public. It was going to be able to carry 100 people or 100 t (220,000 lb) of cargo to Mars and powered by methane-fueled Raptor engines.[7]

White sleek rocket in flight
SpaceX illustration of the 2016 Interplanetary Transport System

On 26 September 2016, a day before the 67th International Astronautical Congress, the Raptor engine fired for the first time.[8] At the event, Musk announced SpaceX was developing a new rocket that use the Raptor engines, called the Interplanetary Transport System. It would have two stages, a reusable booster and spacecraft. The stages' tanks were to be made from carbon composite, storing liquid methane and liquid oxygen. Despite the rocket's 300 t (660,000 lb) launch capacity to low Earth orbit, it was expected to have a low launch price. The spacecraft featured three variants: crew, cargo, and tanker; the tanker variant is used to transfer propellant to spacecraft in orbit.[9] The concept, especially the technological feats required to make such a system possible and the funds needed, garnered a large amount of skepticism.[10]

In September 2017, at the 68th Annual International Astronautical Congress, Musk announced the BFR (Big Falcon Rocket),[11] a revision to the Interplanetary Transport System's design. The rocket was still going to be reusable, but its launch capacity to low Earth orbit was reduced to 150 t (330,000 lb), and its body was smaller. Unlike its conceptual predecessor, the potential applications for the BFR were more varied. Variants of the BFR would be able to send satellites to orbit, resupply the International Space Station, land on the Moon, travel between spaceports on Earth, and ferry crew to Mars.[12] In April 2018, the Mayor of Los Angeles confirmed plan for a BFR rocket production facility at the Port of Los Angeles,[13] but it was cancelled around May 2020.[14]

Booster and spacecraft separation in space
SpaceX illustration of the 2018 BFR rocket at stage separation

A year later in September 2018, Musk updated about the spacecraft's new two forward flaps at the top and three larger aft flaps at the bottom. Both set of flaps help control the spacecraft's descent, and the aft flaps are used as landing legs for the final touchdown. He also revealed the dearMoon project by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, which secured crucial funding to the rocket's development. The mission would have a BFR spacecraft flying a free-return trajectory around the Moon, with Maezawa and six to eight artists producing artworks.[15] Two months later in November 2018, the rocket booster was first termed Super Heavy and the spacecraft was termed Starship.[11]

Development

Main article: SpaceX Starship development

Starship's development is iterative and incremental, marked by tests on rocket prototypes.[16][17] In proof pressure tests, the vehicle's tanks are pressurized with either gases or liquids to test its tank strength. Sometimes, the vehicle is deliberately overpressurized resulting in a burst. The vehicle then performs mission rehearsals, with or without propellant, to check both the vehicle and ground infrastructure. Before a flight, SpaceX loads the vehicle prototype with propellant and fires its engines briefly, conducting a static fire test.[18]: 18–19 

After these tests are deemed successful, flight tests and launches may commence. During a suborbital launch, Starship prototypes fly to a high altitude and descend, landing back at either near the launch site, sea, or offshore platforms. During an orbital launch, Starship performs procedures as described in its mission profile.[18]: 19–22  Due to the company's openness to space news industry, Starship rocket tests, flights, and launches have received significant coverage.[19]

Low-altitude flights

Short steel rocket with its fins touching the ground
Starhopper while under construction, March 2019

The first prototype to fly using a Raptor engine was called Starhopper.[20] The vehicle had three non-retractable legs and was shorter than the final spacecraft design.[21] The craft performed two tethered hops in early April 2019 and three months later, it hopped without a tether to around 25 m (80 ft).[22] In August 2019, the vehicle hopped to 150 m (500 ft) and traveled to a landing pad nearby.[23] As of August 2021, the vehicle has been retired and repurposed; it is now a mounting point for communication, weather monitoring and tracking equipment, and becoming a water tank.[24]

In late September 2019, Musk presented more details about the lower-stage booster, the upper stage's method of controlling its descent, its heat shield, orbital refueling capacity, and potential destinations outside Mars.[25] The spacecraft design was once again changed; the number of aft flaps was reduced from three to two. Starship's body material was changed from carbon composites to stainless steel, due to lower cost, higher melting point, strength at cryogenic temperatures, and ease of manufacturing.[26]

Since before the presentation, SpaceX was constructing the Starship Mk1 and Mk2 upper-stage prototypes, which were located at facility in Boca Chica, Texas, and the SpaceX facility in Cocoa, Florida, respectively.[25] Mk1 was destroyed November 2019 during a pressure stress test and Mk2 did not fly because the Florida facility was deconstructed throughout 2020.[27][28]

SpaceX began naming its new Starship upper-stage prototypes with the prefix "SN", short for "serial number".[16] No prototypes between SN1 and SN4 flew; SN1 and SN3 collapsed during pressure stress tests and SN4 exploded after its fifth engine firing.[24] During the interval, the company accelerated the construction of infrastructure at the spaceport.[29] In January 2020, the company bought two drilling rigs for $3.5 million from Valaris plc each during Valaris's bankruptcy proceedings, with plans to repurpose them as offshore spaceports.[30]

In June 2020, SpaceX started construction of a launch pad for orbit-capable Starship rockets.[31] Starship SN5 was built with no flaps or nose cone, giving it a cylindrical shape. The test vehicle consisted of one Raptor engine, propellant tanks, and a mass simulator. On 5 August 2020, SN5 performed a 150 m (500 ft)-high flight, successfully landing on a nearby pad.[32] On 3 September 2020, the similar-looking Starship SN6 successfully repeated the hop.[33] A week later, SpaceX stress-tested SN7.1 fuel tank, which was constructed from SAE 304L stainless steel rather than SAE 301 by earlier tanks.[24] In the same September, the company fired its Raptor Vacuum engine in full duration.[34]

High-altitude flights

Steel rocket on a mount
Starship SN9 on a mount with its flaps closed, January 2021

SN8 was the first complete Starship prototype and underwent four static fire tests between October and November 2020.[24] On 9 December 2020, SN8 flew, slowly turning off its three engines one by one, and reaching to an altitude of 12.5 km (7.8 mi). The craft then performed the belly-flop maneuver and dove back through the atmosphere. As it tried to land, an issue with fuel tank pressure caused the prototype to lose thrust and impact the pad.[35] Because SpaceX had violated its launch license and ignored warnings of worsen shock wave damage, the Federal Aviation Administration performed a two-month investigation of the incident.[36]

On 2 February 2021, Starship SN9 launched to 10 km (6.2 mi) and crashed on landing, similar to SN8.[37] Unlike the last test flight, the explosion is within the Federal Aviation Administration's safety bounds.[38] A month later, on 3 March 2021, after an initially aborted launch three hours earlier, Starship SN10 launched on the same flight path as its two predecessors. The vehicle then landed hard and crushed its landing legs, leaning to one side.[39] A fire was seen at the vehicle's base. Less than ten minutes later,[40] it exploded, probably due to a propellant tank rupture.[39]

Starship SN11, on 30 March 2021, flew into thick fog along the same flight path.[41] About twenty-five seconds after lift-off, fire could be spotted at an engine, though it does not impact the ascent.[42] During descent, the vehicle exploded, scattering debris up to 8 km (5 mi) away.[41] It was suspected that a methane leak damaged the vehicle's avionics, causing excess propellant in a Raptor's methane turbopump, leading to the vehicle's explosion.[42]

In March 2021, the company sent a public construction plan that had two sub-orbital launch pads, two orbital launch pads, two landing pads, two test stands, and a large propellant tank farm. In the same month, the company proposed developing the surrounding Boca Chica village into a company town named Starbase,[43] raising concerns about SpaceX's authority, power, and potential abuse for eviction.[44] In early April 2021, the orbital launch pad's fuel storage tanks began mounting.[31] A few weeks later, on 16 April 2021, NASA selected Starship HLS as the crewed lunar lander.[45] Blue Origin, a bidding competitor to SpaceX, disputed the decision and began a legal case in August 2021,[46] and it was later dismissed by the Court of Federal Claims three months later.[47]

Starship prototypes SN12, SN13, and SN14 were scrapped before completion, and Starship SN15 was selected to fly instead.[48] The prototype features general improvement on its avionics, structure, and engines, learning from prior prototype's failures.[40] On 5 May 2021, SN15 launched, completed the same maneuvers as older prototypes, and landed softly[48] after six minutes. Even though SN15 had a small fire in the engine area after landing, like SN10, it was extinguished, completing the first successful high-altitude test.[40]

Planned orbital launches

Further information: SpaceX Starship orbital test flight
Workers near a tall spacecraft with heat shield
Examination of Starship SN20's heat shield, September 2021

In July 2021, Super Heavy BN3 conducted its first full-duration static firing, lighting three engines.[49] A month later, using cranes, Starship SN20 was stacked atop Super Heavy BN4 for the first time. SN20 was the first to include a body-tall heat shield, made of hexagonal heat tiles.[50] In October 2021, the catching mechanical arms were installed onto the integration tower, and the first tank farm's construction was completed.[31] Two weeks later, NASA and SpaceX announced their plans to construct Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 49.[51]

In February 2022, after stacking SN20 on top of BN4 using mechanical arms,[52] Elon Musk gave a presentation on Starship development at Starbase. He clarified much of the information provided in the past, gave updates on Raptor engine production, and mentioned a possible move to the Florida facility.[53] Later in June 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration determined that Starbase did not need a full environmental impact assessment, though the company must address outlined issues.[54]

Although SpaceX has not received a launch license for Starbase as of 13 June 2022,[55] the company explained the planned trajectory in a report sent to the Federal Communications Commission. During the orbital test flight, the rocket is planned to launch from Starbase, after which the Super Heavy booster will separate and perform a soft water landing around 30 km (20 mi) from the Texas shoreline. The spacecraft will continue flying with its ground track passing through the Straits of Florida and then softly land in the Pacific Ocean around 100 km (60 mi) northwest of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands. The spaceflight will last ninety minutes.[56]: 2–4 

Design

Starship is designed to be a fully reusable and orbital rocket, aiming to drastically reduce launch costs and maintenance between flights.[57]: 2  The rocket will consist of a Super Heavy first stage or a booster and a Starship second stage or spacecraft,[1] powered by Raptor and Raptor Vacuum engines.[58] The bodies of both rocket stages are made from stainless steel, giving Starship its shine and strength for atmospheric entry.[17] The rocket's reusability and stainless-steel construction has influenced other rockets such as the Terran R[59] and Project Jarvis.[60]

When stacked and fueled, Starship is about 5,000 t (11,000,000 lb) by mass,[a] 9 m (30 ft) wide,[63] and 120 m (390 ft) high.[b] It is taller than the Saturn V by 9 m (30 ft), a rocket that was used for the NASA Apollo program of the 1960s and 1970s.[64]: 6  With Super Heavy's peak thrust of 72 MN (16,000,000 lbf),[65] the rocket has a thrust-to-weight ratio of about 1.45 at liftoff.[c] One launch may deliver more than 100 t (220,000 lb) to low Earth orbit,[66] which would formally classify the rocket as a super heavy-lift launch vehicle.[d]

According to Eric Berger from Ars Technica in March 2020, manufacturing of the Starship rocket starts with rolls of steel. They are then unrolled, cut, and welded along the cut edge to create a cylinder 9 m (30 ft) in diameter, 2 m (7 ft) in height, and around 1,600 kg (4,000 lb) in mass. To make the outer layer of the Starship spacecraft, seventeen of these cylinders and nose cones are stacked and welded along their edges. Between the methane and oxygen tanks are domes, made by robots welding at a rate of ten minutes per seam, equal to four hours per dome. These welds are later inspected with an X-ray machine.[29]

Raptor engine

Main article: SpaceX Raptor
A rocket engine with nozzle and intricate plumbing
Sea level-optimized Raptor engine

Raptor is a family of SpaceX-manufactured rocket engines used in Starship. It burns liquid oxygen and methane in a full-flow staged combustion cycle. Methane was chosen for the Raptor engines because it is cheaper, does not build up soot,[69] and can be produced on Mars via the Sabatier reaction.[70] The engine family uses a new alloy for the main combustion chamber, allowing it to contain 300 bar (4,400 psi) of pressure, the highest of all current engines.[69] In the future, it may be mass-produced[69] and cost about $230,000 per engine or $100 per kilonewton.[61]

The Raptor engines run at an oxygen-to-methane mixture ratio of between 3.5 : 1 and 3.7 : 1, which is somewhat more fuel-rich or lower than the stoichiometric mixture. Combusting propellant in the stoichiometric mixture would overheat and damage the Raptor engines.[61] The engines' plume is expected to contain water, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen, methane, and oxygen.[18]: 49 

The Raptor engine family is the only full-flow staged combustion cycle engine currently in production. In the past, the Soviet Union and the United States tried to construct such an engine, but both products have never been put in a rocket.[69] A general full-flow staged combustion cycle engine has two preburners connected to their matching turbopumps. One of the preburners is fed with an oxidizer-rich mixture and the other is fed with a propellant-rich mixture, which both combust slightly to spin the matching turbines. The cycle then feeds all the oxidizer-rich and propellant-rich gaseous mixture into the combustion chamber, unlike other engine cycles that waste some propellant. This increases the engine's chamber pressure, making more thrust and being more efficient overall.[69][71][72]

SpaceX builds many other variants of Raptor. One variant is the Raptor Vacuum, which is designed to be fired in space and is equipped with a nozzle extension made from brazed steel tubes. The modifications increase the throat-area-to-exit-area ratio to 1:90 and specific impulse or fuel efficiency to 380 seconds.[61] Another engine variant, Raptor Boost, is unable to steer and is used in the outer ring of Super Heavy's engine cluster.[73] Raptor 2, the next engine generation, will have a simpler design, produces 2.3 MN (520,000 lbf) of thrust, and has its specific impulse reduced by three seconds.[61]

Super Heavy booster

Super Heavy is the rocket's booster or first stage, and forms the lower part of the rocket. The booster measures 70 m (230 ft) tall, 9 m (30 ft) wide,[63] and houses up to thirty-three sea level-optimized Raptor engines.[65] The engine cluster is composed of an inner ring of three engines, surrounded by ten in the middle ring and twenty in the outer ring.[74] The engines in the inner and middle ring can steer or thrust vector control, but those in the outer ring cannot. This is because the engines in the outer ring belong to a different Raptor variant, called Raptor Boost.[73] Collectively, they produce 72 MN (16,000,000 lbf) at full power, more than twice as powerful as the Saturn V.[65]

The booster's tanks can hold 3,600 t (7,900,000 lb) of propellant, consisting of 2,800 t (6,200,000 lb) of liquid oxygen and 800 t (1,800,000 lb) of liquid methane.[61][e] Super Heavy also stores 280 L (74 US gal) of hydraulic fluid for its operations.[18]: 158  The final design of Super Heavy is estimated to have a dry mass between 160 t (350,000 lb) and 200 t (440,000 lb). The tanks weigh 80 t (180,000 lb), the interstage between the booster and spacecraft weighs 20 t (44,000 lb), and all the engines and mounts weigh around 2 t (4,400 lb) each.[61]

The booster is equipped with four grid fins powered by electricity, each of which has a mass of 3 t (6,600 lb). The grid fins are unevenly spaced to allow the craft to obtain more pitch control and can only rotate in the roll axis.[61] Between the grid fins are Super Heavy's hardpoints, which are used for lifting and catching by the mechanical arms on the integration tower.[31] To control the booster's orientation, Super Heavy is going to fire cold gas thrusters that are fed with evaporated propellant inside the tanks. To detach from Starship spacecraft in space, the booster will move its firing engines and release the latches.[61]

Starship spacecraft

Panorama of stainless steel spacecraft
Leeward angle of Starship SN16 spacecraft

Starship is the launch vehicle's second stage and will serve as a long-duration spacecraft on some missions.[75] The spacecraft is 50 m (160 ft) tall[63] and has a dry mass of less than 100 t (220,000 lb).[61] Starship's payload volume is about 1,000 m3 (35,000 cu ft),[66] larger than the International Space Station's pressurized volume by 80 m3 (2,800 cu ft),[76] and can be even bigger with an extended 22 m (72 ft)-tall volume.[77]: 2  By refueling the Starship spacecraft in orbit using tanker spacecraft, Starship will be able to transport larger payloads and more astronauts to other Earth orbits, the Moon, and Mars.[77]: 5 

Starship has a total propellant capacity of 1,200 t (2,600,000 lb),[78] divided into main tanks and header tanks.[79] The header tanks are better insulated due to their position and are reserved for use to flip and land the spacecraft following reentry.[80] About 130 L (34 US gal) of hydraulic fluid is used for the spacecraft's operations.[18]: 158  At the aft end of the Starship spacecraft are six Raptor engines, three of which are designed for operation in the lower atmosphere, and the other three Raptor Vacuum engines are optimized to operate in the vacuum of space.[81] A set of reaction control thrusters mounted at the spacecraft's exterior control the spacecraft's attitude while in space.[35]

The spacecraft has four body flaps to control the spacecraft's orientation and help to dissipate energy during atmospheric entry,[82] composed of two forward flaps and two aft flaps.[83] Under the forward flaps are hardpoints, used for lifting and catching the spacecraft via mechanical arms.[31] The flap's hinges are sealed with metal because they are easily damaged during reentry otherwise.[61]

Starship's heat shield, composed of thousands[50] of hexagonal black tiles,[81] is designed to be used many times, ultimately with no maintenance between flights.[57]: 2  The silica tiles[84] when mounted are spaced out to counteract heat expansion.[61] Their hexagonal shape is designed to enable mass production,[61] and prevent hot plasma from causing severe damage, allowing it to withstand temperatures of 1,400 °C (2,600 °F).[85]

Variants

The generic cargo spacecraft variant may feature a large door replacing conventional payload fairings. The payload door would be closed during launch, opened to release its payload once in orbit, and closed again during reentry. It may be possible to mount the payload on the inside of the payload bay's sidewalls using trunnions, suitable for payloads on ride-share missions. Payloads are integrated into a vertical rocket inside temperature-controlled, ISO class 8 clean air.[77]: 2–4  Spacecraft tasked with deploying Starlink v2.0 satellites are going to be fitted with a dispenser. It will release pairs of satellites through a slot, akin to a Pez candy dispenser.[86]

The crew spacecraft variant can be adapted for missions to the Moon, Mars, and other destinations. Each spacecraft can carry one hundred people, with "private cabins, large communal areas, centralized storage, solar storm shelters, and a viewing gallery".[77]: 5  Starship's life-support system is expected to be regenerative, which resources inside are constantly recycled. Other than that, little information about the system is provided to the public.[87]

The tanker spacecraft variant can be used to refuel another Starship in orbit, allowing the ship to transport larger payloads and more astronauts to other Earth orbits, the Moon, and Mars.[77]: 5  Up to fourteen launches of Starship tanker variant are needed to send a spacecraft to the Moon, though according to Musk only four to eight tanker launches are needed.[88] Another Starship orbital propellant depot variant is in development, used to receive propellant from tanker Starships and refuel Starship HLS.[89]: 4, 52  As of October 2020, the Starship variant is under development for conducting a large-scale flight demonstration, transferring 10 t (22,000 lb) of propellant between two spacecraft.[90]

Starship HLS is a crewed lunar lander variant of the Starship spacecraft for NASA's Artemis program. The lunar lander may have windows and airlocks far away from the lunar surface,[91] along with an elevator and a set of thrusters to land on the Moon's surface.[92] The lunar lander may be able to carry a large amount of payload between outer space and the Moon. On an Artemis mission, it may launch ahead of the crew by up to a hundred days, accompanied with launches of refueling Starship tankers. Another variant of the lunar lander may be used for the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program,[91] where scientific, exploration, and commercial payloads are sent to the Moon.[93]

Mission profile

A short animation of Super Heavy's landing on mechanical arms. The actual landing speed is a few times slower.

Payload such as Starlink v2 satellites may be loaded into the spacecraft while vertical from an integration machine at the build site, as was tested at Boca Chica.[94] After Super Heavy and Starship are stacked onto a launch mount by lifting from hardpoints, they will be loaded with propellant via the quick disconnect arm and mount.[31] Roughly four hundred truck deliveries are needed for one launch, though some commodities will be provided on-site via an air separation unit.[18]: 161–162  Then, the arm and mount will be detached, all thirty-three engines of Super Heavy fire, and the rocket lifts off.[31]

After two minutes,[95] at an altitude of 65 km (40 mi), Super Heavy is going to cut off its engines and[18]: 21  release the latches, causing the rocket stages to separate.[61] The booster will then flip its orientation and ignite its engines briefly. As the booster returns to the launch site via a controlled descent, similar to the Falcon 9's first stage,[18]: 21  it is going to be caught by a pair of mechanical arms.[96] After six minutes in flight,[95] about 20 t (44,000 lb) of propellant will remain inside the booster.[61]

Meanwhile, the Starship spacecraft accelerates to orbital velocity. Once in orbit, the spacecraft can be refueled by Starship tankers variant, increasing the spacecraft's capacity.[66] To land on bodies without an atmosphere such as the Moon, Starship would turn on its engines and thrusters to slow down.[92] To land bodies with an atmosphere such as Earth and Mars, Starship is going to slow down first by entering the atmosphere, protected by its heat shield.[50] The spacecraft will then perform the belly-flop maneuver, by diving back through the atmosphere body first and stabilize using its four flaps.[35]

At the spacecraft's landing, the Raptor engines will fire,[35] consuming propellant from the header tanks,[80] and flip back to vertical orientation. At this stage, Raptor engines' gimbaling, throttle, and reaction control system's firing will help precisely maneuver the craft.[35] A pseudospectral optimal control algorithm by the German Aerospace Center predicted that the landing flip would tilt up to 20° from the ground's perpendicular line, and the angle would be reduced to zero on touchdown.[97]: 10–12  In the future, Starship is envisioned to be caught by mechanical arms, like the booster.[31]

If Starship's rocket stages land on a pad, a mobile hydraulic lift will then move them to a transporter vehicle. If the rocket stages land on a floating platform, they will be transported by a barge to a port and move the rest of the distance by road. After recovery, Super Heavy and Starship will either be positioned on the launch mount for another launch, or refurbished at a SpaceX facility.[18]: 22 

Applications and launches

Further information: List of SpaceX Starship launches

Starship's reusability is expected to reduce launch costs, expanding space access to more payloads and entities.[98] According to Robert Zubrin, aerospace engineer and advocate for human exploration of Mars, Starship's lower launch cost would make space-based economy, colonization, and mining practical.[99]: 25, 26  Lower cost to space may potentially make space research profitable, allowing major advancements in medicine, computers, material science, and more.[99]: 47, 48  Musk has stated that a Starship orbital launch will cost less than $2 million. Pierre Lionnet, director of research at Eurospace, claimed otherwise, citing the rocket's multi-billion-dollar development cost and its current lack of external demand.[100]

If SpaceX's vision is fully realized, Starship will be able to launch up to three times per day,[95] and would replace all functions of the company's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.[101] The rocket's high capacity will enable ride-share missions launching many satellites at once, though SpaceX must be able to accommodate many different orbits as well.[17] Some procedures of Starship may emit a large amount of greenhouse gases, such as venting of methane, frequent launch cadence, and rocket tests. As of June 2022, these operations are not significant compared to the total greenhouse gas emissions by the United States and the world.[18]: 53, 54 

Commercial and defense

Starship is planned to launch the next satellite generation of SpaceX's Starlink constellation, used for delivering global high-speed internet.[102] A space analyst at financial services company Morgan Stanley stated development of Starship and Starlink are intertwined with each other; this means that Starship's capacity aid Starlink for cheaper launches, and Starlink's profits aid Starship for faster development.[103] Once these satellites are dead, they can be recovered back and alleviate the space debris situation.[100]

Starship spacecraft can be used for space tourism activities. An example is the dearMoon project announced by Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa, which consists of a flight around the Moon aboard Starship with a crew consisting of Maezawa and eight others.[104] Another example is the third flight of the Polaris program announced by Jared Issacman.[105]

In the future, Starship may host point-to-point flights, coined "Earth to Earth" by SpaceX, by traveling between anywhere on Earth in under one hour.[106] SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell predicted point-to-point travel could become cost-competitive with conventional business class flights.[107] Conversely, John Logsdon, an academic on space policy and history, said point-to-point travel is an unrealistic concept, as the craft would go back and forth from weightlessness to 5 g of acceleration.[108] As of January 2022, SpaceX was awarded a $102 million, five-year contract to develop under the Rocket Cargo program.[109]

Space exploration

See caption and article
Artemis 3 launch profile of a human landing on the Moon, involving Starship HLS, Starship tanker variants, and Orion spacecraft

Planetary scientists are incorporating Starship into their project plans, citing its high launch capacity and low cost.[110] Because of Starship's large capacity, large space telescopes such as the Large Ultraviolet Optical Infrared Surveyor are now feasible, allowing researchers to image Earth-like exoplanets. Starship may be able to launch large sample-return missions, potentially giving insight to past volcanism on the Moon and extraterrestrial life, and large probes orbiting Neptune or Io.[66]

However, there are differing opinions about how Starship's low launch cost will affect future science payloads. According to Waleed Abdalati, former NASA Chief Scientist, the low launch cost will make satellite replacement cheaper and enable more ambitious missions for budget-limited programs. Conversely, according to Lionnet, low launch cost may not reduce the overall cost of a science mission significantly. He cited the Rosetta space probe and Philae lander's mission cost of $1.7 billion, which the launch cost only composed less than ten percent.[100]

Starship's lunar lander variant, Starship HLS, is critical to the Artemis program, a current NASA human exploration program of the Moon.[91] The lander is accompanied by Starship tankers and Starship propellant depot variants. The tankers transfer propellant to a depot till it is full, then the depot fuels Starship HLS. By doing so, the lunar lander has enough thrust to place itself to into a lunar orbit. Then, the crews on board the Orion spacecraft are launched with the Space Launch System. Orion then docks with Starship HLS and the crews transfer into the lander. After landing and returning, the lunar crews transfer back to Orion and returns to Earth.[89]: 4, 5 

Space colonization

Further information: SpaceX Mars program
A spacecraft floating besides Mars
Illustration of a Starship spacecraft heading towards Mars

SpaceX has stated its goal is to colonize Mars to ensure the long-term survival of the human species.[111] Before founding SpaceX in 2001, a year earlier, Musk joined the Mars Society's board of director for a short time. There, together with Jim Cantrell, they failed to scout for a low-cost rocket in Russia, leading to the formation of the company.[99]: 30–31  Musk has made many tentative predictions about Starship's first Mars landing,[17] the most recent one in March 2022 being 2029.[112] SpaceX has not detailed plans for the spacecraft's life-support systems, radiation protection, and in situ resource utilization, technologies which are essential for space colonization.[87]

Starship is aimed to be a fully operational, long-duration, and returnable Mars spacecraft.[113]: 120  The Mars program's ambition is to eventually be able to send a million people to Mars, using a thousand Starships sent during a Mars launch window.[114] On Mars, to fuel return missions, resources on the planet such as subsurface water and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will be used. The Sabatier reaction then may be used to create liquid methane and liquid oxygen, Starship's propellant, in a power-to-gas plant.[70] On Earth, similar technologies can be used to create carbon-neutral propellant for the rocket.[115]

Facilities

See also: SpaceX facilities

Testing and manufacturing

Various spacecraft constructed inside bays
A bay at Starbase build site, hosting construction of prototypes

Starbase consists of a manufacturing facility and launch site,[116] and is located at Boca Chica, Texas. Both facilities operate for twenty-four hours a day,[29] and a maximum of 450 full-time employees may be onsite.[18]: 28  The site is planned to consist of two launch sites, one payload processing facility, one seven-acre solar farm, and other facilities.[18]: 34–36  As of April 2022, the expansion plan's permit has been withdrawn by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, citing lack of information provided.[117] The company leases Starbase's land for the STARGATE research facility owned by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and uses part of it for Starship development.[118]

At McGregor, Texas, the Rocket Development facility tests all Raptor engines. The facility has two main test stands: one horizontal stand for both engine types and one vertical stand for sea-level-optimized rocket engines. Other test stands are used for checking Starship's reaction control thrusters and Falcon's Merlin engines. In the past, the McGregor facility hosted test flights of landable first stages; Grasshopper and F9R Dev1. In the future, a nearby factory, which as of September 2021 was under construction, will make the new generation of sea-level Raptors while SpaceX's headquarters in California will continue building the Raptor Vacuum and test new designs.[119]

At Florida, a facility at Cocoa purify silica for Starship heat-shield tiles, producing a slurry which is then shipped to another facility at Cape Canaveral. In the past, workers at this facility constructed the Starship Mk2 prototype in competition with Starbase's crews.[84] Within the state, the Kennedy Space Center is planned to host other Starship facilities, such as Starship launch sites at Launch Complex 39A, planned Launch Complex 49, and a production facility at Roberts Road. The production facility is being expanded from Hangar X, Falcon rocket boosters' storage and maintenance facility. Roberts Road facility will include a 30,000 m2 (320,000 sq ft) building, loading dock, and a place for constructing integration tower's sections.[120]

Launch sites

Launch site with a tank farm and launch tower
A launch site at Starbase, showing a tank farm and an integration tower in construction

Starbase is planned to host two launch sites, named Pad A and B.[18]: 34  A launch site at Starbase has large facilities, such as a tank farm, launch pad, and an integration tower. Smaller facilities are present at the launch site: tanks surrounding the area contain methane, oxygen, nitrogen, helium, hydraulic fluid, etc.;[18]: 161  subcoolers near the tank farm cool propellant using liquid nitrogen; and various pipes are installed at large facilities.[31] Each tank farm consists of eight tanks, enough for one orbital launch. The launch pad has a water sound suppression system, twenty clamps that hold down the booster, and a quick disconnect mount that provides the rocket with commodities and electricity.[31]

An integration tower or launch tower consists of steel truss sections, a lightning rod on top,[121] and a pair of mechanical arms that can lift, catch and recover the booster called "Mechazilla". The mechanical arms are attached onto a carriage and controlled by a pulley at the top of the tower. The pulley is linked to a winch and spool at the base of the tower, using a cable. Using the winch, the carriage and mechanical arms can move vertically, with support from bearings attached at the sides of the carriage. A linear hydraulic actuator is used to move the arms side by side. Tracks are mounted on top of arms, which are used to position the booster or spacecraft precisely. The tower is mounted with a quick disconnect arm that can extend to and contract from the booster; its functions are similar to the quick disconnect mount.[31]

Other launch sites are in construction or being planned. Phobos and Deimos are the names of two Starship offshore launch platforms, both of which were in renovation as of March 2022.[122] Before being purchased from Valaris plc in June 2020, they were nearly-identical oil platforms named Valaris 8501 and Valaris 8500.[30] Their main decks are 78 m (260 ft) long by 73 m (240 ft) wide; their four columns are 15 m (49 ft) long and 14 m (46 ft) wide; and their helicopter decks are 22 m (72 ft) in diameter.[123] In February 2022, Musk stated Phobos and Deimos are not yet in SpaceX's focus. He then said in the far future, most Starship launches would start from offshore platforms.[52]

Since 2021,[124] the company is constructing a Starship launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida in Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A,[120] which is currently used to launch Crew Dragon capsules to the International Space Station.[124] SpaceX plans to make a separate pad is planned at 39A's north, named Launch Complex 49.[120] Because of Launch Complex 39A's Crew Dragon launches, the company is studying how to strengthen the pad from a Starship explosion and proposed to retrofit Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 instead. According to Musk, these launch sites at Cape Canaveral will become the primary ones, and Starbase in Texas will be used for research and development.[124] The towers at these launch sites should similar to one at Starbase, including the mechanical arms, with improvements.[120]

Reception

Two large spacecraft next to a v-shaped roof house
Starship SN15 and SN16 juxtaposed with a local tiki bar

Reception to Starship's development among local communities has been mixed, especially from cities near the Starbase spaceport. Proponents of SpaceX's arrival said the company would provide money, education, and job opportunities to the country's poorest areas. Fewer than one-fifth of those twenty-five or older in the Rio Grande Valley has a bachelor's degree, in comparison to the national average of one-third.[125] The local government has stated that the company boosted the local economy by hiring local residents and investing, aiding three-tenths of the population who are living in poverty.[126]

Opponents of the development said the company encourages Brownsville's gentrification, with an ever-increasing property valuation.[126] Though Starbase had been originally planned to launch Falcon rockets when the original environmental assessment was completed in 2014,[127] the site in 2019[20] was subsequently used to develop Starship which ultimately required a revised environmental assessment. This was completed in June 2022,[128] where the Federal Aviation Administration determined the changes would have "no significant impact."[54] Some of the tests have resulted in large explosions, causing major disruption to nearby wildlife reserves and residents' life. The disruption to the residents is further compounded by SpaceX's frequent beach and road closures for vehicle testing.[128] Because of this, some have moved away or requested financial reparations from the company.[126]

Notes

  1. ^ Super Heavy dry mass: 160 t (350,000 lb) – 200 t (440,000 lb); Starship dry mass: <100 t (220,000 lb); Super Heavy propellant mass: 3,600 t (7,900,000 lb);[61] Starship propellant mass: 1,200 t (2,600,000 lb).[62] The total of these masses is about 5,000 t (11,000,000 lb).
  2. ^ Super Heavy is 70 m (230 ft) tall and Starship spacecraft is 50 m (160 ft) tall,[63] sum up to 120 m (390 ft).
  3. ^ 72 MN (16,000,000 lbf) of thrust divide by 5,000 t (11,000,000 lb) of weight gives 1.44, round up to 1.45.
  4. ^ 100 t (220,000 lb) to low Earth orbit fits with both Russian[67] and United States[68]: TA01-6  super heavy-lift classification.
  5. ^ 78% of 3,600 t (7,900,000 lb) is 2,800 t (6,200,000 lb) of liquid oxygen.

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