Bigger isn’t always better, but when it comes to space exploration, it just might be.
With both stages stacked, the current SpaceX Starship launch vehicle stands at 407 feet. It’s taller than the tallest known living tree, Hyperion, and one-third taller than the Statue of Liberty (pedestal included). It’s the tallest rocket ever flown and the most powerful, with 18.1 million pounds-force of liftoff thrust. During its first full-stack launch in April 2023, the booster’s exhaust shattered the concrete launch pad, excavating the earth beneath and flinging debris across 385 acres. That booster was rated at 16.7 million pounds of thrust, slightly less than the one on the September 28, 2026, launch.
Keep in mind that this height covers the complete two-stage vehicle. The bottom section, known as Super Heavy, is the 236.2-foot booster that provides the initial push from the launch pad. Above it sits the 170.6-foot Starship spacecraft. While it’s immense in size and power, its dimensions serve a greater purpose than impressions alone. SpaceX designed the system to transport huge payloads and eventually carry people and cargo beyond Earth orbit. SpaceX also intends to recover and reuse both stages.
How much power does Starship produce?
The Super Heavy booster packs 33 Raptor engines, which burn liquid methane and liquid oxygen to generate 18.1 million pounds-force of booster thrust. For an interesting perspective, NASA’s Space Launch System produces 8.8 million to 9.4 million pounds of max thrust. Once Super Heavy separates, Starship will go on, powered by three regular Raptor engines and three Raptor Vacuum engines designed to operate in space. SpaceX lists the upper stage’s thrust at roughly 3.5 million pounds-force. Only the booster figure represents liftoff thrust.
The rocket’s immense power has to do more than fight gravity to lift heavy payloads. Super Heavy has a listed propellant capacity of 3,650 metric tons, and Starship holds an additional 1,600 metric tons. That’s 5,250 metric tons on top of everything else. With all of that weight, the world’s most powerful rocket still depends on staging, very efficient engines and a considerable degree of careful pre-launch planning.
Can Starship go to the Moon without refueling?
Despite all of today’s technological advancements, Starship will still have to refuel in Earth orbit, at least as far as NASA’s planned lunar-landing missions are concerned. The SpaceX lunar lander burns through a significant portion of its propellant just to reach orbit and will have to refuel.
SpaceX and NASA’s game plan includes several specialized vehicles, including a propellant depot that launches first, followed by tanker Starships that deliver fuel. The lunar lander launches last, docks with the depot and takes on propellant.
All of this takes place before the crew launches aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft (part of the Artemis program), after which they will meet with the prepositioned Starship lander in Earth orbit before Starship pushes both spacecraft to lunar orbit. The Starship lander will then carry two crew members to the Moon’s surface and back. Transporting and storing extremely cold propellants in space is a herculean technical challenge, so planned stages, refueling and a complicated support system are necessary to pull everything off successfully.
