Katerina Swanson
SpaceX's Starship is a spacecraft and second stage under development, designed to transport crew and cargo to a variety of destinations, including Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars. The rocket is designed to be fully reusable to reduce launch costs. The fuel requirements for the Starship depend on the mission and the weight of the cargo. The vehicle's tanks can hold 1,500 metric tons of propellant, consisting of liquid oxygen and liquid methane. The booster's two tanks hold a combined 3,400 tons of propellant. Elon Musk stated that the lunar Starship would require 1200 tons of fuel and could be achieved with eight launches.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Fuel Tank Capacity | 1200 tons (some sources cite 1330 tons) |
| Fuel Type | Liquid oxygen and liquid methane |
| Fuel Tank Composition | Two cryogenic propellant tanks separated by a common bulkhead |
| Fuel Tank Weight | 80 tons |
| Dry Mass | 100 tons (some sources cite 160-200 tons) |
| Height | 52.1 m (171 ft) |
| Width | 9 m (30 ft) |
| Number of Sections | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 29 |
| Number of Flaps | 4 |
| Number of Launches Needed to Refuel | 4-8 (some sources cite up to 16) |
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What You'll Learn
Starship's fuel tanks hold 1,500t of propellant
The Starship spacecraft, developed by American aerospace company SpaceX, is designed to transport crew and cargo to a variety of destinations, including Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars. The rocket has been designed with the goal of being fully reusable to reduce launch costs.
The Block 2 version of the Starship is composed of four general sections: the engine bay, the oxygen tank, the fuel tank, and the payload bay. The vehicle's tanks hold 1,500t (3,300,000 lb) of propellant, consisting of 1,170t (2,580,000 lb) of liquid oxygen and 330t (730,000 lb) of liquid methane. The fuel is fed to the engines through four downcomers, with three smaller downcomers feeding the Vacuum Raptors/RVacs and the central downcomer feeding the inner three engines.
The Starship's fuel tanks are separated by a common bulkhead, similar to the design used on the S-II and S-IVB stages of the Saturn V rocket. The common dome's design was changed to be more elliptical after the Starship's second flight test, slightly altering the propellant capacity of both tanks. Each tank has roughly 74 stringers for structural reinforcement, attached to their interior walls.
Starship's fuel requirements depend on its mission and payload. For example, a fully fueled Starship can go from LEO to NRHO and back to LEO without needing to refuel if it carries a modest payload. However, this does not include enough propellant for landing and taking off. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has stated that the Starship payload to orbit is about 150 tons, and it would take a maximum of eight launches to fill the 1,200-ton tanks of a lunar Starship.
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75% of propellant is liquid oxygen
The SpaceX Starship is composed of four general sections: the engine bay, the oxygen tank, the fuel tank, and the payload bay. The vehicle's tanks hold 1,500 t (3,300,000 lb) of propellant, consisting of 1,170 t (2,580,000 lb) of liquid oxygen and 330 t (730,000 lb) of liquid methane.
Liquid oxygen (LOX) is used as an oxidizer, which releases oxygen for combination with a fuel. Liquid oxygen and liquid methane are planned for use on several rockets in development, including the SpaceX Starship. This combination is widely regarded as the most practical for boosters that lift off at ground level and must operate at full atmospheric pressure.
Liquid oxygen is the only flown cryogenic oxidizer. Cryogenic propellants are liquefied gases stored at very low temperatures, with liquid oxygen remaining in a liquid state at temperatures of -183°C (-297°F). Because of the low temperatures of cryogenic propellants, they are difficult to store over long periods of time. However, liquid oxygen is more environmentally safe than solid rockets, which often use high-performance solid-phase oxidizers that contain chlorine.
The oxidizer to fuel ratio is called the mixture ratio. In a liquid propellant rocket, the fuel and oxidizer are stored in separate tanks and fed through a system of pipes, valves, and turbopumps to a combustion chamber. The SpaceX Starship's booster tanks hold a combined 3,400 t (7,500,000 lb) of propellant: 2,700 t (6,000,000 lb) of liquid oxygen and 700 t (1,500,000 lb) of liquid methane.
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Starship HLS needs several hundred tons of fuel to return to the Moon
The Starship HLS (Human Landing System) is a lunar lander variant of the Starship spacecraft. It is being designed and built by SpaceX under the Human Landing System contract to NASA. The HLS is slated to transfer astronauts from a lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon and back.
The HLS will be launched into Earth orbit, where it will be refuelled by multiple Starship tanker spacecraft before boosting itself into a lunar near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO). In NRHO, it will rendezvous with a crewed Orion spacecraft that will be launched from Earth by a NASA Space Launch System (SLS) launcher. After two to four crew members transfer into the HLS, it will depart and descend to the lunar surface.
After the crew completes their mission on the lunar surface, the HLS will lift off from the Moon and return to lunar orbit to rendezvous with Orion. The HLS cannot return to LEO without refuelling somewhere. It can only get back to NRHO. Thus, the Starship HLS needs several hundred tons of fuel to return to the Moon.
The exact amount of fuel required depends on the payload. A fully fuelled Starship can go from LEO to NRHO and back to LEO with no need to refill if it is carrying only a modest payload. This means it has enough propellant to propulsively decelerate to LEO. However, this does not include enough propellant to land and take off. Therefore, the most straightforward Moon mission, propellant-wise, is to have one spacecraft go to NRHO and another to land and take off.
The HLS can be refuelled in orbit to carry more crew and cargo to the surface. The dV needed for Starship to get to LEO is about the same as the dV needed to get from LEO to the Moon's surface and back to LEO. This suggests that Starship will empty its tanks to get to LEO, then fill up completely (~1200 tons) to have enough fuel to complete the rest of the mission.
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Dedicated tankers will carry 1200 tons of fuel
The SpaceX Starship is a spacecraft and second stage under development by American aerospace company SpaceX. The spacecraft is designed to transport crew and cargo to a variety of destinations, including Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars. It is designed to be reusable and capable of landing propulsively by firing its engines to perform a controlled descent. The rocket has been designed with the goal of being fully reusable to reduce launch costs.
The number of tanker launches required to fully fuel the Starship HLS varies, with estimates ranging from four to eight or even up to the high teens. These launches will need to be conducted in rapid succession to manage schedule constraints and cryogenic fuel boil-off. The Starship HLS will use its engines to make a powered descent and land near the lunar south pole. After the crew completes their mission, the HLS will ascend with the crew, who will then transfer to the Orion spacecraft to return to Earth.
The Starship's fuel tanks can hold 1500 tons of propellant, consisting of 1170 tons of liquid oxygen and 330 tons of liquid methane. The booster's two tanks hold a combined 3400 tons of propellant: 2700 tons of liquid oxygen and 700 tons of liquid methane.
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Starship's dry weight is 120,000kg
The Starship spacecraft, currently in development by SpaceX, has a dry weight of 120,000 kg. This figure represents the weight of the spacecraft without any fuel or cargo. The dry weight of a rocket is an important factor in determining its payload capacity, which is the total weight of fuel and cargo that the rocket can carry. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated in 2021 that the Starship vehicle has a dry mass of approximately 100 t (220,000 lb), which is equivalent to the dry weight of 120,000 kg.
The Starship's dry weight is a critical factor in its design, as it must be balanced with the weight of its fuel and cargo to ensure successful missions. The fuel weight of the Starship is also reported to be 120,000 kg, which means that the spacecraft carries an additional 120,000 kg of fuel on top of its dry weight. This fuel is necessary for the Starship's propulsion and manoeuvrability during its missions.
The Starship's fuel consists of liquid oxygen and liquid methane, with the oxygen tank and fuel tank being two of the four general sections of the spacecraft. The liquid oxygen and liquid methane are stored in separate tanks within the Starship, and they are used to feed the engines during flight. The amount of fuel required for a mission depends on the destination and the weight of the cargo being carried. For example, a mission to the Moon would require a significant amount of fuel to land and take off from the lunar surface, in addition to the fuel needed for the journey to and from Earth orbit.
SpaceX has proposed the concept of refuelling the Starship by docking with separately launched Starship propellant tanker spacecraft in orbit. This method could potentially increase the spacecraft's mass capacity and allow it to reach higher-energy targets, such as geosynchronous orbit, the Moon, and Mars. However, as of 2025, this concept has not been successfully demonstrated. The complexities involved in refuelling a spacecraft in orbit are significant, and it remains a challenge that SpaceX is working to overcome.
The Starship's dry weight of 120,000 kg serves as a foundation for the spacecraft's overall weight and capabilities. By understanding the dry weight, engineers can design missions that take into account the weight of fuel and cargo to be carried, as well as consider innovative methods such as in-orbit refuelling to extend the Starship's range and potential destinations.
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Frequently asked questions
SpaceX's Starship spacecraft is designed to hold 1,500 tons of propellant, consisting of 1,170 tons of liquid oxygen and 330 tons of liquid methane.
Estimates vary, with some sources claiming four tanker launches, while others claim up to eight or even sixteen launches.
Starship HLS requires several hundred tons of fuel to return to the Moon's surface.
A Starship tanker is estimated to carry 1,330 tons of fuel and oxygen.
