Regan Brown
SpaceX's Starship and Super Heavy are designed to be a super heavy-lift reusable launch vehicle. The Super Heavy is the first stage of the rocket, which uses 33 Raptor engines that run on liquid oxygen and methane. The Starship is the second stage of the rocket, which can carry a payload of 100-150 metric tons. The Super Heavy booster has a propellant capacity of 3,300 metric tons, while the Starship has a propellant capacity of 1,200 metric tons of liquid methane and liquid oxygen.
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What You'll Learn
- The Super Heavy and Starship vehicles are fuelled via the booster quick disconnect (BQD) and ship quick disconnect (SQD) arm
- The Raptor engine uses methane as fuel, rather than kerosene, to prevent the build-up of deposits
- The booster's two tanks hold a combined 3,400 tonnes of propellant
- The Super Heavy booster is 71 metres tall and 9 metres wide
- The Starship takes off with around 4,500 tonnes of fuel
The Super Heavy and Starship vehicles are fuelled via the booster quick disconnect (BQD) and ship quick disconnect (SQD) arm
The SpaceX Starship is a two-stage rocket: the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft. The rocket has been designed to be fully reusable, with both stages intended to return to the launch site and land vertically at the launch tower for potential reuse. The Super Heavy and Starship are fuelled via the booster quick disconnect (BQD) and ship quick disconnect (SQD) arm.
The Raptor engines that power the Super Heavy and Starship burn liquid methane and liquid oxygen. The Super Heavy booster uses 33 Raptor engines, while the exact number of Raptor engines used in the Starship is unknown. The Raptor engine uses methane as fuel rather than kerosene because methane gives higher performance and prevents the build-up of deposits in the engine from coking.
The Super Heavy and Starship are stacked onto their launch mount and loaded with fuel through the BQD and SQD arms. The booster's two tanks hold a combined 3,400 tonnes of propellant: 2,700 tonnes of liquid oxygen and 700 tonnes of liquid methane. Fuel is fed to the engines via a single liquid funnel and channelled into the distribution manifolds of the engines.
The Starship takes off with around 4,500 tonnes of fuel, with 100-150 tonnes reaching orbit. SpaceX has stated that the Starship, in its "baseline reusable design", will have a payload capacity of 100-150 tonnes to low Earth orbit and 27 tonnes to geostationary transfer orbit.
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The Raptor engine uses methane as fuel, rather than kerosene, to prevent the build-up of deposits
The SpaceX Starship, when stacked and fully fuelled, has a mass of approximately 5,000 tons. It consists of the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage, both powered by Raptor engines. Each Raptor engine burns liquid oxygen and methane in a full-flow staged combustion power cycle.
The Raptor engine uses methane as fuel rather than kerosene because methane gives higher performance and prevents the build-up of deposits in the engine from coking. Coking refers to the residue that builds up in engines that burn traditional rocket-grade kerosene. Methane burns cleaner, so there is no residue build-up, which means engines can be reused more times without refurbishment. Methane also behaves uniquely under thermal decomposition conditions compared to other hydrocarbons, which contributes to less build-up.
The use of methane as fuel is also advantageous because it is relatively easy to store in space compared to hydrogen or kerosene. It is believed that methane could be available on the surface of Mars or elsewhere in space, which would allow SpaceX to be almost self-sufficient in terms of fuel.
While methane does produce a small amount of soot, the amount is significantly less than that produced by other fuels. This means that the Raptor engine can be rapidly reused between flights without any major maintenance.
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The booster's two tanks hold a combined 3,400 tonnes of propellant
The Super Heavy and Starship are stacked onto their launch mount and loaded with fuel via the booster quick disconnect (BQD) and ship quick disconnect (SQD) arm. The booster's two tanks hold a combined 3,400 tonnes of propellant. This includes 2,700 tonnes of liquid oxygen and 700 tonnes of liquid methane. The Raptor engines used in the Super Heavy and Starship burn liquid methane (the main component of natural gas) and liquid oxygen.
Methane is used as fuel instead of kerosene because it gives higher performance and prevents the build-up of deposits in the engine from coking. The Super Heavy booster is 71 metres tall and 9 metres wide. It is composed of four general sections: the engines, the oxygen tank, the fuel tank, and the interstage.
When stacked and fully fuelled, the Starship has a mass of approximately 5,000 tonnes. It has a diameter of 9 metres and a height of 121.3 metres. The rocket has been designed with the goal of being fully reusable to reduce launch costs.
Starship is used to deliver satellites at a lower marginal cost per launch compared to Falcon. Its cargo compartment will provide the largest potential cargo fairing of any current planned space freight vehicle. This allows it to carry very large objects like assembled space telescopes.
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The Super Heavy booster is 71 metres tall and 9 metres wide
The SpaceX Starship is a two-stage, fully reusable, super heavy-lift launch vehicle. It consists of the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage. The booster is 71 metres tall and 9 metres wide and is composed of four general sections: the engines, the oxygen tank, the fuel tank, and the interstage.
The Super Heavy booster is powered by 33 Raptor engines housed within a dedicated shielding compartment. This compartment is not present before engine installation, so boosters are roughly three metres shorter prior to engine installation. The Raptor engines burn liquid oxygen and methane in an efficient and complex full-flow staged combustion power cycle. The Raptor engine uses methane as fuel rather than kerosene because methane gives higher performance and prevents the build-up of deposits in the engine from coking.
The booster's two cryogenic propellant tanks hold a combined 3,400 t of propellant: 2,700 t of liquid oxygen and 700 t of liquid methane. Fuel is fed to the engines via a single liquid funnel and channelled into distribution manifolds of the engines. This system was upgraded on Block 3 boosters, featuring a substantially larger transfer tube connecting the engines and the methane tank.
After the first Starship test flight, all boosters were given an additional 1.8 m tall vented interstage to enable hot staging. During hot staging, the Super Heavy shuts down all but the three centre engines, while the second stage fires its engines before separating, giving the second stage added thrust.
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The Starship takes off with around 4,500 tonnes of fuel
The Starship, developed by SpaceX, takes off with around 4,500 tonnes of fuel. The rocket consists of two stages: the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage. The Super Heavy booster is 71 metres tall and 9 metres wide, and it is composed of four general sections: the engines, the oxygen tank, the fuel tank, and the interstage. The booster uses 33 Raptor engines that burn liquid oxygen and methane as propellants. The Raptor engine uses methane as fuel rather than kerosene because methane gives higher performance and prevents the build-up of deposits in the engine from coking.
The Starship, on the other hand, is the upper stage of the rocket and is designed to function as a standalone spacecraft capable of carrying crew and cargo. When stacked and fully fueled, the Starship has a mass of approximately 5,000 tonnes. It has a diameter of 9 metres and a height of 121.3 metres. The Starship is designed to be fully reusable, with the ability to return to the launch site and land vertically at the launch tower for potential reuse.
The Super Heavy booster and the Starship are stacked onto their launch mount and loaded with fuel via the booster quick disconnect (BQD) and ship quick disconnect (SQD) arm. The booster's two tanks hold a combined 3,400 tonnes of propellant: 2,700 tonnes of liquid oxygen and 700 tonnes of liquid methane. Fuel is fed to the engines through a single liquid funnel and then channelled into distribution manifolds of the engines.
The Starship has a payload capacity of 100-150 tonnes to low Earth orbit and 27 tonnes to geostationary transfer orbit. It is made of stainless steel, and half of its surface is covered in glass tiles to protect it from the heat upon atmospheric entry. The rocket is designed to deliver satellites at a lower marginal cost per launch compared to Falcon and will provide the largest potential cargo fairing of any current planned space freight vehicle.
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Frequently asked questions
The Super Heavy booster has a propellant capacity of 3,300 metric tons, according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Its two tanks hold a combined 3,400 tons of propellant: 2,700 tons of liquid oxygen and 700 tons of liquid methane.
The Starship takes off with around 4,500 tons of fuel, with 100-150 tons reaching orbit.
The Super Heavy and Starship are stacked and loaded with fuel together. When stacked, the Starship has a mass of approximately 5,000 tons. However, the exact fuel capacity of both vehicles combined is unclear.
