What Is Starship? SpaceX’s Rocket, Test Flights and Moon Role
Starship is two vehicles stacked together, both built to be caught and flown again. Here is what it is, how its test campaign has gone and what NASA wants from it.
Starship is SpaceX’s fully reusable launch system: a Super Heavy booster with 33 Raptor engines topped by the Starship spacecraft, standing 407 feet (124 m) tall. SpaceX calls it the most powerful launch vehicle ever developed and designs it to carry more than 100 metric tons to orbit. It has flown from Starbase, Texas, since 2023, and NASA plans to use a version of it as a Moon lander.
Starship is still in testing. Each flight so far has been a test, and the system has not yet carried people.
What are Starship and Super Heavy?
Starship is the name for the whole system and for its upper stage. The first stage is Super Heavy, a booster built to fly back and be caught by the launch tower. The upper stage, also called Starship, is the spacecraft that reaches space and is designed to come back for reuse too.
| Part | Height | Engines | Thrust | Propellant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full stack | 124 m (407 ft) | 39 Raptors in total | n/a | Liquid methane and liquid oxygen |
| Super Heavy booster | 72 m (236 ft) | 33 Raptor | 8,240 metric tons-force (18.1 million lbf) | 3,650 t (8 million lb) |
| Starship spacecraft | 52 m (171 ft) | 3 Raptor, 3 Raptor Vacuum | 1,614 metric tons-force (3.5 million lbf) | 1,600 t (3.5 million lb) |
Both stages are 9 m (29.5 ft) wide. Figures are from SpaceX’s Starship page as of November 2026.
Starship uses methane because it burns cleanly, which helps engine reuse, and because it could in principle be made on Mars. SpaceX also plans tanker versions of Starship that refill a spacecraft with propellant in orbit before it heads to the Moon or Mars.
How have Starship’s test flights gone?
Starship’s test flights have mixed clear successes with several losses of vehicles, which is how SpaceX develops hardware: fly early, learn from failures and change the design. All flights so far have launched from Starbase in South Texas.
| When | Milestone |
|---|---|
| April 2023 | First integrated flight; vehicle lost about four minutes after liftoff |
| June 2024 | First flight with controlled splashdowns of both booster and ship |
| October 2024 | First catch of a Super Heavy booster by the launch tower’s arms |
| January to May 2025 | Three upgraded ships lost during flight, each followed by an FAA-overseen mishap investigation |
| August and October 2025 | Two successful flights that ended the second-generation design |
| May 2026 | First flight of Starship Version 3 |
| September 2026 | First Starship flight to reach orbit, deploying Starlink satellites |
Earlier flights followed suborbital paths that ended in the ocean, which let SpaceX test the vehicle without leaving it in orbit. The September 28, 2026, flight was reported as the first to place Starship in orbit and release Starlink satellites. Booster catches and returns have been part of the program since late 2024. If you want to watch one, see our guide on viewing a Starship launch at Starbase.
What is the current version of Starship?
The current design is Starship Version 3, which first flew in May 2026. It flies with SpaceX’s newer Raptor 3 engines and is the version NASA refers to in its plans for Artemis III.
Each flight is licensed by the FAA, which also oversees investigations when a flight ends in a mishap.
What is Starship’s role in NASA’s Moon program?
NASA plans to use a version of Starship as one of two commercial Moon landers, alongside Blue Origin’s Blue Moon. The landers carry astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface and back to Orion.
NASA reworked its schedule in 2026. As of an Oct. 23, 2026, NASA update, Artemis III is now a crewed mission in low Earth orbit launching in 2027, where Orion will practice docking with test versions of both landers. For Starship’s part, SpaceX launches a Starship Version 3 test article from Florida, Orion docks with it for up to two hours, and the crew does not go inside. NASA says crewed landings near the lunar south pole are planned to begin in 2028.
The details are in NASA’s Artemis III mission update, and our Artemis program guide tracks each mission’s target date.
Will Starship launch from Florida?
Yes, SpaceX is building Starship launch pads in Florida at Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center and Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral. The FAA approved Starship launches from 39A in early 2026, and the Department of the Air Force approved the SLC-37 project in 2025.
As of early November 2026, Starship had not yet launched from Florida. NASA’s Artemis III plan calls for a Starship test article to launch from Florida in 2027. Our guide to Starship launches from Florida covers the approvals, the number of launches allowed and what residents can expect.
What can Starship carry, and what does it cost?
SpaceX designs Starship to carry more than 100 metric tons to orbit in its fully reusable form. SpaceX’s Starship page offers cargo flights to the lunar surface and to Mars starting no earlier than 2028, at $100 million per metric ton.
The company’s main near-term use is launching its own larger Starlink satellites, which are too big for Falcon 9. Reusing both stages is what SpaceX says will bring launch costs down. Our article on how SpaceX reuses Falcon 9 boosters shows how far that approach has already gone with the smaller rocket.
Bottom line
Starship is a 407-foot, two-stage, fully reusable rocket with 39 Raptor engines and a design goal of more than 100 metric tons to orbit. It has been flying test missions from Texas since 2023, caught its first booster in 2024, debuted Version 3 in May 2026 and reached orbit in September 2026. NASA plans to test it with Orion in Earth orbit on Artemis III in 2027 before any crewed landing.
FAQ
Has Starship carried people?
No. All Starship flights so far have been uncrewed tests. NASA’s Artemis III plan says the crew will not enter Starship during its 2027 docking test.
How tall is Starship?
The full stack stands 124 meters (407 feet). The Super Heavy booster is 72 meters and the Starship spacecraft is 52 meters.
Where does Starship launch from?
So far, only from Starbase in South Texas. SpaceX is building pads at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A and Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 37 in Florida.
Why does Starship explode on some test flights?
SpaceX flies prototypes early and expects some to fail so it can find problems in real flight. After a failure, the FAA requires a mishap investigation before the next flight is licensed.
