The entire Starship system measures 120 m high. The first stage, measuring 70 m, is powered by 33 Raptor engines powered by liquid methane and oxygen, which in total have twice the power of the engines of the Saturn V rocket, which NASA used in the Apollo program. The Starship vehicle itself is 50 m high and is powered by 6 Raptor engines, three of which are adapted to work in space.
The whole thing is clearly taller than Saturn V and more than twice as tall as the entire shuttle system. The Starship is expected to carry a minimum of 150 tons of cargo to low Earth orbit. For comparison, the new European Ariane 6 rocket in a more powerful variant will be 20 tons. Ariane, like the SLS rocket recently built by NASA, cannot be used repeatedly and the costs of their construction are high.
Starship, if it begins its regular operation, has a good chance to truly change space flights. It can take off and land both at the SpaceX spaceport in Boca Chica, at the John F. Kennedy Space Center, and on special ocean vessels.
The first test of the rocket took place in December 2020, when the second stage rose to an altitude of over 12 km, reaching the intended ceiling. The prototype reached Earth using engine braking, but its speed was still too high, causing the vehicle to explode. According to SpaceX, the cause of the disaster was too low pressure in the tanks supplying fuel to ignite the engines. Because of this, the rocket hit the ground at too high a speed.
Another test flight took place in November 2023, during which Starship was to reach orbit. Shortly following the successful separation of the first and second stages at an altitude of 70 km, the first stage exploded. The same thing happened to the second stage shortly before reaching orbit.
Both tests, despite this ending, were in some sense a success. First of all, the rockets flew, and at the same time the tests became a source of invaluable knowledge for SpaceX. Analysis of the causes of disaster effects allowed us to find weak points.
It is worth remembering that other rockets (including the Falcons built by SpaceX) also exploded before they began regular, safe flights. However, following each attempt, they became more and more perfect. At the same time, as experts point out, SpaceX is a mature company that has been producing rockets and offering orbital transportation services for years.
