SpaceX to Launch Tallest Rocket

SpaceX will launch an upgraded Starship next week, which could break records as the tallest and most powerful rocket in history. The craft is vital to NASA's plans to put humans back on the moon in 2028.

Starship Upgrades

The new version of Starship is made up of two parts: an upper stage called Starship and a lower stage called Super Heavy. Since the last test in October, SpaceX has made extensive revisions to both stages. The twelfth test flight will involve new version 3 models of both craft, powered by version 3 Raptor engines. The launch will take place from a newly designed pad at the company's Starbase site in Texas.

Rocket Specifications

The total height of the rocket at launch will be 124 metres, surpassing the 98-metre-tall Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the 111-metre-tall Saturn V. Starship 3 will also have 75,000 kilonewtons of thrust, making it the most powerful rocket ever launched. Alistair John at the University of Sheffield has calculated that the power of all the engines on the full Starship stack is larger than that produced by all electricity generation in Germany.

Artemis Programme

Starship is being developed to put satellites in orbit and run missions to Mars, but it has also been selected by NASA as one of two commercial lander designs for its Artemis programme. The Artemis III mission will see crew launch in an Orion spacecraft atop the SLS rocket and then rendezvous with commercial lunar landers provided by SpaceX and Blue Origin. SpaceX is using a fail-fast, learn-fast strategy, with six successful flights and five failures out of 11 previous test flights.

Key points

• SpaceX will launch an upgraded Starship next week, which could break records as the tallest and most powerful rocket in history.
• The new version of Starship is 124 metres tall, surpassing the 98-metre-tall Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
• Starship 3 will have 75,000 kilonewtons of thrust, making it the most powerful rocket ever launched.
• The Artemis III mission will see crew launch in an Orion spacecraft and rendezvous with commercial lunar landers provided by SpaceX and Blue Origin.
• SpaceX has had six successful flights and five failures out of 11 previous test flights.
• The upcoming Starship test will verify the design of the version 3 craft that will form the basis of the Human Lander System (HLS)