SpaceX Starship

SpaceX conducted the first integrated orbital test flight of the Starship and Super Heavy booster on April 20, 2023, from its Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The vehicle was intentionally destroyed before reaching orbit, but the flight provided critical data for subsequent test campaigns.

Starship is designed to carry over 100 metric tons of payload to low Earth orbit in its fully reusable configuration, with a higher capacity in an expendable mode. If achieved, this would make it the most capable rocket ever flown, surpassing the Saturn V that launched Apollo missions to the Moon.

Yes, NASA selected a modified version of Starship as the Human Landing System for the Artemis program, contracted to carry astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon. The first crewed landing under this contract is planned for a later Artemis mission following Artemis II.

The fully assembled Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster stand approximately 120 meters tall, making the combination the tallest and most powerful rocket ever constructed. This exceeds both NASA's Saturn V and SpaceX's own Falcon Heavy in both height and thrust.