The booster is powered by 33 Raptor engines that use liquid oxygen and methane as propellants. It returns to its launch site after propelling the second stage toward orbit. There, it lands vertically by being caught by its launch tower, enabling full reusability.
Design
Super Heavy is 71 m (233 ft) tall, 9 m (30 ft) wide,[8] and is composed of four general sections: the engines, the oxygen tank, the fuel tank, and the interstage.[9]Elon Musk stated in 2021 that the final design will have a dry mass between 160 t (350,000 lb) and 200 t (440,000 lb), with the tanks weighing 80 t (180,000 lb) and the interstage 20 t (44,000 lb).[9]
Tanks
The propellant tanks on Super Heavy are separated by a common bulkhead, similar to the ones used on the S-II and S-IVB stages on the Saturn V rocket.[10][11] After Starship's second flight test, the common dome's design was changed to a more elliptical dome,[12] which changed the propellant capacity of both tanks by an unknown, but likely negligible, amount.[12] Both tanks are heavily reinforced, with roughly 74 stringers attached to the interior walls of the tanks.[13] The booster's tanks hold 3,400 t (7,500,000 lb) of propellant,[2] consisting of 2,700 t (6,000,000 lb) of liquid oxygen and 700 t (1,500,000 lb) of liquid methane.[a]
The methane tank has a camera installed in the forward dome, enabling images of the tank's interior.[14] Fuel is fed to the engines via a single downcomer, which terminates in a large distribution manifold above the engines.[15] The design of this manifold was changed when Super Heavy was upgraded from 29 engines to 33, with the more modern design featuring a dedicated methane sump instead of a direct distribution manifold.[16]
The oxygen tank terminates with the thrust structure of the vehicle. While the outer 20 engines are mounted to the walls of the aft bay, the inner thirteen are mounted directly to the thrust puck, which is part of the aft dome.[16] A large steel structure is mounted at the bottom of the dome, reinforcing the thrust puck enough to enable its support of the inner thirteen engines, while also providing pathways for methane and oxygen to flow into the engines.[16] Large slosh baffles were added in this region as well, beginning on Booster 10.[12] These systems double as filters, preventing contaminants from damaging the engines.[17] A header tank is used to supply liquid oxygen during the landing burn for the inner thirteen engines.[15] On Booster 15, the header tank has at least nine additional tanks attached, increasing total propellant supply during the landing burn.[17] These tanks may have been present on Boosters 12, 13, and 14. However, this is unconfirmed.[18] As of November 2024, Block 2 boosters are expected to have significantly larger header tanks, which may be used for the boostback burn in addition to the landing burn.[19] Booster 5 was the only 29-engine booster to receive a header tank, which was mounted to the side of the oxygen tank.[16] It is unknown whether or not the top of this tank was ever completed, as a forward dome was never spotted during the assembly or scrapping of the vehicle.[16]
The methane downcomer is partially contained within the header tank, as the methane sump is directly below it.[15] On Booster 7 and all subsequent vehicles, four aerodynamic chines are located on the outside of the oxygen tank, providing aerodynamic lift during descent,[20] as well as housing batteries, composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs), and CO2 tanks for fire suppression.[21] Smaller COPVs are used to ignite the engines.[21] On vehicles with hydraulic power units, the COPV's dedicated to engine ignition, as well as the batteries, were located inside the HPU, instead of the chines.[21]
Propulsion
Super Heavy is powered by 33 Raptor engines housed within a dedicated shielding compartment.[22] This compartment is not present before engine installation, thus, boosters are roughly three meters shorter before engine installation.[23] The bottom of this shielding, as well as its inner walls, are protected by a dedicated thermal protection system.[22] The outer 20 engines, arranged in a single ring, are fixed.[22] To save weight, these engines are started using ground support equipment on the launch mount and cannot be reignited for subsequent burns.[24] The inner thirteen engines are attached to an adapter, which rests directly against the thrust puck/aft dome assembly.[22] These engines are equipped with gimbal actuators and reignite for the boostback and landing burns.[25] After Starship's first flight test, this gimbaling system was switched from a hydraulic system to an electric one, enabling the removal of the hydraulic power units.[21] This change was made to the upper stage after the second flight test. During the ascent and boostback burns, the engines draw propellant from the main tanks, with the liquid oxygen being drawn from a dedicated header tank during the landing burn.[15] Like the thrust vector control system, the engine shielding, which isolates individual engines in the event of a failure, was upgraded after Starship's first flight test, alongside the fire suppression system.[21] This system uses CO2 tanks to purge the individual engine compartments during flight, as well as a nitrogen purge while on the launch pad.[26] The aft bay has eighteen vents visible on the outside of the booster, which are believed to be connected to the outer 20 engines,[26] while the center engines vent directly below the launch pad.[26]
The Raptor engine uses a full-flow staged combustion cycle with oxygen and methane-rich turbopumps.[27][28] Before 2014, only two full-flow staged-combustion rocket engine designs had advanced enough to undergo testing: the Soviet RD-270 project in the 1960s and the Aerojet Rocketdyne Integrated Powerhead Demonstrator in the mid-2000s.[29] To improve performance, the engines burn super cooled propellant.[30]
The Block 1 version of the booster (used through November 2024) produces a total of 73.5 MN (16,500,000 lbf)[3] just over twice that of the Saturn V first stage,[31] with this total being expected to increase to 80.8 MN (18,200,000 lbf) for Block 2 boosters and later up to 98.1 MN (22,100,000 lbf) with the Block 3 vehicle.[1] These later versions may have up to 35 engines.[32] The combined plume of the engines produces large shock diamonds in the exhaust during the ascent burn.[33]
During unpowered flight in the upper atmosphere, control authority is provided by cold gas thrusters fed with residual ullage gas.[21][12] Four perpendicular vents are located within the interstage, placed at a 45-degree angle from the hardpoints.[21] Additionally, four "cowbell" vents are located just below the common dome, which point down towards the engines, though at a slight angle.[21]
Interstage
The interstage is equipped with four electrically actuated grid fins made of stainless steel, each with a mass of roughly 3 t (6,600 lb).[34] These grid fins are paired together, with the fins in each pair being 60 degrees apart from each other, differing from the Falcon 9 booster, which has titanium grid fins mounted 90 degrees from each other.[35][36] This is done to improve control in the pitch axis.[36] The fins remain extended during ascent to save weight,[9] though this results in mild warping during stage separation.[37] The interstage also has protruding hardpoints, located between grid fins, allowing the booster to be lifted or caught by the launch tower.[38] The ability to lift a booster from these hardpoints was proven on August 23, 2022, when Booster 7 was lifted onto OLM A.[39] The first catch of a booster occurred on October 13, 2024, using Booster 12.[40]
Animation of Super Heavy's integration to the launch mount, using mechanical arms
After the first Starship test flight, all boosters have an additional 1.8 m[41] tall vented interstage to enable hot staging.[42] During hot staging, Super Heavy shuts down all but the 3 center engines,[43][44] while the second stage fires its engines before separating, thus the second stage "pushes off" from the first stage giving added thrust.[43] The vented interstage contains a dome to shield the top of Super Heavy from the second stage's engines.[42][44] Elon Musk in 2023 claimed that this change might result in a 10% increase in the payload to low Earth orbit.[44] Beginning with Booster 11, the vented interstage is jettisoned after completion of the boostback burn, to reduce mass during descent.[45] As of June 2024, SpaceX does not intend to jettison the interstage when flying Block 2 and Block 3 boosters, as the vented section will be directly integrated into the vehicle.[45]
Manufacturing
Underside of a 29-engine Super Heavy booster prior to engine installation
As of November 2024, all Super Heavy components are manufactured at Starbase, Texas.[46]
The manufacturing process starts with rolls of stainless steel, which are unrolled, cut, and welded along an edge to create a cylinder of 9 m (30 ft) diameter, 1.83 m (6.00 ft) tall, and 3.97 mm (0.156 in) thick,[41] and approximately 1600 kg (3,600 lb) in mass.[b] Thirty-three such rings are used in the Super Heavy Booster,[47] while four rings are 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) tall.[47] These shorter rings are used exclusively in the aft section.[47] A 1 m (3 ft 3 in) and a 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) tall ring are used to construct the liquid oxygen header tank. These rings have a significantly smaller diameter than the main rings.[47]
The forward dome is constructed out of two segments: the "dome knuckle" and the "dome frustum".[47][16] The aft dome has a third component: the "thrust puck", which supports the inner thirteen engines,[16] while the common dome is formed out of a single type of piece, and is more elliptical than the forward and aft domes.[47]
These rings are stacked and robotically welded along their edges to form stacks of three to four rings in the Starfactory.[47] Stringers are then added to the ring stacks, improving the structural strength of the booster.[47] Cutouts are made for the grid fins and hardpoints for the forward section.[47] Following this, the domes are installed within the forward, aft, and common ring stacks.[47] The forward ring stack consists of three rings, and the common ring stack consists of four.[47] The aft section is constructed solely from the four 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) rings.[47] Tank vents and external piping are added at this stage, followed by the COPVs and header tank.[47]
Following the completion of each of the ring stacks, the stacking of these sections begins, beginning with the assembly of the methane tank.[47] This process occurs in Mega Bay 1. Once the methane tank is completed, the oxygen tank is assembled, already integrated to the common dome.[47] Before assembly of the oxygen tank is finished, the methane downcomer is added, along with final stringers to the weld lines.[47] When both tanks are complete, the methane tank is stacked onto the oxygen tank, completing the primary tankage assembly.[47] Chines are added after this stage.[48]
The vehicle is then rolled to the Massey's test site and cryogenically tested twice to thrice.[49] These tests fill both tanks with liquid nitrogen, which is nonflammable, though liquid oxygen may be loaded as well.[47] After returning to the production site, the engines are installed, alongside their shielding, which forms the aft bay.[22] This is followed by static fire testing at the launch site.[47] Once this test is completed, the vented interstage is added to the vehicle.[13]
In October 2012, the company made the first public articulation of plans to develop a fully reusable rocket system with substantially greater capabilities than SpaceX's existing Falcon 9.[50] Later in 2012,[7] the company first mentioned the Mars Colonial Transporter rocket concept in public. It was to carry 100 people or 100 t (220,000 lb) of cargo to Mars and would be powered by methane-fueled Raptor engines.[10] Musk referred to this new launch vehicle under the unspecified acronym "MCT",[50] revealed to stand for "Mars Colonial Transporter" in 2013,[12] which would serve as part of the company's Mars system architecture.[51] SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell gave a potential payload range between 150–200 tons to low Earth orbit for the planned rocket.[50] According to SpaceX engine development head Tom Mueller, SpaceX could use nine Raptor engines on a single MCT booster or spacecraft.[52][12] The preliminary design would be at least 10 meters (33 ft) in diameter, and was expected to have up to three cores totaling at least 27 booster engines.[51]
Interplanetary Transport System
On September 27, 2016, at the 67th International Astronautical Congress, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced SpaceX was developing a new rocket using Raptor engines called the Interplanetary Transport System. It would have two stages, a reusable booster and a spacecraft. The stages' tanks were to be made from carbon composite, storing liquid methane and liquid oxygen. Despite the rocket's 300 t (660,000 lb) launch capacity to low Earth orbit, it was expected to have a low launch price. The concept, especially the technological feats required to make such a system possible and the funds needed, garnered substantial skepticism.[53] Both stages would use autogenous pressurization of the propellant tanks, eliminating the Falcon 9's problematic high-pressure helium pressurization system.[54][55][56]
2016 artist's concept of the ITS booster returning to the launch pad
The ITS booster was to be a 12 m-diameter (39 ft), 77.5 m-high (254 ft), reusable first stage powered by 42 engines, each producing 3,024 kilonewtons (680,000 lbf) of thrust. Total booster thrust would have been 128 MN (29,000,000 lbf) at liftoff, increasing to 138 MN (31,000,000 lbf) in a vacuum,[4] several times the 36 MN (8,000,000 lbf) thrust of the Saturn V.[54] It weighed 275 tonnes (606,000 lb) when empty and 6,700 tonnes (14,800,000 lb) when completely filled with propellant. It would have used grid fins to help guide the booster through the atmosphere for a precise landing.[4] The engine configuration included 21 engines in an outer ring and 14 in an inner ring. The center cluster of seven engines would be able to gimbal for directional control. However, some directional control would be achieved via differential thrust with the fixed engines. Each engine could throttle to between 20 and 100 percent of rated thrust.[55]
The design goal was to achieve a separation velocity of about 8,650 km/h (5,370 mph) while retaining about 7% of the initial propellant to achieve a vertical landing at the launch pad.[55][57]The design called for grid fins to guide the booster during atmospheric reentry.[55] The booster return flights were expected to encounter loads lower than the Falcon 9, principally because the ITS would have both a lower mass ratio and a lower density.[58] The booster was to be designed for 20 g nominal loads, and possibly as high as 30–40 g.[58]
In contrast to the landing approach used on SpaceX's Falcon 9—either a large, flat concrete pad or downrangefloating landing platform, the ITS booster was to be designed to land on the launch mount itself, for immediate refueling and relaunch.[55]
Big Falcon Rocket
In September 2017, at the 68th annual meeting of the International Astronautical Congress, Musk announced a new launch vehicle calling it the BFR, again changing the name, though stating that the name was temporary.[59] The acronym was alternatively stated as standing for Big Falcon Rocket or Big Fucking Rocket, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the BFG from the Doom video game series.[60] The vehicle was designed to be 106 meters (348 ft) tall, 9 meters (30 ft) in diameter, and made of carbon composites.[61][5]
Starship
In December 2018, the structural material was changed from carbon composites[55][54] to stainless steel,[62][63] marking the transition from early design concepts of the Starship.[62][64][65] Musk cited numerous reasons for the design change; low cost and ease of manufacture, increased strength of stainless steel at cryogenic temperatures, as well as its ability to withstand high heat.[66][64] In 2019, SpaceX began to refer to the entire vehicle as Starship, with the second stage being called Starship and the booster Super Heavy.[67][68][69][70] In September 2019, Musk held an event about Starship development during which he further detailed the booster.[71][72][73]
Ground testing
In March 2021, SpaceX assembled the first Super Heavy prototype, BN1, a production pathfinder for future vehicles.[74] It was scrapped on March 30.[75] The next booster, BN3, was completed on June 29, 2021.[76] It conducted the first cryogenic proof test of a Super Heavy on July 13, followed by the only static fire of a Super Heavy booster at the Suborbital Launch Site on July 19.[77] It was partially scrapped in August,[78] with the process concluding in January 2022.[79]
Booster 4 was the first vehicle intended to fly on Starship's Flight Test 1. It was the first Super Heavy to be stacked with Starship,[80] and conducted multiple cryogenic tests before being retired in favor of Booster 7 and Ship 24.[81]
Booster 7 being tested on the orbital launch pad at Starbase, Boca Chica, Texas in February 2023.
Flight testing
Booster 7 and Ship 24 conducted several static fire and spin prime tests before launch,[82]: 20 [83] with the first such test doing significant damage to Booster 7 on July 11, 2022.[84] After a launch attempt aborted on April 17, 2023,[85]Booster 7 and Ship 24 lifted off on April 20 at 13:33 UTC in the first orbital flight test.[7] Three engines were disabled during the launch sequence and several more failed during the flight.[86] The flight concluded when the booster lost thrust vectoring control of the Raptor engines, resulting in the rocket spinning out of control.[86] The flight termination system (FTS) was activated, though the vehicle tumbled for another 40 seconds before disintegrating.[87][88][89]
After the first test flight, SpaceX began work on the launch mount to repair the damage it sustained during the test and to prevent future issues. The foundation of the launch tower was reinforced and a water-powered flame deflector was built under the launch mount.[90]Ship 25 and Booster 9 were rolled to the suborbital and orbital launch sites in May to undergo multiple tests.[91][92]
On November 18, 2023, Booster 9 and Ship 25 lifted off the pad.[93] All 33 engines continued to function until staging, where the second stage separated by pushing itself away from the first stage using a hot-staging technique.[94] Following separation, the Super Heavy booster completed its flip maneuver and initiated the boostback burn before exploding following multiple successive engine failures.[94][95][96] Three and a half minutes into the flight at an altitude of ~90 km over the Gulf of Mexico, blockage in a liquid oxygen filter caused one of the engines to fail in a way that resulted in the destruction of the booster.[97]
IFT-3 launched from the SpaceX Starbase facility along the South Texas coast around 8:25 CDT on March 14, 2024, coincidentally the 22nd anniversary of its founding.[98][99] Like IFT-2, all 33 engines on the booster ignited and stage separation was successful.[100] B10 conducted a boostback burn, however, the planned landing in the Gulf of Mexico was not successful, as it exploded at 462 m (1,516 ft) above the surface.[101]
The fourth integrated flight test of the full Starship configuration launched on June 6, 2024, at 7:50 am CDT.[102] The goals for the test flight were for the Super Heavy booster to land on a 'virtual tower' in the ocean.[103] Super Heavy achieved a soft splashdown,[104] before being destroyed after tipping over.[105][106]
In April 2024, Musk stated one of the goals was to attempt a booster tower landing based on successful booster performance in flight 4. Vehicle testing commenced in May 2024.[107] SpaceX claimed that B12 and S30 were ready to launch in early August, in advance of regulatory approval.[108] SpaceX flew S30 and B12 on October 13, 2024, with B12 returning to the launch site for a catch.[6] After an aborted catch on flight 6,[109] B14 was caught during flight 7.[110]NASASpaceflight has claimed that B14 may be reflown on flight 9.[111]
Planned mission profile
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. At the T – 19:40 mark, engine chill begins on the booster.[112] This is to protect the engine's turbopumps from thermal shock. At three seconds before launch, the 33 engines startup sequence begins.[112]
After liftoff, the engines burn for approximately 159 seconds[113] before Super Heavy cuts off all but three of its center gimbaling rocket engines at an altitude of roughly 64 km (40 mi).[114]: 58 It throttles down the remaining engines, before Starship ignites its engines while still attached to the booster, and separates.[43] The booster then rotates, before igniting ten additional engines for a "boostback burn"[94] which stops all forward velocity and reverses the trajectory towards the launch site. After the boostback burn, the booster's engines shut off with Super Heavy on a trajectory for a controlled descent to the launch site using its grid fins for minor course corrections. At six minutes after launch, shortly before landing,[115] it ignites its inner 13 engines, then shuts off all but the inner 3,[101] slowing it sufficiently to be caught by a pair of hydraulic actuating arms attached to the launch tower.[116][117]
Notes
^With a mixture ratio of 3.6 parts oxygen to 1 part methane, 78.3% of 3400 t is 2660 t of liquid oxygen.
^This is based on the dimensions of the ring and 304L stainless steel's density of 7.93 g/cm3.[1]
^Alcantarilla Romera, Alejandro; Atkinson, Ian; Gebhardt, Chris; Beil, Adrian; Beyer, Jack (March 31, 2022). How SpaceX is Rapidly Iterating Starship. NASASpaceflight. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023 – via YouTube.
^Cotton, Ethan (August 2, 2020). "Starship SN-5 | 150 meter hop". Everyday Astronaut. Archived from the original on December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
^Spacexcmsadmin (September 27, 2019). "Starship". SpaceX. Archived from the original on September 30, 2019. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
^"Starship Users Guide, Revision 1.0, March 2020"(PDF). SpaceX. March 2020. Archived(PDF) from the original on April 2, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2020. SpaceX's Starship system represents a fully reusable transportation system designed to service Earth orbit needs as well as missions to the Moon and Mars. This two-stage vehicle – composed of the Super Heavy rocket (booster) and Starship (spacecraft)
^Berger, Eric (March 5, 2020). "Inside Elon Musk's plan to build one Starship a week and settle Mars". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on March 5, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020. Musk tackles the hardest engineering problems first. For Mars, there will be so many logistical things to make it all work, from power on the surface to scratching out a living to adapting to its extreme climate. But Musk believes that the initial, hardest step is building a reusable, orbital Starship to get people and tons of stuff to Mars. So he is focused on that.
^Super Heavy Booster 3 Stacked. SpaceX Boca Chica. NASASpaceflight. June 29, 2021. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021 – via YouTube.
^Kshatriya, Amit; Kirasich, Mark (October 31, 2022). "Artemis I – IV Mission Overview / Status"(PDF). NASA. Human Exploration and Operations Committee of the NASA Advisory Council. Archived(PDF) from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
^ abc"SpaceX – Launches". November 21, 2023. Archived from the original on November 21, 2023. Retrieved November 21, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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