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Starship is a reusable launch vehicle in development by private aerospace company SpaceX, consisting of a first-stage named Super Heavy and a second-stage named Starship. The launch vehicle can produce 72 meganewtons (MN) or 17,000,000 pound-force (lbf) at lift-off, which would make it the world's most powerful rocket once operational. Starship is designed to launch 100 metric tons (220,000 lb) to low Earth orbit. If tanker Starships transferred propellant to the main spacecraft, the same amount of payload would be able to go to higher Earth orbits, the Moon, or Mars. Starship might launch from a non-traditional launch pad that includes a specialized launch tower, able to lift and recover Starship's stages. The rocket is made from stainless steel and has liquid oxygen and liquid methane-consuming Raptor engines.
The first publicly known Starship-like concept by SpaceX was a rocket code-named BFR. After changes to the vehicle's design, SpaceX began to build and develop Starship test articles at its Boca Chica launch site. On 25 July 2019, Starhopper performed the first successful hop using its Raptor engine. The first complete Starship test article was SN8, which launched and crashed to the ground on 9 December 2020. SN15 on 5 May 2021 became the first test article to launch and land without self-destruction. As of October 2021, SN20 and booster BN4 are planned for Starship's first orbital flight. Starship is projected to be used in upcoming and envisioned space missions, such as the dearMoon project, NASA's Artemis program, and SpaceX's Mars program.