Musk: ‘Dream come true’ to see fully stacked SpaceX Starship rocket during prep for orbital launch




SpaceX is developing Starship to launch cargo and people on missions to the moon and Mars. Starship prototypes stand at about 160 feet tall, or around the size of a 16-story building, and are built of stainless steel — representing the early version of the rocket that Musk unveiled in 2019.

The rocket lifts off on top of a Super Heavy booster, which makes up the bottom half of the rocket and stands about 230 feet tall. Together, Starship and Super Heavy are nearly 400 feet tall when stacked for launch.

This is the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built. Taller than the Saturn V and about twice as powerful. This prototype booster stage has 29 engines and the final rendition might have 33. It will be completely reusable when finished. The upper stage is covered in black heat resistant tiles on one side. It will reenter the Earth's atmosphere in a relatively horizontal position.