SpaceX Starship design history

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Before settling on the 2018 Starship design, SpaceX successively presented a number of reusable super-heavy lift vehicle proposals. These preliminary spacecraft designs were known under various names (Mars Colonial Transporter, Interplanetary Transport System, BFR). In November 2005, before SpaceX had launched its first rocket, the Falcon 1, CEO Elon Musk first mentioned a high-capacity rocket concept able to launch 100 t (220,000 lb) to low Earth orbit, dubbed the BFR. In October 2012, Musk first publicly announced plans to develop a rocket surpassing the capabilities of the existing Falcon 9. SpaceX called it the Mars Colonial Transporter, as the rocket was to transport humans to Mars and back. In 2016, the name was changed to Interplanetary Transport System, as the rocket was planned to travel beyond Mars as well. The design called for a carbon fiber structure, a mass in excess of 10,000 t (22,000,000 lb) when fully-fueled, a payload of 300 t (660,000 lb) to low Earth orbit while being...

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