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SpaceX's Starship is designed for human space exploration, specifically for missions to Mars. By 2025, it achieved orbital flights and precision tower catches from Starbase, Texas. The fully reusable system, consisting of the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage, delivers over 17 million pounds of thrust and can carry 100-150 tons per mission.

Mars mission planning includes orbital refueling and crew transport, with uncrewed flights beginning in 2026 and crewed missions planned for 2028. Starship's Raptor engines burn subcooled methalox, enabling in-situ resource utilization on Mars.

The spacecraft's heatshield and life-support systems are designed for long-term missions. Aiming for city-scale settlements by 2040, Starship fleets will establish infrastructure and redundancy on Mars.

The program integrates advanced engineering, with production scalability targeting 1,000 units per year, driving costs below $10 million per flight. Starship also supports Artemis lunar missions and point-to-point Earth transport.