In November 2005,[3] before SpaceX had launched its first rocket, the Falcon 1,[4] 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.[3] Later in 2012, Elon Musk first publicly announced plans to develop a rocket surpassing the capabilities of the existing Falcon 9.[5] SpaceX called it the Mars Colonial Transporter, as the rocket was to transport humans to Mars and back.[6] In 2016, the name was changed to Interplanetary Transport System, as the rocket was planned to travel beyond Mars as well.[7] The design called for a carbon fiber structure,[8] 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 fully reusable.[8] By 2017, the concept was temporarily re-dubbed the BFR.[9]
In December 2018, the structural material was changed from carbon composites[10][8] to stainless steel,[11][12] marking the transition from early design concepts of the Starship.[11][13][14] Musk cited numerous reasons for the design change; low cost, ease of manufacture, increased strength of stainless steel at cryogenic temperatures, and ability to withstand high temperatures.[15][13] In 2019, SpaceX began to refer to the entire vehicle as Starship, with the second stage being called Starship and the booster Super Heavy.[16][17][18] They also announced that Starship would use reusable heat shield tiles similar to those of the Space Shuttle.[19][20] The second-stage design had also settled on six Raptor engines by 2019; three optimized for sea-level and three optimized for vacuum.[21][22] In 2019 SpaceX announced a change to the second stage's design, reducing the number of aft flaps from three to two to reduce weight.[23] In March 2020, SpaceX released a Starship Users Guide, in which they stated the payload of Starship to low Earth orbit (LEO) would be in excess of 100 t (220,000 lb), with a payload to GTO of 21 t (46,000 lb).[24]
^"Starship". SpaceX. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
^"Starship Users Guide, Revision 1.0, March 2020"(PDF). SpaceX. March 2020. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2 April 2020. Retrieved 18 May 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)