SpaceX has indicated it still plans to fully replace its entire launch vehicle fleet with the new "Starship/Super Heavy" super heavy-lift launch vehicle capable of lofting more than 150 tons (136,000 kg) into low Earth orbit (LEO).
Starship/Super Heavy will replace all of the company's existing launch vehicles and spacecraft: the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles, and the Dragon capsule (manned and unmanned versions).
Super Heavy refers to the recoverable first stage booster while Starship is a reusable second stage with an integrated payload section.
A starship can operate as a long-duration spacecraft on flights both in and beyond Earth orbit (BEO). It will be built in three versions.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk recently tweeted an actual picture, and not rendering, of a prototype Starship built at the company's facility in South Texas, signifying it was all systems go for his plans for Starship/Super Heavy.
"Starship test flight rocket just finished assembly at the @SpaceX Texas launch site," tweeted Musk. He added that it (Starship) needed to be made real but clarified the Starship that SpaceX just built is a prototype for suborbital vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) tests.
The prototype will prove the world's biggest-ever spaceship can both launch from and land back on Earth, just like the smaller Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. After the prototype's VTOL tests are complete, SpaceX will proceed with building an "orbital version" of Starship/Super Heavy that will be taller with thicker skins and a smoothly curving nose section, according to Musk.
Starship/Super Heavy was once referred to by Musk as BFR (Big Falcon Rocket). The first flight for Starship/Super Heavy -- the biggest and most powerful spacecraft on Earth -- is still scheduled for 2020. Like Falcon 9, the first stage booster of Starship/Super Heavy will be capable of re-use after landing
Only a few days ago, SpaceX said it will develop and build Starship/Super Heavy at South Texas instead of at the Port of Los Angeles to save on time and money.
In October 2017, Musk said the goal of BFR (now Starship/Super Heavy) is to make the Falcon 9 and the Falcon Heavy rockets and the crew/uncrewed Dragon spacecraft redundant. This move will allow SpaceX to shift all its resources and funding to Starship/Super Heavy.
Musk said Starship/Super Heavy will perform the same LEO and BEO missions as Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, but on a more economical scale as more satellites will be able to launch at the same time and on the same rocket due to the immense size of Starship/Super Heavy.
