The SpaceX Super Heavy Starship will be able to launch 100 tons into orbit in a fully reusable basis, but Elon Plans the follow up to be 4 to 8 times bigger. Elon tweeted that Starship Version 2.0 will be 18 meters in diameter instead of 9 meters. This would mean the area of the cross-section would be 4 times higher. If the height was also doubled then it would have 9 times the volume. The engines would likely be upgraded for the Ultra Heavy Starship 2.0. This means the next rocket might be able to launch over 1000 tons per launch.
This would be about twice the payload of the Sea Dragon. The Sea Dragon was a 1962 conceptualized design study for a two-stage sea-launched orbital super heavy-lift launch vehicle. The project was led by Robert Truax while working at Aerojet. It would have had a payload capacity of 550 tons. It would have been 150 meters tall and 23 meters in diameter.
The SpaceX Super Heavy Starship 2.0 may also be limited on height. Tovera Vashini on twitter notes that rocket height is limted by thrust per area. This could mean that SpaceX Super Heavy Starship 2.0 may also end up very near the Sea Dragon in capacity.
Probably not actually taller. Height is a function of thrust per area at the base, and Raptor has already pretty much maxxed that out at Superheavy height.
— Tovera (@ToveraVashini) August 29, 2019
In 2016, SpaceX had a 12-meter diameter ITS rocket design. It was designed to launch 300 tons to orbit and with refueling could launch 450 tons to Mars.
The ITS was about double the volume of the current Starship Super Heavy but had 3 times the payload. If the 18-meter Starship 2.0 had similar scaling then it would have 9 times the payload of the Starship.
A 240-meter tall rocket would be as tall as the Woolworth building in New York and about 75% as tall as the Eiffel Tower and twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty.
please build a 12m diameter version later 🙂 i really loved the first design! Thankyou for all your work! And another question: Traveltime is so long to Mars. Are u planning to use other engines in the future? Like VASIMR ?
— Frei Raum (@Freiraum77) August 28, 2019
The first stage of the Saturn V was 10 meters in diameter and the Soviet Union N1 had 17-meter diameter at its widest point.
Probably 18m for next gen system
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 28, 2019
Elon Musk also tweeted that we are about 2 to 3 months from orbital readiness for the Starship. SpaceX is shipping its tenth raptor engine.
SOURCES -SpaceX, Elon Musk Twitter, Wikipedia
Written by Brian Wang, Nextbigfuture.com
nextbigfuture.com, the top online science blog. He is also involved in angel investing and raising funds for breakthrough technology startup companies.
He gave the recent keynote presentation at Monte Jade event with a talk entitled the Future for You.  He gave an annual update on molecular nanotechnology at Singularity University on nanotechnology, gave a TEDX talk on energy, and advises USC ASTE 527 (advanced space projects program). He has been interviewed for radio, professional organizations. podcasts and corporate events. He was recently interviewed by the radio program Steel on Steel on satellites and high altitude balloons that will track all movement in many parts of the USA.
He fundraises for various high impact technology companies and has worked in computer technology, insurance, healthcare and with corporate finance.
He has substantial familiarity with a broad range of breakthrough technologies like age reversal and antiaging, quantum computers, artificial intelligence, ocean tech, agtech, nuclear fission, advanced nuclear fission, space propulsion, satellites, imaging, molecular nanotechnology, biotechnology, medicine, blockchain, crypto and many other areas.
