Massive New Rocket Being Planned By SpaceX

200-ton capacity behemoth could transport humans to Mars.

Massive New Rocket Being Planned By SpaceX

Earlier this year, SpaceX's Dragon became the first commercial vessel to dock with the International Space Station. Founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk, the space transport company is planning the first test launch of its Falcon Heavynext year. This will have more than four times the payload-to-LEO capacity of the Falcon 9 used to deliver the Dragon capsule into orbit.

However, an even larger rocket is now being planned. Elon Musk claims it would use an entirely new engine and fuel type, "several times" as powerful as the 160,000lb-thrust (712kN) Merlin 1 series that powers the Falcon 9. SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell had recently hinted at a project with similar characteristics, describing multiple engines with "more than 1.5 million pounds" of thrust and a payload range of 150-200 tons.

By comparison, next year's Falcon Heavy will have a capacity of 53 tons, while NASA's Space Launch System planned for 2017 will have 70 tons initially, later being upgraded to 129 tons. The Saturn V used to deliver men to the Moon had a capacity of 120 tons. SpaceX's rumoured super rocket – at potentially 200 tons – would therefore be the largest and most powerful rocket ever built by a wide margin, easily big enough to send astronauts to Mars. Entire space stations and super-sized satellites could also be delivered to orbit in a single launch.

The project is being kept under wraps for now, but Elon Musk has promised more details in "between one and three years".