Starship vs SLS
Both rockets exist to send humans beyond Earth orbit, and both fly under the Artemis program banner. The Space Launch System is a government-owned expendable rocket that has flown twice and carried a crew around the Moon; Starship is a commercial, fully reusable system still in flight testing that will land those crews on the surface.
Rockets5 min
Starship
Starship is SpaceX's fully reusable super heavy-lift rocket and the largest ever flown, with twelve test flights since 2023 and a Version 3 debut in May 2026.
Rockets5 min
Space Launch System
The Space Launch System is NASA's super-heavy Artemis Moon rocket. It flew uncrewed in 2022 and carried the Artemis II crew around the Moon in April 2026.
Key differences
- Role in Artemis: SLS launches crews in Orion toward the Moon; a Starship variant serves as the lander that takes them to the surface from lunar orbit.
- Flight record: SLS is 2 for 2, including the crewed Artemis II flyby in April 2026; Starship has 12 test flights with no operational missions yet.
- Economics: SLS costs over 2 billion dollars per flight and flies about once every two years; Starship aims for rapid reuse, and NASA cancelled the SLS Block 1B upgrade in February 2026 partly on cost grounds.
- Propulsion heritage: SLS burns hydrogen in Shuttle-derived RS-25 engines with solid boosters; Starship uses 33 new methane-fueled Raptors on its booster alone.
Side-by-side specifications
| Starship | Space Launch System | |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | SpaceX | Boeing, Northrop Grumman, L3Harris (for NASA) |
| Country | United States | United States |
| First integrated flight | April 20, 2023 | - |
| Height | 124.4 m (V3), 121 m (V1-V2) | 98 m (Block 1) |
| Diameter | 9 m | 8.4 m (core stage) |
| Stages | 2 (Super Heavy booster, Starship upper stage) | 2, plus 2 solid boosters |
| Engines | Raptor, burning liquid methane and oxygen | - |
| Payload to LEO | 100+ tonnes (planned, fully reusable) | 95,000 kg (Block 1) |
| Launch site | Starbase, Texas | - |
| Status | In flight testing (12 flights as of July 2026) | Active |
| First flight | - | November 16, 2022 (Artemis I) |
| Mass | - | About 2,610,000 kg |
| Total launches | - | 2 (as of July 2026) |
Figures come from each article's infobox; see the articles for sources and context.