starship

A starship is a spacecraft designed for travel between stars, or more generally a vehicle intended for spaceflight beyond a single planetary system. In science fiction, starships are depicted as capable of long interstellar journeys, often with exotic propulsion or relativistic speeds, and they frequently carry crews for exploration or colonization. In real-world discussions, the term is sometimes used to describe ambitious long-duration spacecraft programs, including SpaceX's Starship system, which is intended for transport within and between Earth’s orbit and other destinations such as the Moon and Mars.

Design and propulsion concepts for starships vary. Interstellar concepts typically rely on highly advanced propulsion, such as antimatter, fusion, or laser-driven sails, to achieve substantial fractions of light speed, or on speculative ideas like warp drives. For near-term operations, practical designs emphasize reliability, reusability, and high payload capacity, often focusing on solar systems rather than true interstellar travel. Key technical challenges include energy supply, life support for long durations, radiation protection, navigation over vast distances, and planetary protection.

Real-world example: SpaceX Starship is a two-stage vehicle consisting of the Starship spacecraft and the Super Heavy booster. It uses liquid methane and liquid oxygen propellant and stainless steel construction. The goal is fully reusable operation to deliver cargo and crew to low Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond, with large payload capacity and rapid turnaround.