Your browser does not fully support modern features. Please upgrade for a smoother experience.
Submitted Successfully!
Thank you for your contribution! You can also upload a video entry or images related to this topic. For video creation, please contact our Academic Video Service.
Version Summary Created by Modification Content Size Created at Operation
1 handwiki Sirius Huang -- 3220 2022-11-10 01:32:26

Video Upload Options

We provide professional Academic Video Service to translate complex research into visually appealing presentations. Would you like to try it?
No, upload directly Yes
Cite
If you have any further questions, please contact Encyclopedia Editorial Office.
HandWiki. ITS Launch Vehicle. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/33930 (accessed on 10 October 2026).
HandWiki. ITS Launch Vehicle. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/33930. Accessed October 10, 2026.
HandWiki. "ITS Launch Vehicle" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/33930 (accessed October 10, 2026).
HandWiki. (2022, November 10). ITS Launch Vehicle. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/33930
HandWiki. "ITS Launch Vehicle." Encyclopedia. Web. 10 November, 2022.
ITS Launch Vehicle
Edit
The content is sourced from: https://handwiki.org/wiki/Engineering:ITS_launch_vehicle

The ITS launch vehicle was a 2016-2017 design for a privately funded orbital launch vehicle planned to be developed by SpaceX. Design work was discontinued in 2017 when development was shifted to a smaller version, now called BFR. The initial design objective of the ITS launch vehicle was to launch a variety of SpaceX Interplanetary Transport System missions to Mars and other destinations in the beyond-Earth-orbit portion of the Solar System. The first launch was not expected before the 2020s. The ITS launch vehicle was to be operated as a somewhat unusual two-stage rocket. Its first stage was to have been powered by 42 Raptor rocket engines—designed and manufactured by SpaceX—operating on densified (chilled near triple point) methane/oxygen, propellants that have not been widely used as rocket propellants in the past. Like the Falcon 9 orbital launch vehicle that preceded it, the ITS launch vehicle's first stage design was intended to be reusable, following a return to the launch site and vertical landing following each launch. When announced, it was also designed to have a new feature for SpaceX launch vehicles: full reusability of even the second-stage and orbital spacecraft as well. The large payload capacity of the launch vehicle placed it into the super-heavy lift class, with the ability to place 300 tonnes (660,000 lb) into low Earth orbit in reusable configuration and 550 tonnes (1,210,000 lb) in expendable mode. The second stage of the Earth launch vehicle was planned to have two versions, the Interplanetary spaceship for passengers and cargo and the ITS tanker to deliver propellants to Earth orbit. Both were to be powered by six vacuum-optimized Raptor rocket engines with three additional sea-level-nozzle Raptor engines for maneuvering. Thus, the element of the launch vehicle that was to provide second-stage acceleration to orbital velocity on all launches from Earth would also be used as an on-orbit spacecraft. The Interplanetary spaceship was planned as a very long-duration carrier of both passengers and space cargo to interplanetary destinations, and was to have served as both a descent and ascent vehicle at Mars. The high-level specifications for the vehicle were publicly announced in September 2016, but by July 2017, SpaceX had stated they would not build the 12 m (39 ft)-diameter vehicles as previously planned, but would instead build a "still large" but much smaller launch vehicle first. Subsequently, that was revealed to be the BFR in September 2017, a vehicle intended to cost-effectively replace and supersede all existing SpaceX launch vehicles and passenger/cargo spacecraft.

reusability orbital velocity sea-level-nozzle

References

  1. "Huge Mars Colony Eyed by SpaceX Founder". Discovery News. 2012-12-13. http://news.discovery.com/space/alien-life-exoplanets/mars-colony-spacex-121126.htm. Retrieved 2016-09-25. 
  2. Belluscio, Alejandro G. (2014-03-07). "SpaceX advances drive for Mars rocket via Raptor power". NASASpaceFlight.com. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/03/spacex-advances-drive-mars-rocket-raptor-power/. Retrieved 2016-09-25. 
  3. Hoffman, Carl (2007-05-22). "Elon Musk Is Betting His Fortune on a Mission Beyond Earth's Orbit". Wired Magazine. https://www.wired.com/science/space/magazine/15-06/ff_space_musk?currentPage=all. Retrieved 2014-03-14. 
  4. "Elon Musk: I'll Put a Man on Mars in 10 Years". Market Watch (New York: The Wall Street Journal). 2011-04-22. Archived from the original on 1 December 2011. https://www.webcitation.org/63bvaGo3E?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/elon-musk-ill-put-a-man-on-mars-in-10-years-2011-04-22/CCF1FC62-BB0D-4561-938C-DF0DEFAD15BA. Retrieved 2011-12-01. 
  5. Carroll, Rory (2013-07-17). "Elon Musk's mission to Mars". TheGuardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/jul/17/elon-musk-mission-mars-spacex. Retrieved 2016-09-25. 
  6. Messier, Doug (2014-02-05). "Elon Musk Talks ISS Flights, Vladimir Putin and Mars". Parabolic Arc. http://www.parabolicarc.com/2014/02/05/elon-musk-interview-2/. Retrieved 2016-09-25. 
  7. Zach Rosenberg (15 Oct 2012). "SpaceX aims big with massive new rocket". Flight Global. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/spacex-aims-big-with-massive-new-rocket-377687/. Retrieved 2016-09-25. 
  8. Coppinger, Rod (2012-11-23). "Huge Mars Colony Eyed by SpaceX Founder Elon Musk". Space.com. http://www.space.com/18596-mars-colony-spacex-elon-musk.html. Retrieved 2016-09-25. "an evolution of SpaceX's Falcon 9 booster ... much bigger [than Falcon 9], but I don’t think we’re quite ready to state the payload. We’ll speak about that next year. ... Vertical landing is an extremely important breakthrough — extreme, rapid reusability." 
  9. Schaefer, Steve (2013-06-06). "SpaceX IPO Cleared For Launch? Elon Musk Says Hold Your Horses". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveschaefer/2013/06/06/with-tesla-and-solarcity-soaring-elon-musk-talks-down-spacex-ipo-plans/. Retrieved 2013-06-10. 
  10. Ciaccia, Chris (2013-06-06). "SpaceX IPO: 'Possible in the Very Long Term'". The Street. http://www.thestreet.com/story/11943630/1/spacex-ipo-possible-in-the-very-long-term.html. Retrieved 2013-06-10. 
  11. Heath, Chris (December 12, 2015). "How Elon Musk Plans on Reinventing the World (and Mars)". GQ. https://www.gq.com/story/elon-musk-mars-spacex-tesla-interview. Retrieved 2016-09-25. 
  12. Nellis, Stephen (2014-02-19). "SpaceX's propulsion chief elevates crowd in Santa Barbara". Pacific Coast Business Times. http://www.pacbiztimes.com/2014/02/19/spacexs-propulsion-chief-elevates-crowd-in-santa-barbara//. Retrieved 2016-09-25. 
  13. Bergin, Chris (2014-08-29). "Battle of the Heavyweight Rockets -- SLS could face Exploration Class rival". NASAspaceflight.com. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/08/battle-heavyweight-rockets-sls-exploration-rival/. Retrieved 2016-11-06. 
  14. Boyle, Alan (5 January 2015). "Coming Soon From SpaceX's Elon Musk: How to Move to Mars". NBC News. http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/coming-soon-spacexs-elon-musk-how-move-mars-n280311. Retrieved 2016-09-25. "The Mars transport system will be a completely new architecture. Am hoping to present that towards the end of this year. Good thing we didn't do it sooner, as we have learned a huge amount from Falcon and Dragon." 
  15. "The world is not enough". The Economist (London). 1 October 2016. https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2016/10/01/the-world-is-not-enough. 
  16. Gwynne Shotwell (21 March 2014). Broadcast 2212: Special Edition, interview with Gwynne Shotwell (audio file). The Space Show. Event occurs at 20:00–21:10 and 22:15–22:35. 2212. Archived from the original (mp3) on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2014. Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help) https://web.archive.org/web/20140322013556/http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/2212-BWB-2014-03-21.mp3
  17. "KSC meeting portrays SLS as scrambling for a manifest plan". 12 January 2016. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/01/ksc-meeting-sls-scrambling-manifest-plan/. Retrieved 14 January 2016. "Also notable – though understandably not referenced at the KSC meeting – is SpaceX’s plan to have its BFR – a reusable booster with the power of two Saturn Vs – already up and running by the 2020s, ahead of MCT (Mars Colonial Transporter) missions." 
  18. Boyle, Alan (2016-01-27). "SpaceX’s Elon Musk wants to go into space by 2021 and start Mars missions by 2025". GeekWire. http://www.geekwire.com/2016/spacexs-elon-musk-wants-to-go-into-space-by-2021-and-start-sending-people-to-mars-by-2025/. Retrieved 2016-09-25. 
  19. Davenport, Christian (2016-06-13). "Elon Musk provides new details on his ‘mind blowing’ mission to Mars". Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/06/10/Elon-musk-provides-new-details-on-his-mind-blowing-mission-to-mars/. Retrieved 2016-09-25. 
  20. Boyle, Alan (2016-06-10). "SpaceX’s Elon Musk teases ‘dangerous’ plan to colonize Mars starting in 2024". GeekWire. http://www.geekwire.com/2016/spacex-elon-musk-2024-mars-colony/. Retrieved 2016-08-10. 
  21. Musk, Elon. "Elon Musk @andyzalk". https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/776971939277438976. Retrieved 2016-09-21. 
  22. although in an AMA on Reddit on Oct 23, 2016, Musk stated, "I think we need a new name. ITS just isn't working. I'm using BFR and BFS for the rocket and spaceship, which is fine internally, but...", without stating what the new name might be. Berger, Eric (2016-09-18). "Elon Musk scales up his ambitions, considering going "well beyond" Mars". Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/09/spacexs-interplanetary-transport-system-will-go-well-beyond-mars/. Retrieved 2016-09-19. 
  23. Belluscio, Alejandro G. (2016-10-03). "ITS Propulsion – The evolution of the SpaceX Raptor engine". NASASpaceFlight.com. https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/10/its-propulsion-evolution-raptor-engine/. Retrieved 2016-10-03. 
  24. "2016 StartmeupHK Venture Forum - Elon Musk on Entrepreneurship and Innovation". StartmeupHK Venture Forum--2016. via InvestHK YouTube channel: Invest Hong Kong. 26 January 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIRqB5iqWA8. Retrieved 28 January 2016. "(SpaceX discussion at 30:15-31:40) We'll have the next generation rocket and spacecraft, beyond the Falcon and Dragon series ... I'm hoping to describe that architecture later this year at the International Astronautical Congress. which is the big international space event every year. ... first flights to Mars? we're hoping to do that in around 2025 ... nine years from now or thereabouts." 
  25. Boyle, Alan (2016-10-23). "SpaceX’s Elon Musk geeks out over Mars interplanetary transport plan on Reddit". GeekWire. http://www.geekwire.com/2016/spacex-elon-musk-geeks-out-mars-reddit/. Retrieved 2016-10-24. 
  26. Mosher, Dave (2016-11-17). "The 'trickiest' part of Elon Musk's Mars spaceship -- a giant black orb -- just passed a critical test". Business Insider. http://www.businessinsider.com.au/spacex-carbon-fiber-fuel-tank-ocean-ship-test-2016-11?r=US&IR=T. Retrieved 2016-11-18. 
  27. Elon Musk (19 July 2017). Elon Musk, ISS R&D Conference (video). ISS R&D Conference, Washington DC, USA. Event occurs at 49:48–51:35. Retrieved 21 September 2017. the updated version of the Mars architecture: Because it has evolved quite a bit since that last talk. ... The key thing that I figured out is how do you pay for it? if we downsize the Mars vehicle, make it capable of doing Earth-orbit activity as well as Mars activity, maybe we can pay for it by using it for Earth-orbit activity. That is one of the key elements in the new architecture. It is similar to what was shown at IAC, but a little bit smaller. Still big, but this one has a shot at being real on the economic front.
  28. https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/26/16360348/spacex-elon-musk-iac-mars-colonization-interplanetary-transport-system https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/26/16360348/spacex-elon-musk-iac-mars-colonization-interplanetary-transport-system
  29. Elon Musk (29 September 2017). Becoming a Multiplanet Species (video). 68th annual meeting of the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia: SpaceX. Retrieved 2017-12-23 – via YouTube.CS1 maint: location (link) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdUX3ypDVwI
  30. Foust, Jeff (29 September 2017). "Musk unveils revised version of giant interplanetary launch system". SpaceNews. http://spacenews.com/musk-unveils-revised-version-of-giant-interplanetary-launch-system/. Retrieved 16 May 2018. 
  31. Bergin, Chris (2015-05-11). "Falcon Heavy enabler for Dragon solar system explorer". NASASpaceFlight.com. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/05/falcon-heavy-dragon-solar-system-explorer/. Retrieved 12 May 2015. 
  32. Bergin, Chris (2016-09-27). "SpaceX reveals ITS Mars game changer via colonization plan". NASASpaceFlight.com. https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/09/spacex-reveals-mars-game-changer-colonization-plan/. Retrieved 2016-09-27. 
  33. Richardson, Derek (2016-09-27). "Elon Musk Shows Off Interplanetary Transport System". Spaceflight Insider. http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organizations/space-exploration-technologies/elon-musk-shows-off-interplanetary-transport-system/. Retrieved 2016-10-03. 
  34. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/780831628104966144
  35. "Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species". SpaceX. 2016-09-27. http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/making_life_multiplanetary_2016.pdf. Retrieved 2018-11-10. 
  36. Berger, Eric (2016-09-28). "Musk’s Mars moment: Audacity, madness, brilliance—or maybe all three". Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/09/musks-mars-moment-audacity-madness-brilliance-or-maybe-all-three/. Retrieved 2016-10-13. 
  37. Foust, Jeff (2016-09-27). "SpaceX’s Mars plans call for massive 42-engine reusable rocket". SpaceNews. http://spacenews.com/spacex-unveils-mars-mission-plans/. Retrieved 2016-10-14. "Musk stated it’s possible that the first spaceship would be ready for tests in four years, with the booster ready a few years after that, but he shied away from exact schedules in his presentation. 'We’re kind of being intentionally fuzzy about the timeline,' he said. 'We’re going to try and make as much progress as we can with a very constrained budget.'" 
  38. Elon Musk (27 September 2016). Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species (video). IAC67, Guadalajara, Mexico: SpaceX. Event occurs at 9:20–10:10. Retrieved 10 October 2016. So it is a bit tricky. Because we have to figure out how to improve the cost of the trips to Mars by five million percent ... translates to an improvement of approximately 4 1/2 orders of magnitude. These are the key elements that are needed in order to achieve a 4 1/2 order of magnitude improvement. Most of the improvement would come from full reusability—somewhere between 2 and 2 1/2 orders of magnitude—and then the other 2 orders of magnitude would come from refilling in orbit, propellant production on Mars, and choosing the right propellant.CS1 maint: location (link) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7Uyfqi_TE8
  39. https://twitter.com/SpcPlcyOnline/status/780894498893225984 https://twitter.com/SpcPlcyOnline/status/780894498893225984
  40. Leahy, Bart (12 September 2016). "Blue Origin reveals New Glenn launch vehicle plans". Spaceflight Insider. http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organizations/blue-origin/blue-origin-reveals-new-glenn-launch-vehicle-plans/. Retrieved 9 October 2016. 
  41. Foust, Jeff (March 7, 2017). "Eutelsat first customer for Blue Origin’s New Glenn". Space News. http://spacenews.com/eutelsat-first-customer-for-blue-origins-new-glenn/. 
More
©Text is available under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons-Attribution ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Upload a video for this entry
Information
Subjects: Transportation Science & Technology
Contributor MDPI registered users' name will be linked to their SciProfiles pages. To register with us, please refer to https://encyclopedia.pub/register :
HandWiki
View Times: 1.5K
Entry Collection: HandWiki
Revision: 1 time (View History)
Update Date: 10 Nov 2022
Table of Contents
    Notice
    You are not a member of the advisory board for this topic. If you want to update advisory board member profile, please contact office@encyclopedia.pub.
    OK
    Confirm
    Only members of the Encyclopedia advisory board for this topic are allowed to note entries. Would you like to become an advisory board member of the Encyclopedia?
    Yes
    No
    ${ textCharacter }/${ maxCharacter }
    Submit
    Cancel
    There is no comment~
    ${ textCharacter }/${ maxCharacter }
    Submit
    Cancel
    ${ selectedItem.replyTextCharacter }/${ selectedItem.replyMaxCharacter }
    Submit
    Cancel
    Confirm
    Are you sure to Delete?
    Yes No
    Academic Video Service
    Feedback