SPACEX PLANS TO BEAT NASA IN LAUNCHING THE BIGGEST ROCKET EVER
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) moon rocket officially became the most powerful rocket ever flown when it lifted off in the early morning hours of Nov. 16, putting out a prodigious 4 million kg (8.8 million lbs) of thrust. That comfortably beat the old record holder—the Apollo era’s Saturn 5, with its 3.4 million kg (7.5 million lbs) of thrust.
But the SLS won’t hold that title for long. As Space.com reports, earlier this week, SpaceX successfully test-fired 11 of the 33 engines on its Brobdingnagian Super Heavy rocket, a beast of a machine that, when all of its engines are lit, will produce more than 7.25 million kg (16 million lbs) of thrust, nearly double that of the SLS. The Super Heavy stands 69 m (230 ft.) tall, and serves as the first stage carrying the 50 m (164 ft) Starship spacecraft. The entire stack, also known as Starship, stands nearly 40 stories tall—again easily beating out the SLS’s 32 stories.