---
title: "Elon Musk: “Next Gen” Craft Could Be Twice the Size of Starship"
description: "Chonk Last week, SpaceX’s Starhopper spacecraft finally completed its long-delayed test launch. That same day, CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to speculate about what the next iteration of the spacecraft might look like. The current Starhopper, a test version of the spacecraft Musk hopes will bring SpaceX to the surface of Mars, has a […]"
date: "2019-09-03"
modified: "2019-09-03"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-starhopper-twice-wide"
categories:
  - "Elon Musk"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "Starship"
  - "The Industrialists"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "space"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "the digest"
---

# Elon Musk: “Next Gen” Craft Could Be Twice the Size of Starship

![Shortly after SpaceX's Starhopper completed its test launch last week, Elon Musk speculated that the next iteration would be twice as wide.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/elon-musk-starhopper-twice-wide.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: SpaceX\</em\>*

## Chonk

Last week, SpaceX's Starhopper spacecraft [finally completed](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacexs-starhopper-aces-test-flight-500-feet>) its long-delayed test launch. The same day, CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to speculate about what a future iteration of the spacecraft might look like.

The current Starhopper, a [test version of the spacecraft](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-starhopper-fly-last-time>) Musk hopes will bring SpaceX to the [surface of Mars](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-first-untethered-starhopper-flight-successful>), has a core diameter of nine meters. On Twitter, [Musk said](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1166856662336102401>) that a future iteration may be 18 meters wide, meaning it could be twice the size of the already-enormous Starship.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1166856662336102401

## Absolute Unit

Assuming it's kept at the same scale and its height is doubled as well, that would mean the future Starship model would tower over the launch pad at a height of 240 meters — substantially taller than the Washington Monument. A little bit of mental math later, *[Teslarati](<https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-elon-musk-starship-the-next-generation/>)*[ concludes](<https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-elon-musk-starship-the-next-generation/>) that the Starhopper 2.0 would weigh nearly 90 million pounds once it's all fueled up.

Musk tweeting that a future spacecraft would "probably" have certain dimensions isn't the same as concrete plans for his private space company. But if an 18 meter-wide Starhopper is in the works, according to *Teslarati,* SpaceX would need to use over 100 Raptor engines just to get the behemoth off the ground.

**READ MORE:** [SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says Starship could be followed by a dramatically larger rocket](<https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-elon-musk-starship-the-next-generation/>) \[*Teslarati*\]

**More on SpaceX:** *[SpaceX's Starhopper Aces Test Flight to Almost 500 Feet](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacexs-starhopper-aces-test-flight-500-feet>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)