There’s a reason Elon Musk rarely talks about the rocket equation. It exposes everything wrong with the fantasy of Starship flying to Mars — or even just to the Moon. And apparently, just getting a banana to orbit isn’t yet possible.
The Rocket Equation Calculator helps put the hype to the test. With just a few numbers and some logarithmic math, you can estimate how much velocity (Δv) a rocket can theoretically achieve given its fuel, mass, and engine efficiency. Spoiler: Starship doesn’t even come close to what’s required.
🧮 The Equation
Delta-v = ve × ln(m0 / mf)
Where:
veis exhaust velocity (based on ISP)m0is initial massmfis final mass after fuel is burned
This logarithmic relationship means: the more fuel you carry, the more fuel you need to carry the fuel. That’s why rocket design is hard — and why the idea of launching a fully loaded Starship to Mars in one shot is complete fiction.
🛰️ Starship’s Maximum Theoretical Performance
Let’s assume the absolute best-case, perfect conditions:
- Exhaust velocity: ~3750 m/s
- Initial mass: 5000 tons
- Final mass: 250 tons
Using those figures, the calculator shows a maximum delta-v of about 11.2 km/s — just barely enough to escape Earth orbit and enter a lunar trajectory. That’s with zero cargo, zero crew, and zero return plan. But even those numbers are idealized.
In real life? The fastest Starship has ever gone was ~7.3 km/s during Flight 4. That’s not even enough to stay in Earth orbit, which requires about 7.8 km/s.
Meanwhile, the Saturn V — a real Moon rocket — had a theoretical delta-v over 12 km/s, and it actually achieved around 10.8 km/s in practice. The gap between theory and reality still left enough margin to go to the Moon.
Starship hasn’t closed that gap. Even its theoretical limit isn’t high enough for the missions Musk promises — and in practice, it’s falling far short.
🌕 It Can’t Get to the Moon (Let Alone Mars)
Even with a perfect launch, Starship doesn’t have the energy to:
- Reach lunar orbit and land
- Carry cargo or humans
- Return to Earth in one piece
That’s why Elon now says you’ll need 20 to 30 refueling flights to send a single Starship to the Moon. It’s not innovation. It’s desperation.
Originally, NASA only planned to use Starship as a lunar lander — like an elevator between lunar orbit and the surface. Not a launch vehicle. Not a Mars transport.
But now Elon pretends it’ll go from Texas to Mars directly.
It won’t. It can’t. There isn’t enough energy in the chemical bonds of the fuel to do so.
💥 Reality Check: It Can’t Even Bring a Banana to Orbit
This isn’t a joke. They once launched a dummy payload — a banana — and it crashed in the Indian Ocean.
That’s how far they are from going to Mars.
A single banana couldn’t survive reentry. But somehow, we’re supposed to believe dozens of humans will?
🔗 Try It Yourself
Visit TheRocketEquation.com to use the calculator yourself. Plug in Musk’s own numbers and see what’s possible — and what’s not.
The math is public. The hype is not. And that’s why this calculator exists.
Because physics doesn’t care about PR. It only cares about mass, energy, and velocity.
🧠 Use it. Share it. Debunk the myth.
#ElonMusk #Starship #RocketEquation #SpaceX #MarsHoax #RocketScience #ElonMuskArrested
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
