How tall is each rocket?
Swipe sideways to see all four rockets.
The figures side by side
| Rocket | Height | Width | Liftoff mass | To low Earth orbit | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcon 9 | 70 m / 229.6 ft | 3.7 m / 12 ft | 549,054 kg / 1,207,920 lb | 22,800 kg / 50,265 lb (booster not recovered) | Flying |
| Falcon Heavy | 70 m / 229.6 ft | 12.2 m / 39.9 ft (3 cores) | 1,420,788 kg / 3,125,735 lb | 63,800 kg / 140,660 lb (all three cores expended) | Flying |
| Starship | 124.4 m / 408 ft | 9 m / 29.5 ft | about 5,000 t / about 11,000,000 lb | 100 t / 220,000 lb (design target, fully reusable) | In flight test |
| Saturn V | 111 m / 363 ft | 10 m / 33 ft | 2,800,000 kg / 6,200,000 lb | about 118,000 kg / about 260,000 lb (NASA's figure) | Retired, 1973 |
- Falcon 9. The workhorse. About 63% of Saturn V's height and a little over half of Starship's. Sources: SpaceX, Wikipedia.
- Falcon Heavy. As tall as Falcon 9, with two side boosters that make it three cores wide. Sources: SpaceX, Wikipedia.
- Starship. Version 3, stacked on its Super Heavy booster: the tallest rocket ever flown, about 13 m taller than Saturn V. Sources: Space.com, Wikipedia.
- Saturn V. NASA's Apollo Moon rocket, here for scale. It flew 13 times between 1967 and 1973. Sources: NASA, Wikipedia.
Payload figures depend on how much of the rocket is recovered, so each one says what it assumes. Starship's payload is a design target, not a demonstrated figure.
FAQ
Size questions
How tall is Falcon 9?
Falcon 9 is 70 m (229.6 ft) tall and 3.7 m (12 ft) in diameter, according to SpaceX, as of October 28, 2026. Falcon Heavy is the same height, three cores wide.
Is Starship taller than Saturn V?
Yes. A stacked Starship Version 3 stands about 124.4 m (408 ft), against 111 m (363 ft) for NASA's Saturn V, so Starship is about 13 m (45 ft) taller, as of October 28, 2026.
Which rocket can lift the most?
Of these four, Saturn V lifted the most that has actually flown: about 118,000 kg (130 tons) to Earth orbit, by NASA's figure. Starship's design target is 100 t (220,000 lb) fully reusable, and Falcon Heavy can lift 63,800 kg (140,660 lb) with all three cores expended, as of October 28, 2026.
Are the drawings to scale?
Yes. Every rocket is drawn at the same scale from its published height and width. The shapes are our own simplified outlines, not traced from photos.
Answers as of October 28, 2026.