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Super-heavy rockets promise cheaper space telescopes
Recent triumphs by SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin's New Glenn rockets have ignited optimism among astronomers for an accelerated rollout of affordable next-generation space telescopes. These milestones could fill a looming gap in orbital observations years ahead of schedule, as NASA grapples with a projected decade-long wait until 2045 or beyond for its flagship observatory.
Both super-heavy launchers marked pivotal achievements late in 2025. Starship's fully successful 11th test flight occurred on October 13, while New Glenn's second flight on November 13 deployed NASA's ESCAPADE mission to Mars and achieved a booster landing. These feats contrast sharply with NASA's "discouraging timeline," as described by Martin Elvis, senior astrophysicist at the Smithsonian Institution.
The new rockets deliver vastly expanded capabilities at lower costs, poised to reshape telescope design. Starship hauls 100 to 150 metric tons to low Earth orbit ten times the payload of conventional launchers and features a 30-foot-wide fuselage, roughly double that of Ariane 5, which lofted the James Webb Space Telescope. New Glenn currently manages 45 tons, with future upgrades targeting 70 tons.
Such prowess sidesteps the expensive workarounds that plagued Webb's development. That $10 billion instrument demanded an ultra-light mirror just one-tenth the mass per square meter of Hubble's, with its 21-foot mirror folding like origami to fit Ariane 5's 13-foot fairing. The complexity introduced over 300 potential failure points, inflating costs through rigorous design, manufacturing, and testing demands. Elvis notes in a January 9 analysis that larger, wider rockets like Starship and New Glenn could build a Webb-like telescope today without folding mechanisms, slashing expenses dramatically.
Several ambitious telescope concepts now leverage super-heavy lift potential. NASA's Prima mission, led by Caltech, advances to Phase A studies as a 1.8-meter far-infrared observatory slated for 2032 launch over 100 times more sensitive than predecessors like Spitzer and Herschel. The Origins Space Telescope proposes a 5.9-meter far-infrared aperture, while a NASA Great Observatory for X-rays draws from the Lynx concept with heavier, thicker mirrors. An even bolder idea, GO-LoW, envisions 100,000 small radio telescopes to probe exoplanet magnetic fields. Each promises at least 100-fold sensitivity gains over prior missions while matching Webb's prowess in their spectral bands.
Budget and scheduling hurdles persist. The 2020 decadal survey in astronomy and astrophysics endorsed new Great Observatories but deferred launches to the 2040s and 2050s to fit NASA's astrophysics funding. The lead effort, Habitable Worlds Observatory, hunts biosignatures on potentially habitable exoplanets at an estimated $11 billion, eyeing early 2040s liftoff.
Elvis argues super-heavy rockets could halve development costs, enabling NASA to field two observatories for the price of one or a full spectrum-spanning suite with a one-third cut. SpaceX eyes Starship's 12th flight in early 2026 with Version 3 upgrades, as Blue Origin ramps to 10-12 New Glenn launches this year. Yet agencies must temper astronomical ambitions with fiscal discipline to evade Webb's costly pitfalls.
