Comparison of orbital launch systems
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Falcon_9_Demo-2_Launching_6_%283%29.jpg/220px-Falcon_9_Demo-2_Launching_6_%283%29.jpg)
This article lists all active and upcoming orbital launch systems. For retired launch vehicles, see Comparison of retired orbital launch systems.
This comparison of orbital launch systems lists the attributes of all current and future individual rocket configurations designed to reach orbit. A first list contains rockets that are operational or have attempted an orbital flight attempt as of 2024; a second list includes all upcoming rockets. For the simple list of all conventional launcher families, see: Comparison of orbital launchers families. For the list of predominantly solid-fueled orbital launch systems, see: Comparison of solid-fueled orbital launch systems.
Spacecraft propulsion[note 1] is any method used to accelerate spacecraft and artificial satellites. Orbital launch systems are rockets and other systems capable of placing payloads into or beyond Earth orbit. All launch vehicle propulsion systems employed to date have been chemical rockets falling into one of three main categories:
- Solid-propellant rockets or solid-fuel rockets have a motor that uses solid propellants, typically a mix of powdered fuel and oxidizer held together by a polymer binder and molded into the shape of a hollow cylinder. The cylinder is ignited from the inside and burns radially outward, with the resulting expanding gases and aerosols escaping out via the nozzle.[note 2]
- Liquid-propellant rockets have a motor that feeds liquid propellant(s) into a combustion chamber. Most liquid engines use a bipropellant, consisting of two liquid propellants (fuel and oxidizer) which are stored and handled separately before being mixed and burned inside the combustion chamber.
- Hybrid-propellant rockets use a combination of solid and liquid propellant, typically involving a liquid oxidizer being pumped through a hollow cylinder of solid fuel.
All current spacecraft use conventional chemical rockets (solid-fuel or liquid bipropellant) for launch, though some[note 3] have used air-breathing engines on their first stage.[note 4]
Current rockets
Orbits legend:
- LEO, low Earth orbit
- SSO or SSPO, near-polar Sun-synchronous orbit
- polar, polar orbit
- MEO, medium Earth orbit
- GTO, geostationary transfer orbit
- GEO, geostationary orbit (direct injection)
- HEO, high Earth orbit
- HCO, heliocentric orbit
- TLI, trans-lunar injection
- TMI, trans-Mars injection
- LMO Low Mars Orbit
- ^ Suborbital flight tests and on-pad explosions are excluded, but launches failing en route to orbit are included.
- ^ for Starliner[8]
- ^ Despite not being officially acknowledged by the manufacturer, significant changes between different iterations of the rocket lead to the identification of different variants.[11]
- ^ Sea-launched version of the third unofficial iteration of the Ceres-1 launch vehicle.
- ^ 5,100 kg to a 500-km Sun-synchronous orbit; 3,300 kg to 800 km[30]: 64–65
- ^ Despite not being officially acknowledged by the manufacturer, significant changes between different iterations of the rocket lead to the identification of different variants.[34]
- ^ A suborbital test flight was conducted in March 2012.[42]
- ^ A suborbital test flight was conducted in 2014 (designated LVM-3/CARE) without the cryogenic upper stage (CUS).[72]
- ^ Reference altitude 400 km
- ^ Additionally, two suborbital missions were conducted in 2010 and 2011.[77]
- ^ Additionally, two suborbital missions were conducted in 2010 and 2011.[77]
- ^ Additionally, two suborbital missions were conducted in 2010 and 2011.[77]
- ^ Additionally, two suborbital missions were conducted in 2010 and 2011.[77]
- ^ A suborbital test flight succeeded in 2022.
- ^ A suborbital test flight succeeded in 2016; both orbital flights in 2017 and 2019 failed.[97]
- ^ Suborbital test flight in 2004, without Fregat upper stage.[105]
- ^ Suborbital test flight in 2004, without Fregat upper stage.[105]
- ^ Suborbital test flight in 2004, without Fregat upper stage.[105]
- ^ Suborbital test flight in 2004, without Fregat upper stage.[105]
Upcoming rockets
Upcoming launch vehicles
Vehicle | Origin | Manufacturer | Height | Payload mass to ... (kg) | Reusable / Expendable | Launch Site (s) | Date of first flight | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LEO | GTO | Other | |||||||
Agnibaan | ![]() |
AgniKul Cosmos | 18 m | 150 | N/A | 90 to SSO | Expendable | 2025 | |
Angara A5 / KVTK | ![]() |
Khrunichev | N/A | N/A | 7,500 | N/A | Expendable | 2028 | |
Angara A5M | ![]() |
Khrunichev | N/A | 26,800 | 4,100-5,200 | N/A | Expendable | 2027 | |
Angara A5P | ![]() |
Khrunichev | N/A | 18,800 | N/A | N/A | Expendable | 2028 | |
Angara A5V | ![]() |
Khrunichev | N/A | 37,500[125] | N/A | N/A | Expendable | 2028 | |
Antares 330 | ![]() |
Northrop Grumman | 47 m | 10,800[126] | N/A | N/A | Expendable | 2025 | |
Ariane 6 A62 | ![]() |
ArianeGroup | 63 m | 10,350[127]: 45 | 5,000[127]: 33 | 6,450 to SSO 3,000 to HEO 3,000 to TLI [127]: 40–49 |
Expendable | 2024[128] | |
Ariane 6 A64 | ![]() |
ArianeGroup | 63 m | 21,650[127]: 46 | 11,500+ [127]: 33 | 14,900 to SSO 5,000 to GEO 8,400 to HEO 8,500 to TLI [127]: 40–49 |
Expendable | 2024[128] | |
Aurora | ![]() |
Reaction Dynamics | 18 m | 200 | N/A | TBA | Expendable | 2025 | |
Aventura 1 | ![]() |
TLON Space | 10 m | 25 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 2025 | |
Blue Whale 1 | ![]() |
Perigee Aerospace | 21 m | 165[129] | N/A | 185 to SSO | Partially reusable | 2024 | |
195[129] | 220 to SSO | Expendable | |||||||
Cosmos | ![]() |
SR space | 18.5 m | 390 | N/A | 310 to SSO | N/A | N/A | |
Cyclone-4M | ![]() |
Yuzhnoye Yuzhmash |
38.7 m | 5,000[131] | 1,000[132] | 3,350 to SSO[131] | Expendable | 2025[133] | |
Dauntless | ![]() |
Vaya Space | 35 m | 1,100[134] | N/A | 600 to SSO | Expendable |
|
2026[134] |
Daytona I | ![]() |
Phantom Space | 18 m | 180 | N/A | 53 to SSO | Expendable | 2025[135] | |
Epsilon S | ![]() |
JAXA | 27.2 m | 1,400 | N/A | 600 to SSO | Expendable | 2024 | |
Eris Block 1 | ![]() |
Gilmour Space Technologies | 25 m | 305[136] | N/A | N/A | Expendable | 2024[137] | |
Gravity-2 | ![]() |
Orienspace | 60 m | 8,600 - 16,000 | 5,800 | 10,900 to SSO | Partially reusable | 2024 | |
Hanbit-Nano | ![]() |
Innospace | 17 m[138] | 150 | N/A | 90 | Expendable | 2024 | |
Hyperbola-3 | ![]() |
i-Space | 69 m | 8,500 | N/A | N/A | Partially reusable | 2025[139] | |
13,400 | Expendable | ||||||||
H3-22L | ![]() |
Mitsubishi | 63 m | N/A[32] | N/A | N/A | Expendable | 2020s | |
H3-24L | ![]() |
Mitsubishi | 63 m | N/A | N/A | 6,500 to TLI | Expendable | 2024 | |
H3-30S | ![]() |
Mitsubishi | 57 m | N/A[32] | N/A | 4,000 to SSO | Expendable | 2024 | |
Jielong 4 | ![]() |
CALT | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Expendable | N/A | 2024 |
KSLV-III | ![]() |
KARI | 54 m | 10,000 | 3,500 | 7,000 to SSO
1,800 to TLI |
Expendable | 2030 | |
Long March 8A | ![]() |
CALT | 50.3 m | N/A | N/A | 6,800 to SSO | Expendable | 2024 | |
Long March 9 | ![]() |
CALT | 114 m | 80,000 - 150,000[140] | 66,000 | 53,000 to TLI[140] 40,000 to TMI[141] |
Partially/fully reusable | 2033 | |
Long March 10 | ![]() |
CALT | 89[b] - 93.2 m[c] | 70,000 | N/A | 27,000 to TLI | Expendable | 2027 | |
Long March 10A | ![]() |
CALT | 67 m | 14,000 | N/A | N/A | Partially reusable | >2027 | |
18,000 | Expendable | ||||||||
Long March 12 | ![]() |
CALT | 59 m | 10,000 | N/A | 6,000 to SSO | Expendable | 2024 | |
Maia | ![]() |
MaiaSpace | 50 m | N/A | N/A | N/A | Partially reusable | 2025 | |
Miura 5 | ![]() |
PLD Space | 35.7 m | 840 | N/A | 540 to SSO | Partially reusable | 2026[142] | |
MLV | ![]() |
Firefly Aerospace | 55.7 m | 16,000 | N/A | N/A | Expendable | 2025[143] | |
Nebula-1 | ![]() |
Deep Blue Aerospace | N/A | 1,000 | N/A | N/A | Partially reusable | 2024[144] | |
Nebula-2 | ![]() |
Deep Blue Aerospace | TBA | 20,000 | N/A | N/A | Partially reusable | 2025[144] | |
Neutron | ![]() ![]() |
Rocket Lab | 42.8 m | 8,000[d] - 13,000 | N/A | N/A | Partially reusable | 2025[145] | |
15,000 | Expendable | ||||||||
New Glenn | ![]() |
Blue Origin | 98 m | 45,000[146] | 13,000 | N/A | Partially reusable | 2024 | |
NGLV LEO | ![]() |
ISRO | 88 m | 7,700[e] | N/A | N/A | Partially reusable | TBA | |
9,900 | Partially reusable | ||||||||
16,900 | Expendable | ||||||||
NGLV GEO | ![]() |
ISRO | 92 m | N/A | 5,200 | N/A | Partially reusable | TBA | |
25,000 | 8,900 | Expendable | |||||||
Nova | ![]() |
Stoke Space | 28.5 m | 1,500 | N/A | N/A | Fully reusable | TBA | |
OB-1 Mk1 | ![]() |
HyPrSpace | 11 m | 200 | N/A | N/A | Expendable | 2026[147] | |
Pallas-1 | ![]() |
Galactic Energy | 42 m | 5,000 | N/A | 3,000 to SSO | Partially reusable | 2024[148] | |
Prime | ![]() |
Orbex | 19 m | 180 | N/A | 100 to SSO[f][149] | Expendable | 2025[150] | |
RFA One | ![]() |
RFA | 30 m | 1,600[151] | 450[151] | 1,300 to SSO | Expendable | 2024[152] | |
Rocket 4 | ![]() |
Astra | 18.9 m | 500 | N/A | 350 to SSO | Expendable | 2024 | |
Rokot-M | ![]() |
Khrunichev | N/A | 1,950 | N/A | N/A | Expendable | 2024 | |
RS1 B2 | ![]() |
ABL Space Systems | 27 m | 1,350[153] | 400 | 975 to SSO 750 to MEO |
Expendable | 2024 | |
ŞİMŞEK-1 | ![]() |
Roketsan | N/A | 400 | N/A | N/A | Expendable | 2027 | |
Siraya | ![]() |
TASA | 25 m | 200 | N/A | N/A | Expendable | N/A | N/A |
Sirius 1 | ![]() |
Sirius Space | 24.7 m | N/A | N/A | 175 to SSO | Expendable | N/A | 2025 |
Skyrora XL | ![]() |
Skyrora | 22.7 m | 315 | N/A | 315 to SSO[154] | Expendable | 2024 | |
GYUB[155] | ![]() |
MND | 26.8 m | 500[99] | N/A | N/A | Expendable | N/A | |
SLS Block 1B[g] | ![]() |
NASA / Boeing Northrop Grumman |
111 m | 105,000[156] | N/A | 37,000 to TLI[157] | Expendable | 2028 | |
SLS Block 2[h] | ![]() |
NASA / Boeing Northrop Grumman |
111 m | 130,000[158] | N/A | 45,000 to HCO[157] | Expendable | 2033 | |
SL1 | ![]() |
HyImpulse | 30 m | 500 | N/A | N/A | Expendable | 2025 | |
Soyuz-5 (Irtysh) | ![]() |
TsSKB-Progress RSC Energia |
61.87 m | 18,000[159] | N/A | 2,500 to GEO | Expendable | 2025[160] | |
Soyuz-7 (Amur) | ![]() |
JSC SRC Progress | 55 m | 10,500[161] | 2,600 | 4,700 to SSO | Partially reusable | 2028 | |
13,600[161] | Expendable | ||||||||
Spectrum | ![]() |
Isar Aerospace | 28 m | 1,000[162] | N/A | 700 to SSO[162] | Expendable | 2025[163] | |
Terran R | ![]() |
Relativity Space | 82 m | 23,500 | 5,500[164] | N/A | Partially reusable | 2026[164] | |
33,500 | Expendable | ||||||||
Tianlong-3 | ![]() |
Space Pioneer | 71 m | 17,000 | N/A | 14,000 to SSO | Partially reusable | 2024[144] | |
Tronador II-250 | ![]() |
CONAE | 27 m | 500 | N/A | N/A | Expendable | 2030 | |
Vega-E | ![]() |
ESA ASI | 36.2 m | 3,000[165] | N/A | N/A | Expendable | 2026 | |
Vikram 1[166] | ![]() |
Skyroot Aerospace[167] | 20 m | 315 to 45º inclination 500 km LEO | N/A | 200 to 500 km SSPO | Expendable | 2024 | |
Vikram 2[166] | ![]() |
Skyroot Aerospace | N/A | 520 to 45º inclination 500 km LEO | N/A | 410 to 500 km SSPO | Expendable | TBA | |
Vikram 3[166] | ![]() |
Skyroot Aerospace | N/A | 720 to 45º inclination 500 km LEO | N/A | 580 to 500 km SSPO | Expendable | TBA | |
Volans V500 | ![]() |
Equatorial Space Systems | N/A | 150 | N/A | N/A | Expendable | N/A | 2026 |
Vulcan Centaur VC0 | ![]() |
ULA | 61.6 m | 10,800 | 3,500 | 2,300 to TLI | Expendable | 2020s | |
Vulcan Centaur VC4 | ![]() |
ULA | 61.6 m | 24,600 | 11,700 | 4,900 to GEO 9,200 to TLI |
Expendable | 2024 | |
Vulcan Centaur VC6 | ![]() |
ULA | 61.6 m | 27,200[168] | 14,400[168] | 6,500 to GEO 11,500 to TLI |
Expendable | 2020s | |
Zephyr | ![]() |
Latitude | 19 m | 100 | N/A | 80 to SSO | Expendable | 2025 | |
Zero | ![]() |
Interstellar Technologies | 32 m | 800 | N/A | 250 to SSO | Expendable | 2025 | |
Zhuque-2 B2 | ![]() |
LandSpace | 49.5 m | 6,000[123] | N/A | 4,000 to SSO[123] | Expendable | 2024 | |
Zhuque-3 | ![]() |
LandSpace | 76.6 m | 12,500 (RTLS)[144] | N/A | N/A | Partially reusable | 2025[144] | |
18,300 (barge)[144] | Partially reusable | ||||||||
21,000[169] | Expendable | ||||||||
Zuljanah | ![]() |
Iranian Space Agency | 25.5 m | 220[170] | N/A | N/A | Expendable | 2020s | |
Starship V1[171] | ![]() |
SpaceX | 121 m | 40,000[172] - 50,000 | N/A | N/A | Fully reusable | 2024 |
Retired rockets
Main article: Comparison of retired orbital launch systems |
Launch systems by country
The following chart shows the number of launch systems developed in each country, and broken down by operational status. Rocket variants are not distinguished; i.e., the Atlas V series is only counted once for all its configurations 401–431, 501–551, 552, and N22.
- Operational
- In development
- Retired
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