{"dataset":{"slug":"launch-vehicles","title":"Launch Vehicles","description":"Rockets that carry missions to orbit and beyond.","version":"1.0.0","lastGenerated":"2026-06-29","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","entityCount":55,"sources":["nasa","esa"]},"entities":[{"id":"launch_vehicle:angara","name":"Angara A5","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"Russia's modular heavy-lift launcher built from common URM core boosters and burning kerosene/LOX, intended to replace the Proton.","entryPath":"/rockets/angara"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:antares","name":"Antares","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"A medium-lift rocket operated by Northrop Grumman that launched Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the ISS; the flown Antares 230+ retired in 2023 after its Russian/Ukrainian first-stage supply was cut, pending the U.S.-built Antares 330.","entryPath":"/rockets/antares"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:ariane-1","name":"Ariane 1","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"Europe's first launcher, which established independent access to space and orbited the Giotto probe to Halley's Comet.","entryPath":"/rockets/ariane-1"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:ariane-2","name":"Ariane 2","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"An uprated single-payload development of Ariane 1 with a more powerful third stage.","entryPath":"/rockets/ariane-2"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:ariane-3","name":"Ariane 3","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"An Ariane variant adding two solid strap-on boosters and dual-payload capability for commercial satellites.","entryPath":"/rockets/ariane-3"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:ariane-4","name":"Ariane 4","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"A highly successful and flexible Ariane variant with multiple booster configurations that dominated the commercial launch market in the 1990s.","entryPath":"/rockets/ariane-4"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:ariane-5","name":"Ariane 5","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"Ariane 5 was a European heavy-lift launch vehicle operated by Arianespace, notable for launching the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021.","entryPath":""},{"id":"launch_vehicle:ariane-6","name":"Ariane 6","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"Europe's successor to Ariane 5, designed for greater flexibility and lower cost.","entryPath":"/exploration/ariane-6"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:atlas-v","name":"Atlas V","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"Atlas V is an expendable launch vehicle operated by United Launch Alliance that has launched numerous NASA science and planetary missions.","entryPath":""},{"id":"launch_vehicle:delta-ii","name":"Delta II","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"A highly reliable medium-lift workhorse that launched GPS satellites and many NASA planetary missions, including the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity and the Kepler telescope.","entryPath":"/rockets/delta-ii"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:delta-iv-heavy","name":"Delta IV Heavy","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"A heavy-lift expendable rocket by United Launch Alliance, retired in 2024, used for national-security and high-energy science launches such as Parker Solar Probe.","entryPath":"/exploration/delta-iv-heavy"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:electron","name":"Electron","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"A small-lift orbital rocket by Rocket Lab for dedicated small-satellite launches.","entryPath":"/exploration/electron"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:energia","name":"Energia","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"The Soviet super heavy-lift rocket that launched the uncrewed Buran shuttle, flying only twice before the program ended.","entryPath":"/rockets/energia"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:epsilon","name":"Epsilon","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"A Japanese solid-fueled small-lift rocket derived from the H-IIA's booster technology, launched from the Uchinoura Space Center for small scientific satellites.","entryPath":"/rockets/epsilon"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:falcon-1","name":"Falcon 1","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"SpaceX's first rocket and the first privately developed liquid-fueled launcher to reach orbit, in 2008 — the proving ground for the Merlin engine.","entryPath":"/rockets/falcon-1"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:falcon-9","name":"Falcon 9","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"Falcon 9 is a partially reusable two-stage orbital launch vehicle developed and operated by SpaceX.","entryPath":""},{"id":"launch_vehicle:falcon-heavy","name":"Falcon Heavy","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"Falcon Heavy is a partially reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle derived from the Falcon 9 and operated by SpaceX.","entryPath":""},{"id":"launch_vehicle:firefly-alpha","name":"Firefly Alpha","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"A small-to-medium-lift two-stage rocket operated by Firefly Aerospace for dedicated small-satellite launches.","entryPath":"/rockets/firefly-alpha"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:gslv","name":"GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle)","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"ISRO's launcher for heavier payloads to geostationary transfer orbit, used for Chandrayaan-2.","entryPath":"/exploration/gslv"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:h-ii","name":"H-II","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"Japan's first entirely domestically developed launch vehicle, using cryogenic LH2/LOX stages.","entryPath":"/rockets/h-ii"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:h-iia","name":"H-IIA","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"A Japanese launch vehicle that flew JAXA science missions including Hayabusa2 and the Akatsuki Venus orbiter.","entryPath":"/exploration/h-iia"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:h3","name":"H3","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"JAXA's new-generation launch vehicle with the expander-bleed LE-9 engine, designed for lower cost and higher flexibility than the H-IIA.","entryPath":"/rockets/h3"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:launcherone","name":"LauncherOne","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"An air-launched, two-stage small rocket released from a modified Boeing 747; it reached orbit before Virgin Orbit ceased operations in 2023.","entryPath":"/rockets/launcherone"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:long-march-2f","name":"Long March 2F","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"China's only human-rated launch vehicle, which carries the Shenzhou spacecraft with crews to the Tiangong space station.","entryPath":"/rockets/long-march-2f"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:long-march-3b","name":"Long March 3B","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"A Chinese launch vehicle widely used for geostationary satellites and several Chang'e lunar missions.","entryPath":"/exploration/long-march-3b"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:long-march-5","name":"Long March 5","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"Long March 5 is a Chinese heavy-lift launch vehicle that has launched missions including the Tianwen-1 Mars probe and modules of the Tiangong space station.","entryPath":""},{"id":"launch_vehicle:long-march-7","name":"Long March 7","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"A modern kerosene/LOX medium-lift Long March that launches the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft to the Tiangong station.","entryPath":"/rockets/long-march-7"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:long-march-9","name":"Long March 9","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"A super heavy-lift launch vehicle in development for China's planned crewed lunar and deep-space missions.","entryPath":"/rockets/long-march-9"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:lvm3","name":"LVM3","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"ISRO's most powerful operational rocket, which launched Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3 and is being human-rated for the Gaganyaan program.","entryPath":"/rockets/lvm3"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:minotaur","name":"Minotaur","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"A family of solid-fueled small launchers built from surplus Minuteman and Peacekeeper missile motors for U.S. government payloads.","entryPath":"/rockets/minotaur"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:miura-5","name":"Miura 5","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"PLD Space's orbital small-lift rocket in development, following the suborbital Miura 1, with plans to recover the first stage.","entryPath":"/rockets/miura-5"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:n1","name":"N1","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"The Soviet super heavy-lift Moon rocket; all four launch attempts (1969–1972) failed and the program was cancelled. The flown vehicle used Kuznetsov NK-15 engines; the improved NK-33 (for the never-flown N1F) flew decades later on other rockets.","entryPath":"/rockets/n1"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:neutron","name":"Neutron","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"Rocket Lab's reusable medium-lift methane/LOX rocket in development, with a reusable first stage and integrated fairing.","entryPath":"/rockets/neutron"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:new-glenn","name":"New Glenn","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"A heavy-lift, partially reusable rocket developed by Blue Origin.","entryPath":"/exploration/new-glenn"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:new-shepard","name":"New Shepard","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"Blue Origin's fully reusable suborbital vehicle for research payloads and crewed flights above the Kármán line; it lands its booster propulsively.","entryPath":"/rockets/new-shepard"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:pegasus","name":"Pegasus","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"An air-launched, three-stage solid-fueled small rocket dropped from a carrier aircraft to place small satellites into low Earth orbit.","entryPath":"/rockets/pegasus"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:proton","name":"Proton","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"A Russian heavy-lift rocket used to launch interplanetary probes, large satellites, and space-station modules.","entryPath":"/exploration/proton"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:pslv","name":"PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle)","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"The PSLV is an expendable launch vehicle operated by ISRO that has launched many Earth observation satellites as well as the Chandrayaan-1 and Mangalyaan missions.","entryPath":""},{"id":"launch_vehicle:r-7-semyorka","name":"R-7 Semyorka","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"The world's first intercontinental ballistic missile, which in 1957 launched Sputnik 1 and founded the most prolific rocket lineage in history.","entryPath":"/rockets/r-7-semyorka"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:saturn-i","name":"Saturn I","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"NASA's first heavy-lift rocket and the first designed for spaceflight rather than as a missile; it flight-tested Apollo hardware and clustered eight engines in its first stage.","entryPath":"/rockets/saturn-i"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:saturn-ib","name":"Saturn IB","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"A NASA medium-lift launch vehicle used for early Apollo Earth-orbit tests, the Skylab crews, and the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project.","entryPath":"/exploration/saturn-ib"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:saturn-v","name":"Saturn V","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"The Saturn V was a NASA super heavy-lift launch vehicle that carried the Apollo missions to the Moon and launched the Skylab space station.","entryPath":""},{"id":"launch_vehicle:soyuz","name":"Soyuz","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"Soyuz is a family of expendable launch vehicles operated by Roscosmos that has long carried crews and cargo to orbit, including to the International Space Station.","entryPath":""},{"id":"launch_vehicle:space-launch-system","name":"Space Launch System (SLS)","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"The Space Launch System is NASA's super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed to carry the Orion spacecraft and crew under the Artemis program.","entryPath":""},{"id":"launch_vehicle:space-shuttle","name":"Space Shuttle","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"NASA's partially reusable crewed launch system — a winged orbiter with an external tank and two solid rocket boosters — that flew 135 missions building the ISS and servicing Hubble.","entryPath":"/rockets/space-shuttle"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:spectrum","name":"Spectrum","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"A small-lift two-stage rocket developed by Germany's Isar Aerospace for the European small-satellite market.","entryPath":"/rockets/spectrum"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:sslv","name":"SSLV","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"ISRO's small-satellite launch vehicle, designed for low-cost, on-demand launches of small payloads to low Earth orbit.","entryPath":"/rockets/sslv"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:starship","name":"Starship","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"Starship is a fully reusable super heavy-lift launch system being developed by SpaceX for crewed and cargo missions to Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars.","entryPath":""},{"id":"launch_vehicle:terran-r","name":"Terran R","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"Relativity Space's reusable heavy-lift methane/LOX rocket, built largely by large-scale additive manufacturing.","entryPath":"/rockets/terran-r"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:titan-ii","name":"Titan II GLV","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"The human-rated Titan II Gemini Launch Vehicle, adapted from an ICBM to carry the two-person Gemini spacecraft into orbit.","entryPath":"/rockets/titan-ii"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:titan-iv","name":"Titan IV","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"The largest and last of the Titan family — a heavy-lift launcher for large U.S. national-security satellites and the Cassini–Huygens mission to Saturn.","entryPath":"/rockets/titan-iv"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:vega","name":"Vega","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"Europe's small-lift launcher with three solid stages and a liquid upper stage, for small scientific and Earth-observation satellites.","entryPath":"/rockets/vega"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:vega-c","name":"Vega-C","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"An upgraded, more capable Vega with larger solid motors and a common booster shared with Ariane 6.","entryPath":"/rockets/vega-c"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:vulcan-centaur","name":"Vulcan Centaur","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"United Launch Alliance's successor to the Atlas V and Delta IV families.","entryPath":"/exploration/vulcan-centaur"},{"id":"launch_vehicle:zenit","name":"Zenit","type":"launch_vehicle","domain":"science","description":"A Ukrainian-designed medium-lift kerosene/LOX rocket whose first stage traces to the Energia boosters, flown from Baikonur and the Sea Launch ocean platform.","entryPath":"/rockets/zenit"}]}