Comparison of small lift launch systems

List of launch systems capable of lifting to low Earth orbit a payload less than 2,000 kg.^[1]

Retired, Operational and Under development

In the table below, systems that have not yet conducted a successful launch are listed in italics.

Legend for below table: [under development] — [retired or canceled] — [operational or available]

Rocket	Country	Manufacturer	Mass to LEO (kg)	Mass to GTO (kg)	Cost (Mil US$)	Cost/kg (LEO)	Launch successes ^[2]^{[note 1]}	Launch attempts ^[2]^{[note 2]}	Current Status	First launch ^{[note 3]}	Last launch ^{[note 4]}
Angara 1.1	Russia	Khrunichev	2,000^{[citation needed]}				0	0	Development since 1995
Tronador 2.0	Argentina	CONAE	200^{[citation needed]}				0	0	Development^[3] since 1995	2012
ASLV	India	ISRO	150^{[citation needed]}				1	4^{[citation needed]}	Retired^{[citation needed]}	1987	1994
Athena I	United States	Lockheed Martin	820^{[citation needed]}				3^[4]	4^[4]	Retired	1995	2001
Athena Ic ^[5]	United States	ATK Lockheed Martin					0	0	Development since 2010	2012
Athena II	United States	Lockheed Martin	2,065^{[citation needed]}				2^[6]	3^[6]	Retired^{[citation needed]}	1998	1999
Athena IIc ^[5]	United States	ATK Lockheed Martin	1,712^{[citation needed]}				0	0	Development since 2010	2012
Atlas-Centaur	United States	Lockheed	1,900^{[citation needed]}	1,900^{[citation needed]}					Retired^{[citation needed]}	1962	1983
Black Arrow	United Kingdom	RAE	73				2	4^[A]	Retired^{[citation needed]}	1969	1971
Delta 0300	United States	McDonnell Douglas							Retired^{[citation needed]}	1968	1972
Delta 0900	United States	McDonnell Douglas							Retired	1972	1973
Diamant	France	SEREB	160^{[citation needed]}						Retired	1965	1975
Epsilon	Japan	IHI AEROSPACE^[7]	1,200^[8]				0	0	Development^[8] since 2010	2013
Falcon 1	United States	SpaceX	'670		7		2	5^[D]	Retired^[9]	2006	2009
Falcon 1e	United States	SpaceX	1,010		10.9	10,792	0	0	Development^[9] since 2007	2011
Haas	Romania	ARCA	400^{[citation needed]}				0	0	Development since 2006	2011
J-I	Japan	Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Nissan Motors^[10]	880^{[citation needed]}				1	1	Retired	1996	1996
Kaituozhe-1	People's Republic of China	CALT	50^{[citation needed]}				0	2	Operational^{[citation needed]}	2002	2003
Kosmos-3M	Russia	NPO Polyot	1,500		€12 million^[11]		422	442^[A]	Operational Retirement pending	1967	2009
Lambda 4S	Japan	Nissan Motors^[10]	26^[8]				1	5	Retired	1966	1970
Long March 1	People's Republic of China	CALT	300				3	4^[A]	Retired^[12]	1969	2002
Long March 2A	People's Republic of China	CALT	1,800				0	1	Retired	1974	1974
Long March 1D	People's Republic of China	CALT	1,500^{[citation needed]}				1	1^[A]^[B]	Operational^{[citation needed]}	1997	1997
Long March 6	People's Republic of China	CALT		500 SSO			0	0	Development since 2009	2013
M-4S	Japan	Nissan Motors^[10]	180^[8]				3	4	Retired	1971	1972
M-3C	Japan	Nissan Motors^[10]	195^[8]				3	4	Retired	1974	1979
M-3H	Japan	Nissan Motors^[10]	300^[8]				3	3	Retired	1977	1978
M-3S	Japan	Nissan Motors^[10]	300^[8]				4	4	Retired	1980	1984
M-3SII	Japan	Nissan Motors^[10]	770^[8]				7	8	Retired	1985	1995
M-V	Japan	Nissan Motors^[10] (-2000) IHI AEROSPACE^[7] (-2006)	1,800 - 1,850^[8]				6	7	Retired	1997	2006
Minotaur I	United States	Orbital	580^{[citation needed]}				10	10^[13]	Operational	2000	2011
Minotaur IV	United States	Orbital	1,735				3	3^[A]^[14]	Operational	2010	2011
Minotaur V	United States	Orbital		640 (447 TLI)			0	0	Development since 2009	2011
N-I	Japan United States	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries	1,200	360			6	7^{[citation needed]}	Retired^{[citation needed]}	1975	1982
Naro-1	South Korea Russia	KARI/Khrunichev	100				0	2^{[citation needed]}	Development^{[citation needed]}	2009	2010
Paektusan	North Korea	KCST					0	1^{[citation needed]}	Retired^{[citation needed]}	1998	1998
Pegasus	United States	Orbital	443				35	40^{[citation needed]}	Operational	1990	2008
Polyot	Soviet Union	RSC Energia	1,400				2	2^{[citation needed]}	Retired^{[citation needed]}	1963	1964
Rokot	Russia	Khrunichev	1,950		$14 million^[15]		13^[16]	14^[16]	Operational	1990	2011
Safir	Iran	Iranian Space Agency					1	2	Operational^{[citation needed]}	2008	2009^{[citation needed]}
Simorgh	Iran	Iranian Space Agency	60-100^[17]^[18]				0	0	Development^{[citation needed]}
SLV	India	ISRO	40				2	4^[D]	Retired^{[citation needed]}	1979	1983
Scout	United States	US Air Force/NASA	150						Retired^{[citation needed]}	1961	1994
Shavit	Israel	IAE	160		15 (basic & Shavit-1)		6	9	Operational	1988	2010
Sputnik 8K71PS	Soviet Union	RSC Energia	500				2	2	Retired^{[citation needed]}	1957	1957
Sputnik 8A91	Soviet Union	RSC Energia	1,327				2	2^{[citation needed]}	Retired^{[citation needed]}	1958	1958
Shtil'	Russia	Makeyev	160 - 430				2	2^{[citation needed]}	Operational^{[citation needed]}	1998	2006
Volna	Russia	Makeyev	100				0	5^[A]	Operational^{[citation needed]}	1995	2005
Start-1	Russia	MITT	532	167 SSO			6	6^{[citation needed]}	Operational^{[citation needed]}	1993	2006
Strela	Russia	Khrunichev	1,700		€5 million.^[11]		1	1^{[citation needed]}	Operational^{[citation needed]}	2003	2003
Taurus	United States	Orbital	1,320				6	9^{[citation needed]}	Operational^{[citation needed]}	1994	2011
Unha	North Korea	KCST	100				0	1	Development	2009	2009
Vega	Europe	ESA/ASI	1,500				0	0	Development since 1998	2011
VLS-1	Brazil	AEB	380				0	2^[C]	Development^{[citation needed]}	1997	1999
Rocket	Country	Manufacturer	Mass to LEO (kg)	Mass to GTO (kg)	Cost (Mil US$)	Cost/kg (LEO)	Launch successes ^[2]^{[note 1]}	Launch attempts ^[2]^{[note 2]}	Current Status	First launch ^{[note 3]}	Last launch ^{[note 4]}

Proposed and design concepts

Notes

^ A. Includes suborbital launches
^ B. Has not yet conducted a successful orbital launch, but only sub-orbital ones
^ C. Does not include pre-launch failures
^ D. Includes test flights

^ ^a ^b The column launch successes is defined here as the number of times the launch vehicle achieved a desired orbit (e.g. payload separation orbit, final mission orbit, etc.) with the payload intact.
Launches into a useless orbit (i.e., an orbit from which the payload is unable to operate) are excluded from success, as is the case of a launch in which the payload was destroyed before the launch vehicle achieved a desired orbit. Success of the launches is determined by the performance of the launch vehicle itself and classification is not affected by subsequent failures of other elements like payload separation failure, payload propulsion failure (not reaching a desired payload final orbit from the desired transfer orbit), other payload failures (including re-entry failures). Other definitions of launch success may result in different values for the launch success record (see notes where applicable).
^ ^a ^b The column launch attempts shows the total number of attempted launches including development and test launches, if the launcher is in its complete expected configuration (and sub-orbital launches if so noted), but pre-launch failures are not included.
^ ^a ^b The column first launch shows the year of the first attempted launch (for retired and operational launchers) or the first expected launch (for launch vehicles in development).
^ ^a ^b The column last launch shows the year of the final attempted launch (for retired launchers) or the latest attempted launch (for operational launchers).

References

^ NASA Space Technology Roadmaps - Launch Propulsion Systems, p.11: "Small: 0-2t payloads, Medium: 2-20t payloads, Heavy: 20-50t payloads, Super Heavy: >50t payloads"
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Kyle, Ed (2008-04-28). "SPACE LAUNCH REPORT / ACTIVE LAUNCH VEHICLE RELIABILITY STATISTICS". Archived from the original on 2008-05-02.
^ http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tronador_II
^ ^a ^b Encyclopedia Astronautica, Athena 1
^ ^a ^b Lockheed Martin and ATK Announce 2nd Generation Athena Launch Vehicles
^ ^a ^b Encyclopedia Astronautica, Athena 2
^ ^a ^b "Projects&Products". IHI AEROSPACE. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "Satellite Launch Vehicles". Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). Retrieved 4 March 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Space Exploration Technologies Corporation - Falcon 1". Retrieved 2010-10-29.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "NISSAN HERITAGE COLLECTION online【その他】プリンス自動車工業小史". Nissan Motors. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
^ ^a ^b European Space Directory 2006. Referenced in: Brian Harvey, The Rebirth of the Russian Space Program. p.296.
^ Long March 1
^ Minotaur I
^ Minotaur IV
^ Harvey, Brian (2007). "Launchers and engines". The Rebirth of the Russian Space Program (1st ed.). Germany: Springer. ISBN 9780387713540.
^ ^a ^b "Rockot Launch Vehicle". Khrunichev.
^ "Iranian DM: Simorgh to Carry Tolou, Mesbah Satellites into Space". Fars News Agency. 2010-02-03. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
^ http://www.payvand.com/news/10/feb/1025.html

</references>

[record-3] The column launch successes is defined here as the number of times the launch vehicle achieved a desired orbit (e.g. payload separation orbit, final mission orbit, etc.) with the payload intact.
Launches into a useless orbit (i.e., an orbit from which the payload is unable to operate) are excluded from success, as is the case of a launch in which the payload was destroyed before the launch vehicle achieved a desired orbit. Success of the launches is determined by the performance of the launch vehicle itself and classification is not affected by subsequent failures of other elements like payload separation failure, payload propulsion failure (not reaching a desired payload final orbit from the desired transfer orbit), other payload failures (including re-entry failures). Other definitions of launch success may result in different values for the launch success record (see notes where applicable).

[attempt-4] The column launch attempts shows the total number of attempted launches including development and test launches, if the launcher is in its complete expected configuration (and sub-orbital launches if so noted), but pre-launch failures are not included.

[first-5] The column first launch shows the year of the first attempted launch (for retired and operational launchers) or the first expected launch (for launch vehicles in development).

[last-6] The column last launch shows the year of the final attempted launch (for retired launchers) or the latest attempted launch (for operational launchers).

[1] NASA Space Technology Roadmaps - Launch Propulsion Systems, p.11: "Small: 0-2t payloads, Medium: 2-20t payloads, Heavy: 20-50t payloads, Super Heavy: >50t payloads"

[reliability2008-2] Kyle, Ed (2008-04-28). "SPACE LAUNCH REPORT / ACTIVE LAUNCH VEHICLE RELIABILITY STATISTICS". Archived from the original on 2008-05-02.

[7] ttp://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tronador_II

[athenaii-8] Encyclopedia Astronautica, Athena 1

[Athena_c-9] Lockheed Martin and ATK Announce 2nd Generation Athena Launch Vehicles

[athen-10] Encyclopedia Astronautica, Athena 2

[IHIAERO-11] "Projects&Products". IHI AEROSPACE. Retrieved 2011-03-08.

[ISAS-12] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "Satellite Launch Vehicles". Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). Retrieved 4 March 2011.

[Falcon1-13] "Space Exploration Technologies Corporation - Falcon 1". Retrieved 2010-10-29.

[Nissan-14] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "NISSAN HERITAGE COLLECTION online【その他】プリンス自動車工業小史". Nissan Motors. Retrieved 8 March 2011.

[esd2006-15] European Space Directory 2006. Referenced in: Brian Harvey, The Rebirth of the Russian Space Program. p.296.

[16] Long March 1

[17] Minotaur I

[18] Minotaur IV

[harvey-19] Harvey, Brian (2007). "Launchers and engines". The Rebirth of the Russian Space Program (1st ed.). Germany: Springer. ISBN 9780387713540.

[khru_rokot-20] "Rockot Launch Vehicle". Khrunichev.

[fars-21] "Iranian DM: Simorgh to Carry Tolou, Mesbah Satellites into Space". Fars News Agency. 2010-02-03. Retrieved 2010-02-03.

[22] ttp://www.payvand.com/news/10/feb/1025.html

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v t e Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara 1.2 A5 Ariane 6 Atlas V Ceres 1 1S Chollima-1 Electron Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Gravity-1 GSLV H-IIA H3 Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 3 KAIROS^† Kaituozhe 2 Kinetica 1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11 Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 6A 7 7A 8 11 11H LVM3 Minotaur I IV V C Nuri OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qaem 100 Qased RS1^† Shavit 2 Simorgh SLS Block 1 Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB 2-1v SSLV Starship Tianlong-2 Unha Vega C Vulcan Centaur Zhuque 2
In development	Antares 330 Bloostar Cyclone-4M Deca Epsilon S Eris Gravity-2 Hyperbola-2 Irtysh Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 9 10 12 Miura 5 MLV Neutron New Glenn New Line 1 NGLV Nova OS-M 2 4 Orbex Prime Pallas-1 Red Dwarf SLS Block 1B Block 2 Soyuz-7 Terran R Tianlong-3 VLM Vega E Zero Zhuque 3 Zuljanah
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 230+ Ariane 1 2 3 4 5 ASLV Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able^† Agena Centaur Black Arrow Conestoga^† Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Diamant Dnepr Energia Epsilon Europa I^† II^† Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" Feng Bao 1 GSLV Mk I H-I H-II H-IIB Juno I Juno II Kaituozhe-1 Kosmos original 1 2/2I 3 3M Lambda 4S LauncherOne Long March 1 1D^† 2A 2E 3 3B 4A Mu 4S 3C 3H 3S 3SII V N1^† N-I N-II Naro-1 Paektusan^† Pilot-2^† R-7 Luna Molniya M L Polyot Soyuz original FG L M U U2 Soyuz/Vostok Sputnik Voskhod Vostok L K 2 2M R-29 Shtil' Volna^† Rocket 3 Safir 1 1A 1B Saturn I IB V Scout X-1 Blue Scout II^† X-2^† X-2M X-3 X-3M X-4 X-2B^† B A B-1 D-1 A-1 E-1 F-1 G-1 Shavit original 1 SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Terran 1^† Thor Able Ablestar 1 2 Agena A B D Burner 1 2 Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena SLV-2G SLV-2H Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon R-36-O original 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard Vega original VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M 2FG 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque 1^†
Classes	Sounding rocket Small-lift launch vehicle Medium-lift launch vehicle Heavy-lift launch vehicle Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
This Template lists historical, current, and future space rockets that at least once attempted (but not necessarily succeeded in) an orbital launch or that are planned to attempt such a launch in the future Symbol ^† indicates past or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but never succeeded (never did or has yet to perform a successful orbital launch)

Retired, Operational and Under development

Proposed and design concepts

Notes

See also

References