Medium-lift launch vehicle
Appearance
A medium-lift launch vehicle - MLV a rocket orbital launch vehicle that is capable of lifting between 2,000 to 20,000 kg (4,400 to 44,100 lb) of payload into Low Earth orbit - LEO.[1] The category is between small-lift launch vehicles and heavy-lift launch vehicles.
Medium-lift launch vehicles
Vehicle | Origin | Manufacturer | Mass to LEO (kg) |
Mass to other orbits (kg) |
Launches | Status | First flight | Last flight |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vostok | Soviet Union | RSC Energia | 4,730 | 163 | Retired | 1958 | 1991 | |
Saturn I | United States | Chrysler & Douglas | 9,000 | 10 | Retired | 1961 | 1965 | |
Atlas-Centaur | United States | Lockheed | 5,100 | 61 | Retired | 1962 | 1983 | |
Titan II GLV | United States | Martin | 3,580 | 12 | Retired | 1964 | 1966 | |
Titan IIIC | United States | Martin | 13,100 | 3,000 to GTO 1,200 to TMI |
36 | Retired | 1965 | 1982 |
Molniya-M | Soviet Union Russia |
TsSKB-Progress | 2,400 | 280 | Retired | 1965 | 2010 | |
Proton-K | Soviet Union Russia |
Khrunichev | 19,760 | 311 | Retired | 1965 | 2012 | |
Saturn IB | United States | Chrysler & Douglas | 18,600 | 9 | Retired | 1966 | 1975 | |
Soyuz original | Soviet Union | OKB-1 | 6,450 | 32 | Retired | 1966 | 1975 | |
R-36 Tsyklon | Soviet Union Ukraine |
Yuzhmash | 4,100 | 236 | Retired | 1967 | 2009 | |
Soyuz-L | Soviet Union | OKB-1 | 5,500 | 3 | Retired | 1970 | 1971 | |
Titan IIID | United States | Martin | 12,300 | 22 | Retired | 1971 | 1982 | |
Soyuz-M | Soviet Union | OKB-1 | 6,600 | 8 | Retired | 1971 | 1976 | |
Soyuz-U | Soviet Union Russia |
TsSKB-Progress | 6,900 | 786 | Retired | 1973 | 2017 | |
Feng Bao 1 | China | Shanghai Bureau №2 | 2,500 | 8 | Retired | 1973 | 1981 | |
Long March 2A | China | CALT | 2,000 | 4 | Retired | 1974 | 1976 | |
Titan IIIE | United States | Martin Marietta | 15,400 | 3,700 to TMI | 7 | Retired | 1974 | 1977 |
Delta 3920–5920 | United States | Douglas | 3,452–3,848 | 30 | Retired | 1980 | 1990 | |
N-II[2] | Japan | Mitsubishi | 2,000 | 8 | Retired | 1981 | 1987 | |
Soyuz-U2 | Soviet Union | TsSKB-Progress | 7,050 | 72 | Retired | 1982 | 1995 | |
Long March 2C | China | CALT | 3,850 | 2,100 to SSO | 54 | Operational | 1982 | |
Atlas G | United States | Lockheed | 5,900 | 7 | Retired | 1984 | 1989 | |
Long March 3 | China | CALT | 5,000 | 1,340 to GTO | 14 | Retired | 1984 | 2000 |
Zenit-2 | Soviet Union Ukraine |
Yuzhnoye | 13,740 | 36 | Retired | 1985 | 2004 | |
H-I | Japan | Mitsubishi | 3,200 | 1,100 to GTO | 9 | Retired | 1986 | 1992 |
Long March 4A | China | SAST | 4,000 | 2 | Retired | 1988 | 1990 | |
Ariane 4 | European Union France |
Aérospatiale | 7,600 | 4,800 to GTO | 116 | Retired | 1988 | 2003 |
Delta II | United States | United Launch Alliance | 6,100 | 2,170 to GTO 1,000 to HCO |
156 | Retired | 1989 | 2018 |
Atlas I, II, III | United States | Lockheed | 5,900–8,686 | 2,340–4,609 to GTO | 80 | Retired | 1990 | 2005 |
Long March 2E | China | CALT | 9,200 | 7 | Retired | 1990 | 1995 | |
Long March 2D | China | SAST | 3,300 | 1,300 to SSO | 40 | Operational | 1992 | |
PSLV | India | ISRO | 3,800 | 1,300 to GTO 1750 to SSO |
44 | Operational | 1993 | |
H-II / IIS | Japan | Mitsubishi | 10,060 | 4,000 to GTO | 7 | Retired | 1994 | 1999 |
Long March 3A | China | CALT | 6,000 | 2,600 to GTO 5,000 to SSO |
27 | Operational | 1994 | |
Long March 3B | China | CALT | 11,200 | 5,100 to GTO 5,700 to SSO |
12 | Retired | 1996 | 2012 |
Delta III | United States | Boeing | 8,290 | 3,810 to GTO | 3 | Retired | 1998 | 2000 |
Dnepr | Ukraine | Yuzhmash | 4,500 | 2,300 to GTO 550 to TLI |
22 | Retired | 1999 | 2015 |
Zenit-3 | Ukraine | Yuzhmash | 7,000 | 6,160 to GTO | 46 | Operational | 1999 | |
Long March 2F | China | CALT | 8,400 | 3,500 to GTO | 13 | Operational | 1999 | |
Long March 4B/4C | China | SAST | 4,200 | 1,500 to GTO 2,800 to SSO |
55 | Operational | 1999 | |
H-IIA | Japan | Mitsubishi | 10,000 | 6,000 to GTO | 39 | Operational | 2001 | |
Soyuz-FG | Russia | TsSKB-Progress | 6,900 | 64 | Operational | 2001 | ||
GSLV Mk.I | India | ISRO | 5,000 | 2,150 to GTO | 6 | Retired | 2001 | 2010 |
Atlas V | United States | United Launch Alliance | 18,810 | 8,900 to GTO | 71 | Operational | 2002 | |
Soyuz-2/Soyuz ST | Russia | TsSKB-Progress | 8,200 | 3,250 to GTO 4,400 to SSO |
73 | Operational | 2006[a] | |
Long March 3B/E | China | CALT | 11,500 | 5,500 to GTO 6,900 to SSO |
37 | Operational | 2007 | |
Long March 3C | China | CALT | 9,100 | 3,800 to GTO 6,500 to SSO |
15 | Operational | 2008 | |
H-IIB | Japan | Mitsubishi | 16,500 | 8,000 to GTO | 7 | Operational | 2009 | |
Falcon 9 v1.0 | United States | SpaceX | 10,450 | 4,540 to GTO | 5 | Retired | 2010 | 2013 |
GSLV Mk.II | India | ISRO | 5,000 | 2,700 to GTO | 6 | Operational | 2010 | |
Antares 110–130 | United States | Orbital Sciences | 5,100[3] | 1,500 to SSO | 5 | Retired | 2013 | 2014 |
Falcon 9 v1.1 | United States | SpaceX | 13,150 | 4,850 to GTO | 15 | Retired | 2013 | 2016 |
Soyuz-2-1v | Russia | TsSKB-Progress | 2,800 | 1,400 to SSO | 4 | Operational | 2013 | |
Falcon 9 Full Thrust (partially reusable)[4] | United States | SpaceX | 13,680-15,960 (Estimated)[5] |
5,500 to GTO | 33 | Operational | 2015 | |
Antares 230 | United States | NG Innovation | 7,800[3] | 3,000 to SSO | 3 | Operational | 2016 | |
Long March 7 | China | CALT | 13,500 | 5,500 to SSO | 2 | Operational | 2016 | |
GSLV Mk.III | India | ISRO | 8,000 | 4,000 to GTO | 1 | Operational | 2017[b] | |
Angara 1.2 | Russia | Khrunichev | 3,500[6] | 0 | Operational | 2018[7][b] |
Gallery
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Launch of an Atlas B intercontinental ballistic missile
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Launch of the first American manned orbital space flight Atlas and Friendship 7
-
A Falcon 9 v1.0 launches with an uncrewed Dragon spacecraft, 2012
-
Falcon 9 booster tank at the SpaceX factory, 2008
See also
- Sounding rocket, suborbital launch vehicle
- Small-lift launch vehicle, capable of lifting up to 2,000 kg to low Earth orbit
- Heavy lift launch vehicle, capable of lifting between 20,000 and 50,000 kg to low Earth orbit
- Super Heavy lift launch vehicles, capable of lifting more than 50,000 kg (110,000 lb) of payload into LEO
- Comparison of orbital launch systems
- Comparison of orbital rocket engines
- Comparison of space station cargo vehicles
- Rocket
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"
- ^ "N-2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 8 November 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b Krebs, Gunter. "Antares (Taurus-2)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
- ^ "Capabilities & Services". SpaceX. 2015. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ Elon Musk [@elonmusk] (30 April 2016). "@elonmusk Max performance numbers are for expendable launches. Subtract 30% to 40% for reusable booster payload" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Angara Launch Vehicle Family". Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- ^ Pietrobon, Steven (6 September 2018). "Russian Launch Manifest". Retrieved 11 September 2018.
Further reading
- Mallove, Eugene F. and Matloff, Gregory L. The Starflight Handbook: A Pioneer's Guide to Interstellar Travel, Wiley. ISBN 0-471-61912-4.