A heavy-lift launch vehicle is an orbital launch vehicle capable of generating a large amount of lift to reach its intended orbit. Heavy-lift launch vehicles generally are capable of lifting payloads between 20,000 to 50,000 kg (44,000 to 110,000 lb) (by NASA classification) or between 20,000 to 100,000 kilograms (44,000 to 220,000 lb) (by Russian classification)[1] into low Earth orbit (LEO).[2] As of 2024[update], operational heavy-lift launch vehicles include the Long March 5 and the Proton-M.[3]
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Heavy-lift launch vehicle |
| Operators | Various space organizations |
| Preceded by | Medium-lift launch vehicle |
| Succeeded by | Super heavy-lift launch vehicle |
| Built | 1966– |
| On order | |
| Active | |
| Retired | |
| General characteristics | |
| Propulsion | Various liquid-fueled engines and solid motors |
| Capacity |
|
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In addition, the Angara A5, the Falcon 9 Full Thrust, the Falcon Heavy, the Vulcan Centaur, Ariane 6, and New Glenn are designed to provide heavy-lift capabilities in at least some configurations but have not yet been proven to carry a 20-tonne payload into LEO. Several other heavy-lift rockets are in development. An HLV is between medium-lift launch vehicles and super heavy-lift launch vehicles.
Rated launch vehicles
edit| Rocket | In service | Manufacturer | Max. LEO payload | Launches >20 t | Heaviest launch | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ...to LEO or MEO | ...to GTO or GSO | ...to HEO and beyond | |||||
OperationaleditCurrently operational rockets that have demonstrated their heavy-lift capability to low Earth orbit: | |||||||
 Long March 5/5B (CZ-5/5B) | since 2016 | CALT | 25,000 kg (55,000 lb)[4] | 4 | 23,200 kg[5] Wentian Lab Module 24 July 2022 | ~14,000 kg[6] Yaogan-41 15 December 2023 | 8,350 kg[7] to Moon Chang'e 6 3 May 2024 |
 Proton-M | since 2001 | Khrunichev | 23,000 kg (51,000 lb)[8] | 1 | 23,200 kg[9] Nauka 21 July 2021 | 6,740 kg[10] ViaSat-1 19 October 2011 | 3,755 kg to Mars[11] ExoMars TGO 9 June 2016 |
UnproveneditRockets that have not flown a 20-tonne payload to LEO, but are rated over this threshold: | |||||||
| Angara-A5 | since 2014 | Khrunichev, | 24,500 kg (54,000 lb)[12][a] | 0 | — | 2,400 kg[13] Mass simulator 14 December 2020 | — |
 Falcon 9 Full Thrust (expendable configuration)[b] | since 2015 | SpaceX | 22,800 kg (50,300 lb)[14] | 0 | 17,500 kg[15] (partially reusable configuration) | 7,350 kg[16] Galaxy 33 and Galaxy 34 8 October 2022 (partially reusable configuration) | 1,931 kg to Moon[17] IM-1 15 February 2024 (partially reusable configuration) |
| Falcon Heavy (with all boosters reusable)[c] | since 2018 | SpaceX | 38,000–45,000 kg (84,000–99,000 lb) [18] | 0 | 3,700 kg[d] STP-2 25 June 2019 | 6,465 kg[19][e] Arabsat-6A 11 April 2019 | 1,300 kg beyond Mars orbit[20] Tesla Roadster 6 February 2018 |
| Vulcan Centaur | since 2024 | United Launch Alliance | 25,000 kg (56,000 lb)[21] | 0 | — | — | 1,283 kg to Moon Peregrine Mission One[22] 8 January 2024 (Maiden flight) |
 Ariane 6 (A64) | since 2024[23][24] | ArianeGroup for ESA | 21,650 kg (47,730 lb)[25]: 46 | — | — | — | — |
| New Glenn[26] | since 2024[27] | Blue Origin | 45,000 kg (99,000 lb)[28] | ||||
RetirededitFormerly operational rockets with a payload capacity of between 20 and 50 tonnes: | |||||||
| Delta IV Heavy | 2004 to 2024 | ULA | 28,790 kg (63,470 lb)[29] | 1 public (up to 4 classified) | ~21,000 kg[30][f] Orion EFT-1 5 December 2014 | Classified[g] | ~685 kg to heliocentric Parker Solar Probe |
| Saturn IB | 1966 to 1975 | Chrysler (S-IB), Douglas (S-IVB) | 21,000 kg (46,000 lb)[31] | 2 | 20,847 kg Skylab 4 16 November 1973 | — | — |
 / Proton-K | 1967 to 2012 | Khrunichev | 19,760 kg (43,560 lb)[32] | 4[33] | 22,776 kg Zvezda 26 July 2000 | 4,723 kg Intelsat 903 30 March 2002 | 6,220 kg to Mars Phobos 1 7 July 1988 |
| Space Shuttle | 1981 to 2011 | United Space Alliance | 24,400 kg (53,800 lb) (excluding orbiter weight)[34] | 11 | 22,753 kg Chandra X-Ray Observatory 28 July 1999 | ||
| Titan IV | 1989 to 2005 | Lockheed Martin | 21,680 kg (47,800 lb)[35] | up to 7 (classified) | Classified[g] (KH-11 launches had 19,600 kg[36]) | Classified[g] | 5,712 kg to Saturn Cassini–Huygens 15 October 1997 |
| Ariane 5 (ECA and ES) | 2002 to 2023 | Airbus for ESA | 21,000 kg (46,000 lb)[37] | 4 | 20,293 kg[38] Georges Lemaître ATV 29 July 2014 | 11,210 kg[39] SES-17 and Syracuse 4A 23 October 2021 | 6,161.4 kg to Sun-Earth L2[40] James Webb Space Telescope 25 December 2021 |
In developmenteditRockets that are actively being developed: | |||||||
 HLV | TBD | Indian Space Research Organisation | 20,000 kg (44,000 lb) | — | — | — | — |
| SHLV | TBD | Indian Space Research Organisation | 41,300 kg (91,100 lb)[41] | — | — | — | — |
| Zhuque-3 | NET 2025 | LandSpace | 21,000 kg (46,000 lb)[42] | — | — | — | — |
| Gravity-2 | NET 2025 | Orienspace | 25,600 kg (56,400 lb)[43] | — | — | — | — |
| Terran R | NET 2026[44] | Relativity Space | 33,500 kg (73,900 lb) | — | — | — | — |
| Angara-A5V | ~2027 | Khrunichev, Polyot | 38,000 kg (83,876 lb) | — | — | — | — |
 H3 Heavy | 2030 | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for JAXA | 28,300 kg (62,400 lb)[45] | — | — | — | — |
Cancelled conceptsedit | |||||||
| Ares I | — | NASA (canceled in 2010)[46] | 25,400 kg (56,000 lb) | — | — | — | — |
| Saturn C-3 | — | NASA (cancelled in 1963) Engines developed for Saturn V | 45,000 kg (99,000 lb) [h] | — | — | — | — |
| Vulcan / ACES | — | United Launch Alliance (abandoned in 2020)[47] | 37,400 kg (82,500 lb)[29][48][i] | — | — | — | — |
- ^ from Vostochny cosmodrome
- ^ Fairing recovery may be possible in all configurations; if the first stage is recovered, the payload capacity only fits the medium-lift launch vehicle criteria.
- ^ When the center core is expended, Falcon Heavy is classified as a super heavy-lift launch vehicle with a theoretical payload to LEO over 50,000 kg
- ^ The 600 kg DSX was boosted to Medium Earth Orbit
- ^ to 90,000-km supersynchronous GTO
- ^ The officially reported mass of 21,000 kg includes the Launch Abort System (LAS) which did not reach orbit, but excludes the residual mass of the upper stage, which did reach orbit, likely offsetting the mass of the LAS.
- ^ a b c Actual payloads flown are classified under the NRO launch program.
- ^ Planned 23,000 kg to Geostationary Transfer Orbit and 18,000 kg to Trans Lunar Injection
- ^ Calculated as 30% more than Delta IV Heavy, per sources
See also
edit- Comparison of orbital launch systems
- List of orbital launch systems
- Comparison of orbital rocket engines
- Comparison of space station cargo vehicles
- Medium-lift launch vehicle, capable of lifting between 2,000 and 20,000 kg (4,400 to 44,100 lb) of payload into Low Earth orbit
- Rocket
- Small-lift launch vehicle, capable of lifting up to 2,000 kg to low Earth orbit
- Sounding rocket, suborbital launch vehicle
- Spacecraft propulsion
- Super heavy-lift launch vehicle, capable of lifting more than 50,000 kg (110,000 lb) of payload into Low Earth orbit
References
editFurther reading
edit- Mallove, Eugene F. and Matloff, Gregory L. The Starflight Handbook: A Pioneer's Guide to Interstellar Travel, Wiley. ISBN 0-471-61912-4.
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