1. Types
     By launch platform   By size   By flight regime    Suborbital    Orbital    Translunar    Interplanetary  

2. Return to launch site

3. Distributed launch

4. Regulation

5. See also

6. References

7. External links

A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket used to carry a payload from Earth's surface through outer space, either to another surface point (Sub-orbital transportation), or into space (Earth orbit or beyond). A launch system includes the launch vehicle, launch pad, vehicle assembly and fuelling systems, range safety, and other related infrastructure.^[1]{{Citation needed lead|date=August 2018}}

Suborbital launch vehicles include ballistic missiles, sounding rockets, and various crewed systems designed for space tourism or high-speed transport. Orbital or escape launch vehicles must be much more powerful and typically incorporate two to four rocket stages to provide sufficient delta-v (change in velocity) performance. Various rocket fuels are used, including solid rocket boosters and cryogenic fuels fed to rocket engines.

Most launch vehicles are expendable i.e. used only once and destroyed or abandoned during the flight. Attempts to reduce per-launch costs have led to reusable launch systems, in which part of the launch vehicle is recovered and reused for another flight. Multiple classes of launch vehicle exist for use with differing launch sites, payload mass, target orbits, price points, etc. Numerous countries have sought to develop indigenous launch vehicles for use in national space programs.

Types

Launch vehicles are often classified by the amount of mass they can carry into a particular orbit. For example, a Proton rocket can lift {{Convert|22000|kg}} into low Earth orbit (LEO). Launch vehicles are also characterized by their number of stages. Rockets with as many as five stages have been successfully launched, and there have been designs for several single-stage-to-orbit vehicles. Additionally, launch vehicles are very often supplied with boosters supplying high early thrust, normally burning with other engines. Boosters allow the remaining engines to be smaller, reducing the burnout mass of later stages to allow larger payloads.

Other frequently reported characteristics of launch vehicles are the launching nation or space agency and the company or consortium manufacturing and launching the vehicle. For example, the European Space Agency is responsible for the Ariane V, and the United Launch Alliance manufactures and launches the Delta IV and Atlas V rockets. Many launch vehicles are considered part of a historical line of vehicles of the same or similar name; e.g., the Atlas V is the latest Atlas rocket.

By launch platform

• Land: spaceport and fixed missile silo^[6] (Strela) for converted ICBMs
• Sea: fixed platform (San Marco), mobile platform (Sea Launch), submarine (Shtil', Volna) for converted SLBMs
• Air: aircraft (Pegasus, Virgin Galactic LauncherOne, Stratolaunch Systems), balloon (zero2infinity's bloostar, ARCASPACE), JP Aerospace Orbital Ascender, proposal for permanent Buoyant space port.

By size

There are many ways to classify the sizes of launch vehicles. The US civilian space agency, NASA, uses a classification scheme^[7]

• A sounding rocket, used to study the atmosphere or perform brief experiments, is only capable of sub-orbital spaceflight and cannot reach orbit.
• A small-lift launch vehicle is capable of lifting up to {{convert|2000|kg|abbr=on}} of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO).^[7]
• A medium-lift launch vehicle is capable of lifting {{convert|2000|to|20000|kg|abbr=on}} of payload into LEO.^[7]
• A heavy-lift launch vehicle is capable of lifting {{convert|20000|to|50000|kg|abbr=on}} of payload into LEO.^[7]
• A super-heavy lift vehicle is capable of lifting more than {{convert|50000|kg|abbr=on}} of payload into LEO.^[7][8]

Similarly the leading European launch service provider, Arianespace, also uses the "heavy-lift" designation for its >{{convert|20000|kg|lb|abbr=on|adj=on}}-to-LEO Ariane 5 launch vehicle^[9]

and "medium-lift" for its array of launch vehicles that lift {{convert|2000|to|20000|kg|abbr=on}} to LEO, including the Starsem/Arianespace Soyuz ST^[10]

and pre-1999 versions of the Ariane 5. It refers to its {{convert|1500|kg|lb|abbr=on|adj=on}} to LEO Vega launch vehicle as "light lift".^[10]

By flight regime

Suborbital

Suborbital launch vehicles are not capable of taking their payloads to the minimum horizontal speed necessary to achieve low Earth orbit with a perigee less than the Earth's mean radius, which speed is about {{convert|7800|m/s|abbr=on}}.

Sounding rockets have long been used for brief, inexpensive unmanned space and microgravity experiments. The first US human spaceflight program, Project Mercury, used a single-stage derivative of the Redstone rocket family to launch its first two astronauts, Alan Shephard and Gus Grissom on suborbital flights, before sending astronauts into orbit on later flights. Current human-rated suborbital launch vehicles include SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo, among others (see space tourism).

Orbital

The delta-v needed for orbital launch from the Earth's surface is greater than the minimum orbital speed; at least {{convert|9300|m/s|abbr=on}}, because of aerodynamic drag and gravity losses.{{Citation needed|date=July 2012}} Minimizing air drag requires a reasonably high ballistic coefficient, a ratio of length to diameter greater than ten. This generally results in a launch vehicle that is at least {{Convert|20|m|abbr=on}} long. Leaving the atmosphere as early on in the flight as possible provides a velocity loss due to air drag of around {{Convert|300|m/s|abbr=on}}.

Translunar

For a spacecraft to reach the Moon, Earth escape velocity of {{convert|11200|m/s|abbr=on}} is not required, but a velocity close to this places the craft into an Earth orbit with a very high apogee which, if launched at the correct time, takes it to a point where the Moon's gravity will capture it.

Interplanetary

Interplanetary flight requires exceeding escape velocity; the excess velocity either adds to the Earth's orbital velocity around the Sun to reach the outer planets or asteroids, or subtracts from it to reach Venus or Mercury, depending on the direction in which the terminal velocity is achieved.

Launch vehicles of sufficient size are capable of launching payloads smaller than their orbital capability, to the Moon or beyond. Translunar and interplanetary flights are commonly launched with the vehicle's final stage into a temporary parking orbit, to allow spacecraft checkout, and more precise control of the final injection maneuver, rather than being launched directly to terminal velocity.

Return to launch site

After 1980, but before the 2010s, two orbital launch vehicles developed the capability to return to the launch site (RTLS). Both the US Space Shuttle—with one of its abort modes^[11][12]—and the Soviet Buran^[13]

had a designed-in capability to return a part of the launch vehicle to the launch site via the mechanism of horizontal-landing of the spaceplane portion of the launch vehicle. In both cases, the main vehicle thrust structure and the large propellant tank were expendable, as had been the standard procedure for all orbital launch vehicles flown prior to that time. Both were subsequently demonstrated on actual orbital nominal flights, although both also had an abort mode during launch that could conceivably allow the crew to land the spaceplane following an off-nominal launch.

In the 2000s, both SpaceX and Blue Origin have privately developed a set of technologies to support vertical landing of the booster stage of a launch vehicle.

After 2010, SpaceX undertook a development program to acquire the ability to bring back and vertically land a part of the Falcon 9 orbital launch vehicle: the first stage. The first successful landing was done in December 2015,^[14] since then several additional rocket stages landed either at a landing pad adjacent to the launch site or on a landing platform at sea, some distance away from the launch site.^[15] The Falcon Heavy is similarly designed to reuse the three cores comprising its first stage. On its first flight in February 2018, the two outer cores successfully returned to the launch site landing pads while the center core targeted the landing platform at sea but did not successfully land on it.^[16]

Blue Origin developed similar technologies for bringing back and landing their suborbital New Shepard, and successfully demonstrated return in 2015, and successfully reused the same booster on a second suborbital flight in January 2016 ^[17] . By October 2016, Blue had reflown, and landed successfully, that same launch vehicle a total of five times.^[18] It must however be noted that the launch trajectories of both vehicles are very different, with New Shepard going straight up and down, whereas Falcon 9 has to cancel substantial horizontal velocity and return from a significant distance downrange.

Both Blue Origin and SpaceX also have additional reusable launch vehicles under development. Blue is developing the first stage of the orbital New Glenn LV to be reusable, with first flight planned for no earlier than 2020.^[19]

SpaceX has a new super-heavy launch vehicle under development for missions to interplanetary space. The Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) is designed to support RTLS, vertical-landing and full reuse of both the booster stage and the integrated second-stage/large-spacecraft that are designed for use with the BFR.^[20] First launch is expected in the early 2020s.

Distributed launch

Distributed launch is a term for a mission design where multiple launches, potentially of different launch vehicles, with in-space propellant transfer enable space missions that have not been possible with historical space mission design through the 2010s.^[21]

Mission architectures for distributed launch were explored in the 2000s^[22]

and launch vehicles with integrated distributed launch capability built in began development in 2017, where a fully reusable, integrated second-stage-with-spaceship became a key feature of the BFR launch vehicle design. The standard BFR launch architecture for high Earth orbit, cislunar and interplanetary missions is to refuel the BFR spaceship in low Earth orbit to enable the craft to send high-mass payloads on much more energetic missions.^[23]

Regulation

Under international law, the nationality of the owner of a launch vehicle determines which country is responsible for any damages resulting from that vehicle.{{Citation needed|date=June 2012}}

In the US, any rocket launch that is not classified as amateur, and also is not "for and by the government," must be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST), located in Washington, DC.^[24]{{Citation needed|date=March 2013}}

See also

• List of orbital launch systems
• List of missiles

• Comparison of orbital launch systems
• List of space launch system designs
• NATO reporting name, Sheldon names

• List of human spaceflights
• Timeline of spaceflight
• Rocket launch
• Space logistics
• Space exploration
• NewSpace

References

External links

• S. A. Kamal, A. Mirza: [https://web.archive.org/web/20100414071325/http://www10.brinkster.com/drakamal/pub/confabst.htm#C66: The Multi-Stage-Q System and the Inverse-Q System for Possible application in SLV], Proc. IBCAST 2005, Volume 3, Control and Simulation, Edited by Hussain SI, Munir A, Kiyani J, Samar R, Khan MA, National Center for Physics, Bhurban, KP, Pakistan, 2006, pp 27–33 Free Full Text
• S. A. Kamal: [https://web.archive.org/web/20100414071325/http://www10.brinkster.com/drakamal/pub/confabst.htm#C67: Incorporating Cross-Range Error in the Lambert Scheme], Proc. 10th National Aeronautical Conf., Edited by Sheikh SR, Khan AM, Pakistan Air Force Academy, Risalpur, KP, Pakistan, 2006, pp 255–263 Free Full Text
• S. A. Kamal: [https://web.archive.org/web/20100414071325/http://www10.brinkster.com/drakamal/pub/confabst.htm#C72: The Multi-Stage-Lambert Scheme for Steering a Satellite-Launch Vehicle], Proc. 12th IEEE INMIC, Edited by Anis MK, Khan MK, Zaidi SJH, Bahria Univ., Karachi, Pakistan, 2008, pp 294–300 (invited paper) Free Full Text
• S. A. Kamal: [https://web.archive.org/web/20100414071325/http://www10.brinkster.com/drakamal/pub/confabst.htm#C56: Incompleteness of Cross-Product Steering and a Mathematical Formulation of Extended-Cross-Product Steering], Proc. IBCAST 2002, Volume 1, Advanced Materials, Computational Fluid Dynamics and Control Engineering, Edited by Hoorani HR, Munir A, Samar R, Zahir S, National Center for Physics, Bhurban, KP, Pakistan, 2003, pp 167–177 Free Full Text
• S. A. Kamal: [https://web.archive.org/web/20100414071325/http://www10.brinkster.com/drakamal/pub/confabst.htm#C55: Dot-Product Steering: A New Control Law for Satellites and Spacecrafts], Proc. IBCAST 2002, Volume 1, Advanced Materials, Computational Fluid Dynamics and Control Engineering, Edited by Hoorani HR, Munir A, Samar R, Zahir S, National Center for Physics, Bhurban, KP, Pakistan, 2003, pp 178–184 Free Full Text
• S. A. Kamal: [https://web.archive.org/web/20100414071325/http://www10.brinkster.com/drakamal/pub/confabst.htm#C64: Ellipse-Orientation Steering: A Control Law for Spacecrafts and Satellite-Launch Vehicles], Space Science and the Challenges of the twenty-First Century, ISPA-SUPARCO Collaborative Seminar, Univ. of Karachi, 2005 (invited paper)
• [https://www.planet.com/pulse/satellites-taking-pictures-of-rockets-carrying-more-satellites/ Time lapse captured from a satellite of a rocket carrying 35 satellites]

• Fifth International of Communists
• Fifth Kohl cabinet
• Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand
• Fifth labour government of new zealand
• Fifth Lateran Council
• Fifth Letter (Plato)
• Fifth Man
• Fifth Marian Dogma
• Fifth Marian dogma
• Fifth Marine Division
• Fifth metacarpal
• Fifth metacarpal bone
• Fifth metatarsal
• Fifth metatarsal bone
• Fifth millenium
• Fifth millennium
• Fifth monarchy
• Fifth National Bank
• Fifth Naval District
• Fifth Naval district
• Fifth normal form
• Fifth ODI, Australian cricket team in South Africa in 2005–06
• Fifth of Beethoven
• Fifth Of Beethoven
• Fifth official