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{{Short description|Rocket used to carry a spacecraft into space}}
{{Redirect|Satellite launch vehicle|the Indian rocket|Satellite Launch Vehicle}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2009}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2015}}
[[File:Space_Launchers.png|thumb|Comparison of launch vehicles. Show payload masses to [[Low Earth orbit|LEO]], [[Geostationary transfer orbit|GTO]], [[Trans-lunar injection|TLI]] and [[Heliocentric orbit#Trans-Mars injection|MTO]] ]]
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[[File:Soyuz TMA-5 launch.jpg|thumb|Russian [[Soyuz TMA-5]] lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan heading for the [[International Space Station]]]]

A '''launch vehicle''' is typically a [[rocket]]-powered vehicle designed to carry a [[payload]] (a crewed [[spacecraft]] or [[satellite]]s) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to [[outer space]]. The most common form is the [[ballistic missile]]-shaped [[multistage rocket]], but the term is more general and also encompasses vehicles like the [[Space Shuttle]]. Most launch vehicles operate from a [[launch pad]], supported by a [[missile launch control center|launch control center]] and systems such as vehicle assembly and fueling.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/fl_clcs_020918.html |title=NASA Kills 'Wounded' Launch System Upgrade at KSC |publisher=Florida Today |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021013181710/http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/fl_clcs_020918.html |archive-date=2002-10-13 }}</ref> Launch vehicles are engineered with advanced [[aerodynamics]] and technologies, which contribute to high operating costs.

An [[orbital spaceflight|orbital]] launch vehicle must lift its payload at least to the boundary of space, approximately {{Cvt|150|km|mi|abbr=on}} and accelerate it to a horizontal velocity of at least {{Cvt|7814|m/s|mph}}.<ref name=hill1999>{{citation | first1=James V. H. | last1=Hill | date=April 1999 | title=Getting to Low Earth Orbit | work=Space Future | url=http://www.spacefuture.com/archive/getting_to_low_earth_orbit.shtml | access-date=2012-03-18 | postscript=. | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319163414/http://www.spacefuture.com/archive/getting_to_low_earth_orbit.shtml | archive-date=2012-03-19 }}</ref> [[Suborbital spaceflight|Suborbital]] vehicles launch their payloads to lower velocity or are launched at [[elevation angle]]s greater than horizontal.

Practical orbital launch vehicles use [[chemical propellant]]s such as [[Solid-propellant rocket|solid fuel]], liquid [[hydrogen]], [[kerosene]], [[liquid oxygen]], or [[hypergolic propellant]]s.

Launch vehicles are classified by their orbital payload capacity, ranging from [[small-lift launch vehicle|small-]], [[medium-lift launch vehicle|medium-]], [[heavy-lift launch vehicle|heavy-]] to [[super heavy-lift launch vehicle|super-heavy lift]].

==Mass to orbit==
Launch vehicles are classed by NASA according to [[low Earth orbit]] payload capability:<ref name="classes">[http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/500393main_TA01-LaunchPropulsion-DRAFT-Nov2010-A.pdf 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"</ref>

*[[Small-lift launch vehicle]]: < {{convert|2000|kg|lb}} - e.g. [[Vega (rocket)|Vega]]<ref name="arianspace201408">{{cite web |title=Launch services—milestones |url=http://www.arianespace.com/launch-services-ariane5/milestones.asp |publisher=Arianespace |access-date=19 August 2014 }}</ref>
*[[Medium-lift launch vehicle]]: {{convert|2000|to|20000|kg|lb}} - e.g. [[Soyuz ST]]<ref name="arianespace2009">{{cite web |title=Welcome to French Guiana |url=http://www.arianespace.com/spaceport-intro/spaceport-brochure-2009-en.pdf |website=arianespace.com |publisher=Arianespace |access-date=19 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923185100/http://www.arianespace.com/spaceport-intro/spaceport-brochure-2009-en.pdf |archive-date=23 September 2015 }}</ref>
*[[Heavy lift launch vehicle|Heavy-lift launch vehicle]]: > {{convert|20000|to|50000|kg|lb}} - e.g. [[Ariane 5]]<ref name=arianespace2009/>
*[[Super heavy-lift launch vehicle|Super-heavy lift vehicle]]: > {{convert|50000|kg|lb}} - e.g. [[Saturn V]]<ref name=hsf200910>
[http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/396093main_HSF_Cmte_FinalReport.pdf HSF Final Report: Seeking a Human Spaceflight Program Worthy of a Great Nation], October 2009, ''Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee'', p. 64-66: "5.2.1 The Need for Heavy Lift ... require a “super heavy-lift” launch vehicle ... range of 25 to 40 mt, setting a notional lower limit on the size of the super heavy-lift launch vehicle if refueling is available ... this strongly favors a minimum heavy-lift capacity of roughly 50 mt ..."</ref>

[[Sounding rocket]]s are similar to small-lift launch vehicles, however they are usually even smaller and do not place payloads into orbit. A modified [[S-Series (rocket family)|SS-520]] sounding rocket was used to place a 4-kilogram payload ([[TRICOM-1R]]) into orbit in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|title=SS-520|url=https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_lau/ss-520.htm|website=space.skyrocket.de|access-date=2020-06-02}}</ref>

==General information==
[[Orbital spaceflight]] requires a [[satellite]] or [[spacecraft]] payload to be accelerated to very high velocity. In the vacuum of space, reaction forces must be provided by the ejection of mass, resulting in the [[rocket equation]]. The physics of spaceflight are such that [[Multistage rocket|rocket stages]] are typically required to achieve the desired orbit.

[[Expendable launch vehicle]]s are designed for one-time use, with boosters that usually separate from their payload and disintegrate during [[atmospheric reentry]] or on contact with the ground. In contrast, [[reusable launch vehicle]] boosters are designed to be recovered intact and launched again. The [[Falcon 9]] is an example of a reusable launch vehicle.<ref name="nsw20130328">{{cite news |last=Lindsey|first=Clark |title=SpaceX moving quickly towards fly-back first stage |url=http://www.newspacewatch.com/articles/spacex-moving-quickly-towards-fly-back-first-stage.html |access-date=29 March 2013 |newspaper=NewSpace Watch |date=28 March 2013 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

For example, the [[European Space Agency]] is responsible for the [[Ariane V]], and the [[United Launch Alliance]] manufactures and launches the [[Delta IV rocket|Delta IV]] and [[Atlas V]] rockets.

===Launch platform locations===
Launchpads can be located on land ([[spaceport]]), on a fixed ocean platform ([[San Marco platform|San Marco]]), on a mobile ocean platform ([[Sea Launch]]), and on a [[Submarine-based launch vehicles|submarine]]. Launch vehicles can also be launched from the [[Air launch to orbit|air]].

===Flight regimes===
{{See also|Sub-orbital spaceflight|Orbital spaceflight|Trans-lunar injection|Interplanetary spaceflight}}

A launch vehicle will start off with its payload at some location on the surface of the Earth. To reach orbit, the vehicle must travel vertically to leave the [[atmospheric drag|atmosphere]] and horizontally to prevent re-contacting the ground. The [[orbital speed|required velocity]] varies depending on the orbit but will always be extreme when compared to velocities encountered in normal life.

Launch vehicles provide varying degrees of performance. For example, a satellite bound for [[Geostationary orbit]] (GEO) can either be directly inserted by the [[upper stage]] of the launch vehicle or launched to a [[geostationary transfer orbit]] (GTO). A direct insertion places greater demands on the launch vehicle, while GTO is more demanding of the spacecraft. Once in orbit, launch vehicle upper stages and satellites can have overlapping capabilities, although upper stages tend to have orbital lifetimes measured in hours or days while spacecraft can last decades.

===Distributed launch===
Distributed launch involves the accomplishment of a goal with multiple spacecraft launches. A large spacecraft such as the [[International Space Station]] can be constructed by assembling modules in orbit, or in-space [[propellant transfer]] conducted to greatly increase the [[delta-V]] capabilities of a [[outer space|cislunar or deep space]] vehicle. Distributed launch enables space missions that are not possible with single launch architectures.<ref name=kutter2015>
{{cite conference |last1=Kutter|first1=Bernard |last2=Monda|first2=Eric |last3=Wenner|first3=Chauncey |last4=Rhys|first4=Noah |title=Distributed Launch - Enabling Beyond LEO Missions |url=https://www.ulalaunch.com/docs/default-source/extended-duration/distributed-launch---enabling-beyond-leo-missions-(aiaa-space-2015).pdf |conference=AIAA 2015 |publisher=American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics |year=2015 |access-date=23 March 2018 }}</ref>

Mission architectures for distributed launch were explored in the 2000s<ref name=chung2007>
{{cite conference |last1=Chung|first1=Victoria I. |last2=Crues|first2=Edwin Z. |last3=Blum|first3=Mike G. |last4=Alofs|first4=Cathy |title=An Orion/Ares I Launch and Ascent Simulation - One Segment of the Distributed Space Exploration Simulation (DSES) |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20070030309.pdf |conference=AIAA 2007 |publisher=American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics |year=2007 |access-date=23 March 2018 }}</ref>
and launch vehicles with integrated distributed launch capability built in began development in 2017 with the [[SpaceX Starship|Starship]] design. The standard Starship launch architecture is to refuel the spacecraft in [[low Earth orbit]] to enable the craft to send high-mass payloads on much more [[delta V|energetic]] missions.<ref name=sn20170929>
{{cite news |last=Foust|first=Jeff | url=http://spacenews.com/musk-unveils-revised-version-of-giant-interplanetary-launch-system/ | title=Musk unveils revised version of giant interplanetary launch system | work=[[SpaceNews]] | date=29 September 2017 |access-date=23 March 2018 }}</ref>

== 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 [[Space Shuttle abort modes#Return to launch site (RTLS)|abort modes]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Return to Launch Site |url=http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/shutref/sts/aborts/rtls.html |website=NASA.gov |accessdate=4 October 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Space Shuttle Abort Evolution |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20110015564.pdf |website=ntrs.nasa.gov |date=26 September 2011 |accessdate=4 October 2016 }}</ref>—and the Soviet [[Buran (spacecraft)|Buran]]<ref name="ng2016041">{{cite web |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160412-soviet-union-space-shuttle-buran-cosmonaut-day-gagarin/ |title=The Forgotten Soviet Space Shuttle Could Fly Itself |work=[[National Geographic Channel|National Geographic]] |publisher=[[National Geographic Society]] |first=Brian|last=Handwerk |date=12 April 2016 |accessdate=4 October 2016 }}</ref>
had a designed-in capability to return a part of the launch vehicle to the launch site via the mechanism of [[HTHL|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 launch vehicle|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 [[private spaceflight|privately developed]] a set of technologies to support [[VTVL|vertical landing]] of the booster stage of a launch vehicle.
After 2010, SpaceX undertook a [[SpaceX reusable launch system development program|development program]] to acquire the ability to bring back and [[VTVL|vertically land]] a part of the [[Falcon 9 FT|Falcon 9]] [[orbital spaceflight|orbital]] launch vehicle: the [[first stage (rocketry)|first stage]]. The first successful landing was done in December 2015,<ref name="abc2015121">{{cite web |title=SpaceX Historic Rocket Landing Is a Success |url=http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/spacex-historic-rocket-landing-success/story?id=35888303 |last1=Newcomb|first1=Alyssa |last2=Dooley|first2=Erin | website=[[ABC News]] |date=21 December 2015 |accessdate=4 October 2016 }}</ref> since then several additional rocket stages landed either at a [[Landing Zones 1 and 2|landing pad]] adjacent to the launch site or on a [[Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship|landing platform]] at sea, some distance away from the launch site.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.fool.com/investing/2016/08/17/spacex-lands-6th-rocket-moves-closer-to-reusabilit.aspx |title=SpaceX Lands 6th Rocket, Moves Closer to Reusability |work=[[Los Motley Fool]] |first=Daniel|last=Sparks |date=17 August 2016 |accessdate=27 February 2017 }}</ref> The [[Falcon Heavy]] is similarly designed to reuse the three cores comprising its first stage. On its [[Falcon Heavy test flight|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.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gebhardt|first1=Chris|title=SpaceX successfully debuts Falcon Heavy in demonstration launch from KSC – NASASpaceFlight.com|url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/02/spacex-debut-falcon-heavy-demonstration-launch/|accessdate=February 23, 2018|work=NASASpaceFlight.com|date=February 5, 2018}}</ref>

[[Blue Origin]] developed similar technologies for bringing back and landing their [[suborbital spaceflight|suborbital]] ''[[New Shepard]]'', and successfully demonstrated return in 2015, and successfully reused the same booster on a second suborbital flight in January 2016.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://spacenews.com/blue-origin-reflies-new-shepard-suborbital-vehicle/ |title=Blue Origin reflies New Shepard suborbital vehicle |work=[[SpaceNews]] |first=Jeff|last=Foust |date=22 January 2016 |accessdate=1 November 2017 }}</ref> By October 2016, Blue had reflown, and landed successfully, that same launch vehicle a total of five times.<ref name="sn20161005">{{cite news |last=Foust|first=Jeff |url=http://spacenews.com/blue-origin-successfully-tests-new-shepard-abort-system/ |title=lue Origin successfully tests New Shepard abort system |work=[[SpaceNews]] |date=5 October 2016 |accessdate=8 October 2016 }}</ref> 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 2024.
SpaceX has a new super-heavy launch vehicle under development for missions to [[interplanetary spaceflight|interplanetary space]]. The [[SpaceX Starship]] 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 Starship.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Foust|first1=Jeff|title=Musk offers more technical details on BFR system - SpaceNews.com|url=http://spacenews.com/musk-offers-more-technical-details-on-bfr-system/|website=SpaceNews.com|accessdate=February 23, 2018|date=15 October 2017}}</ref> Its first launch attempt took place in April 2023; however, neither stages attempted an intact recovery.

== See also ==

* [[Air launch to orbit]]
* [[List of orbital launch systems]]
* [[Comparison of orbital launch systems]]
* [[List of canceled launch vehicle designs]]
* [[List of human spaceflights]]
* [[Timeline of spaceflight]]
* [[Rocket launch]]
* [[Space logistics]]
* [[Space exploration]]
* [[NewSpace]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.planet.com/pulse/satellites-taking-pictures-of-rockets-carrying-more-satellites/ Timelapse captured from a satellite of a rocket carrying 35 satellites]

{{Expendable launch systems}}
{{Spaceflight}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Space launch vehicles]]
[[Category:Spaceflight]]

Launch vehicle - Revision history

CleanupBot II at 09:41, 14 August 2023