Energia was a 1980s super-heavy lift launch vehicle. It was designed by NPO Energia of the Soviet Union as part of the Buran program for a variety of payloads including the Buran spacecraft. Control system main developer enterprise was the Khartron NPO "Electropribor". The Energia used four strap-on boosters each powered by a four-chamber RD-170 engine burning kerosene/LOX, and a central core stage with four single-chamber RD-0120 (11D122) engines fueled by liquid hydrogen/LOX.
A booster is a rocket used either in the first stage of a multistage launch vehicle or in parallel with longer-burning sustainer rockets to augment the space vehicle's takeoff thrust and payload capability. Boosters are traditionally necessary to launch spacecraft into low Earth orbit, and are especially important for a space vehicle to go beyond Earth orbit. The booster is dropped to fall back to Earth once its fuel is expended, a point known as booster engine cut-off (BECO).
The Delta rocket family was a versatile range of American rocket-powered expendable launch systems that provided space launch capability in the United States from 1960 to 2024. Japan also launched license-built derivatives from 1975 to 1992. More than 300 Delta rockets were launched with a 95% success rate. The series was phased out in favor of the Vulcan Centaur, with the Delta IV Heavy rocket's last launch occurring on April 9, 2024.
A two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) or two-stage rocket is a launch vehicle in which two distinct stages provide propulsion consecutively in order to achieve orbital velocity. It is intermediate between a three-stage-to-orbit launcher and a hypothetical single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) launcher.
Delta IV was a group of five expendable launch systems in the Delta rocket family. It flew 45 missions from 2002 to 2024. Originally designed by Boeing's Defense, Space and Security division for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, the Delta IV became a United Launch Alliance (ULA) product in 2006. The Delta IV was primarily a launch vehicle for United States Air Force (USAF) military payloads, but was also used to launch a number of United States government non-military payloads and a single commercial satellite.
National Security Space Launch (NSSL) is a program of the United States Space Force (USSF) intended to assure access to space for United States Department of Defense and other United States government payloads. The program is managed by the Assured Access to Space Directorate (SSC/AA) of the Space Force's Space Systems Command (SSC), in partnership with the National Reconnaissance Office.
The Angara rocket family is a family of launch vehicles being developed by the Moscow-based Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. The launch vehicles are to put between 3,800 kg (8,400 lb) and 24,500 kg (54,000 lb) into low Earth orbit and are intended, along with Soyuz-2 variants, to replace several existing launch vehicles.
The Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68 (Rocket System 68) was a liquid-fuel rocket engine that used liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) as propellants in a gas-generator power cycle. It was the largest hydrogen-fueled rocket engine ever flown.
Atlas V is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas launch vehicle family. It was designed by Lockheed Martin and has been operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA) since 2006. It is used for DoD, NASA, and Commercial payloads. It is America's longest-serving active rocket. After 87 launches, in August 2021 ULA announced that Atlas V would be retired, and all 29 remaining launches had been sold. As of June 2024, 16 launches remain. Production ceased in 2024. Other future ULA launches will use the Vulcan Centaur rocket.
The RD-170 is the world's most powerful and heaviest liquid-fuel rocket engine. It was designed and produced in the Soviet Union by NPO Energomash for use with the Energia launch vehicle. The engine burns kerosene fuel and LOX oxidizer in four combustion chambers, all supplied by one single-shaft, single-turbine turbopump rated at 170 MW (230,000 hp) in a staged combustion cycle.
United Launch Alliance, LLC (ULA) is an American launch service provider formed in December 2006 as a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space and Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The company designs, assembles, sells and launches rockets, but the company subcontracts out the production of rocket engines and solid rocket boosters.
A modular rocket is a kind of multistage rocket which has components that can interchanged for different missions. Several such rockets use similar concepts such as unified modules to minimize expenses on manufacturing, transportation and for optimization of support infrastructure for flight preparations.
The Common Booster Core (CBC) was an American rocket stage, which was used on the Delta IV rocket as part of a modular rocket system. Delta IV rockets flying in the Medium and Medium+ configurations each used a single Common Booster Core as their first stage, while the Heavy configuration used three; one as the first stage and two as boosters. The Common Booster Core was 40.8 metres (134 ft) long, had a diameter of 5.1 metres (17 ft) and was powered by a single RS-68 engine burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
The Atlas III was an American orbital launch vehicle, used in the years between 2000 and 2005. It was developed from the highly successful Atlas II rocket and shared many components. It was the first member of the Atlas family since the Atlas A to feature a "normal" staging method, compared to the previous Atlas family members, which were equipped with two jettisonable outboard engines on the first (booster) stage. The Atlas III was developed further to create the Atlas V.
Atlas is a family of US missiles and space launch vehicles that originated with the SM-65 Atlas. The Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program was initiated in the late 1950s under the Convair Division of General Dynamics. Atlas was a liquid propellant rocket burning RP-1 kerosene fuel with liquid oxygen in three engines configured in an unusual "stage-and-a-half" or "parallel staging" design: two outboard booster engines were jettisoned along with supporting structures during ascent, while the center sustainer engine, propellant tanks and other structural elements remained connected through propellant depletion and engine shutdown.
The Saturn C-3 was the third rocket in the Saturn C series studied from 1959 to 1962. The design was for a three-stage launch vehicle that could launch 45,000 kilograms (99,000 lb) to low Earth orbit and send 18,000 kilograms (40,000 lb) to the Moon via trans-lunar injection.
The Delta IV Heavy was an expendable heavy-lift launch vehicle, the largest type of the Delta IV family. It was the world's third highest-capacity launch vehicle in operation at the time of its retirement in 2024, behind NASA's Space Launch System and SpaceX's Falcon Heavy and closely followed by CASC's Long March 5. It was manufactured by United Launch Alliance (ULA) and was first launched in 2004. ULA retired the Delta IV Heavy in 2024. Future ULA launches will use the new Vulcan Centaur rocket. Delta IV's final flight was on 9 April 2024.
Universal Rocket Module (URM) is the name of the modular liquid fuelled first and second stage of the Angara expendable launch system. The first stage and booster variant is referred to as URM-1, while the second stage is referred to as URM-2. The URM-2 is derived from the Soyuz-2 Block I second stage.
Falcon Heavy is a partially reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle that can carry cargo into Earth orbit, and beyond. It is designed, manufactured and launched by American aerospace company SpaceX.
Vulcan Centaur is a heavy-lift launch vehicle created and operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA). It is a two-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle consisting of the Vulcan first stage and the Centaur second stage. It replaces ULA's Atlas V and Delta IV rockets. It is principally designed for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, which launches satellites for U.S. intelligence agencies and the Defense Department. Vulcan Centaur will also be used for commercial launches, including an order for 38 launches from Kuiper Systems.
