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U.S. Space Launch Vehicles 101

 The United States has been a leader in launch vehicles for decades and has recently seen an influx of new launch vehicles developed by commercial companies, such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic. With the increase of commercial reusable launch vehicles garnering more government contracts, costs have been declining while the capabilities of launch vehicles have been increasing.

Note that current launch vehicles are those which have already launched a payload for a customer. While some launch vehicles may be far enough along in their development that they are operational, they will not be considered “current” until they demonstrate their capabilities by launching a customer payload.

Current Space Launch Vehicles

Planned Space Launch Vehicles

 

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