Aerospace 101 Space Security International Launch Vehicles 101 PublishedMay 19, 2020 Last UpdatedJune 14, 2022 Countries are increasingly developing space launch vehicles to launch satellites and human crew for scientific, commercial, and military customers. As satellite manufacturing and human space exploration increase globally, launch customers will likely continue to consider a diverse set of international launch vehicles to meet their payload’s needs. European Union Arria Belli via Flickr Ariane 5: On June 18, 2017, the Ariane 5 set a GTO payload record, lifting two satellites, owned by ViaSat and Eutelsat, simultaneously into GTO. Additionally, the Ariane 5 was used for the Rosetta mission and an Ariane 5 will launch the James Webb Space Telescope in late 2021. Latest Launch: June 4th, 2010 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(20,000), GTO(10,000) ESA_Events via Flickr Vega: Capable of multi-payload launches, The Vega has carried many Earth Observation Satellites to orbit, including the KazEOSat-1 imaging satellite built for the Republic of Kazakhstan. The European uncrewed space plane SpaceRider is set to launch on Vega in 2021. Latest Launch: July 10, 2019 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(2,500), SSO(1,300) Russia Roscosmos via Flickr Soyuz-2: Between 2011 and 2020, the Soyuz was the only rocket that transported astronauts to the Space Station. A workhorse from its initial launch in 1966, variants of the Soyuz have been responsible for launching payloads such as the Progress spacecraft, part of the Apollo-Soyuz mission, and the Pirs ISS module. Latest Launch: April 24, 2020 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(4,850), SSO(4,400), GTO(3,250), IP(2,000) NASA via Wikimedia Proton: The Proton has offered consistent heavy lift capabilities since its initial launch in 1965. Notably, the first Russian-built International Space Station habitation segment, the Zvezda module, was launched with a Proton-K variant. Latest Launch: December 24, 2019 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(23,000), GTO(6,350), IP(5,650) Mil.ru Angara 1.2: The A1.2 has only conducted a single suborbital flight so far. Latest Launch: July 9, 2014 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(3,700) Mil.ru Angara 5: The Angara A5 has only been used for one test launch to GSO, conducted with a payload mockup. The A5 is set to replace the Proton as Russia’s primary heavy-lift vehicle. Latest Launch: December 23, 2014 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(28,500), GTO(8,000) Strela: Ten years after its initial test launch, a Strela rocket carried a Kondor Earth observation satellite to orbit, providing imagery with 1 meter ground resolution. Latest Launch: December 19, 2014 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(1,600), SSO(1,000) Ukraine Wikimedia user Sirus Iton Zenit 3SLB: Zenit 3SLB is a launch-launched variant of the now-retired Zenit SL. Zenit 3SLB primarily serves commercial customers, having launched Intelsat, Telstar, and Amos satellites. Latest Launch: August 31, 2013 Orbit Capabilities (kg): MolO(4,540), GTO(3,750), IP(3,780) Zenit 3F: Launched only four times, the Zenit 3F has taken weather and communications satellites into space. Its latest launch carried AngoSat 1, Angola’s first communications satellite, into space. Latest Launch: December 26, 2017 Orbit Capabilities (kg): GTO(4,200) China Long March 2C: The Long March CZ-2C is primarily used to launch communications and military payloads. Notably, it has served as the launch vehicle for many of the satellites in the Yaogan surveillance constellation. Latest Launch: March 23, 2020 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(3,850), SSO(1,900) Cristóbal Alvarado Minic via Wikimedia Long March 2D: The Long March CZ-2D serves a variety of commercial customers, but it is also known for launching many of China’s Fanhui Shi Weixing (FSW) recoverable satellites in the 1990s and 2000s. Latest Launch: February 19, 2020 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(3,500), SSO(1,300) Wikimedia Long March 2F: The CZ-2F variant has been responsible for carrying both Chinese experimental space stations, as well as their crew to orbit, allowing the country to test key technologies and procedures for habitation in space. Latest Launch: October 16, 2016 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(8,400), GTO(3,500) Wikimedia user 风之清扬 Long March 3A: The CZ-3A has primarily been used to launch position, navigation, and time (PNT) satellites into GTO for the BeiDou system. Latest Launch: July 9, 2018 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(6,000), SSO(5,000), GTO(2,600), IP(1,420) Wikimedia Long March 3B: The CZ-3B is capable of lifting heavier satellites into orbit, so it mainly launches communications satellites into GTO. It is also known for launching the Chang’e 4 lunar lander in 2018. Latest Launch: April 9, 2020 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(11,500), SSO(6,900), GTO(5,500), IP(3,500) Long March 3C: The CZ-3C primarily launches communications satellites into GTO, but it also launched the Chang’e 2 and Chang’e 5-T1 missions to the moon. Latest Launch: May 17, 2019 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(9,100), GTO(3,800), IP(2,300) Long March 4 B/C: The CZ-4 has carried scientific satellites and many of the Yaogan military reconnaissance satellites for the Chinese government. Latest Launch: December 21, 2019 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(4,200), SSO(2,800), GTO(1,500) Wikimedia user 篁竹水声 Long March 5: The latest launch of the CZ-5 lifted an uncrewed Chinese Next-Generation Crew Capsule to orbit. In the future, the CZ-5 will launch a lunar sample return mission as well as components of the upcoming Tiangong space station. Latest Launch: May 5, 2020 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(25,000), GTO(14,000), IP(8,000) Long March 6: A relatively new Long March variant, the CZ-6 has only three launches on record, sending a large number of nano and micro satellites into orbit, with more planned in the future. Latest Launch: November 13, 2019 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(1,500), SSO(1,080) Long March 7/7A: CZ-7 typically launches various kinds of satellites, but it has also launched the Tianzhou-1 cargo vessel, which docked with the Tiangong-2 space station. Latest Launch: March 16, 2020 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(13,500), SSO(5,500) Kaituozhe-2: The Kaituozhe-2 has only undergone a single launch so far, placing the Tiankun 1, a technology test platform, into orbit. Latest Launch: March 2, 2017 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(350), SSO(250) Kuaizhou-1A: The Kuaizhou frequently launches communications and technology demonstration satellites. On December 7, 2019, China launched two Kuaizhou-1A rockets from the same facility on the same day. Latest Launch: January 16, 2020 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(400) Hyperbola-1: China’s first successful private rocket, Hyperbola-1, serves a number of commercial customers. On its latest launch, Hyperbola-1 delivered technology experiments to orbit. Latest Launch: July 25, 2019 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(260) Jielong-1: On Jielong-1’s only launch to date, it carried the Qiansheng-1 communications and remote sensing satellite to orbit. Latest Launch: August 1, 2019 Orbit Capabilities (kg): SSO(200) India Wikimedia user TheCoolDean Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV): The PSLV launches payloads for scientific, commercial, and military customers. A notable launch was Mission C37, conducted on Feb 15, 2017, which set a record for most satellites launched at once, deploying 104 to orbit. Latest Launch: December 11, 2019 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(3,800), SSO(1,750), GTO(1,425) ISRO via Wikimedia Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV): The ISRO’s GSLV primarily launches communications and weather satellites. On September 20th, 2004, GSLV launched EDUSAT, inserting it into an orbit that enables two-way communication for instructors and students in India, improving access across rural areas of the country. Latest Launch: December 19, 2018 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(5,000), GTO(2,500) ISRO via Wikimedia Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk III: In its most recent launch, GSLV MK-III launched the Chandrayaan-2 lunar exploration mission to the moon. In the future, GSLV MK-III is set to launch India’s first crewed spacecraft, Gaganyaan, to orbit. Latest Launch: December 19, 2018 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(8,000), GTO(4,000) Japan Wikimedia user Narita Masahiro Epsilon: Launched four times, Epsilon has delivered payloads primarily for scientific customers. A recent launch placed the ERG satellite into orbit in order to study the Van Allen Radiation Belts. Latest Launch: January 18, 2018 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(1,200), SSO(450) NASA via Wikimedia H-IIA: As Japan’s primary domestic launcher, the “A” variant has launched notable payloads, such as “SELENE”, a moon orbiter that conducted various experiments and lunar observations. An H-IIA is set to launch the Emirati Hope Mars Mission later this year. Latest Launch: February 9, 2020 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(10,000), SSO(4,000), GTO(4,000) Wikimedia user Naritama H-IIB: The “B” variant of the H-II family is currently being used to launch resupply missions to the ISS, deploying the “HTV” as a cargo vessel. Latest Launch: September 25, 2019 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(16,500) Israel Israel Aerospace Industries via Wikimedia Shavit-2: Israel uses the Shavit to lift various imaging and clandestine satellites into orbit, namely the Ofek constellation of recon satellites. Latest Launch: September 12, 2016 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO(300) North Korea Voice of America Unha-3: North Korea has only launched a few satellites with variants of this rocket. Most recently, the Kwangmyongsong-4 was placed into a near-SSO orbit. This object is reported to be an earth-observing satellite, but the U.S. and allies are claiming the launch was solely a test of ballistic missile technology. Latest Launch: February 7, 2016 Orbit Capabilities (kg): SSO(1,000-1,500) South Korea Korea Aerospace Research Institute via Wikimedia Naro-1: After two initial launch failures, the Naro-1 successfully launched a science payload into LEO in 2013. Though the rocket currently stands in political limbo, it nonetheless demonstrated South Korea’s ability to develop and launch a native SLV. Latest Launch: January 30, 2013 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO (100) Iran Twitter User @RealDonaldTrump Safir 1-B: To date, Safir has successfully launched four satellites, most recently the Fajr imaging satellite. It’s last two launches, however, have reportedly been failures. Latest Launch: August 29, 2019 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO (100) Simorgh: The Simorgh has planned payloads that include various Earth observation and communications satellites. It’s worth noting, however, that the last three Simorgh launches either failed or were only partially successful. Latest Launch: February 9, 2020 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO (350) Fars News Agency via Wikimedia Qased: Very little is known about the Qased because it has only been launched once. On its inaugural flight, the Qased delivered the Noor military satellite to Low Earth Orbit. Latest Launch: April 22, 2020 Orbit Capabilities (kg): LEO (N/A) Return to the Aerospace 101 Archive
