Launch vehicle

Rockets carry things into space.

They can carry people or tools. Some rockets are very big. Others are small.

Some rockets use fuel to go up. They must go fast to stay in space. Most rockets are used only one time. They fall apart when they land. But some rockets can be used again. They land on their feet. This helps us explore. It is a big job!

A launch vehicle is a type of rocket. It carries a payload into space. A payload can be people or satellites.

To reach orbit, a rocket must go very high. It must also move very fast sideways. This speed keeps it from falling back to Earth.

There are many kinds of launch vehicles. They are grouped by how much weight they can carry. Small vehicles carry up to 2 tons. Medium vehicles carry 2 to 20 tons. Heavy vehicles carry 20 to 50 tons. Super-heavy vehicles carry more than 50 tons.

Some rockets are expendable. This means they are used only one time. They fall apart when they come back down. Other rockets are reusable. These are designed to be used again. Some land on their feet using a vertical landing.

Companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin make these. They use new ways to bring parts back. This helps us explore space more often. Some rockets even launch from the air or the sea!

A launch vehicle is a powerful machine used to reach space. It is usually a rocket-powered vehicle. Its main job is to carry a payload. A payload can be people in a spacecraft or satellites.

These vehicles move things from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most look like large missiles with many stages. Some vehicles, like the Space Shuttle, are different in shape. They often start at a launch pad. This pad is part of a large system. It includes a control center and tools to fuel the rocket.

To reach orbit, a rocket must follow a specific way it works. It must first travel vertically to leave the atmosphere. Then, it must move sideways at a very high speed. This horizontal speed keeps the payload from hitting the ground again. An orbital vehicle must reach a certain speed to stay in orbit. This speed is much faster than anything in normal life.

Rockets use chemical propellants to get this power. They might use liquid hydrogen or kerosene. Some use solid fuel or liquid oxygen. Others use hypergolic propellants to create thrust.

People have studied these machines for a long time. Wernher von Braun presented a talk about space challenges in 1955. Since then, many different types of rockets have been built. NASA classifies rockets by how much weight they can lift into low Earth orbit. Small rockets carry up to 2 tons. Medium rockets carry between 2 and 20 tons. Heavy rockets carry 20 to 50 tons. Super-heavy rockets carry more than 50 tons.

For example, the Saturn V was a super-heavy vehicle.

There are different ways to use these vehicles. Some are expendable, which means they are used only once. Their parts usually fall apart when they hit the ground. Other vehicles are reusable. This means parts can be used again. The Falcon 9 is a famous reusable rocket. In 2015, SpaceX successfully landed a first stage vertically. Blue Origin also showed this can work with the New Shepard. By 2017, rocket stages began to land routinely on pads or at sea.

Launch vehicles connect to many things we see today. We can launch rockets from land at a spaceport. Some even launch from the ocean on platforms. There are even launches from submarines or from the air. Some big missions use distributed launch. This means many small launches work together to build something huge. For example, the International Space Station was built by joining modules in orbit. New designs like Starship aim to refuel in space. This will help us send even more weight to far places.

A launch vehicle is a powerful machine designed to carry a payload into space. A payload is the actual cargo being transported, such as satellites or a crewed spacecraft.

Most launch vehicles use rocket propulsion to leave the Earth's surface. While many look like large, multi-stage missiles, the term also includes different designs like the Space Shuttle. These vehicles require complex support systems to function. They typically operate from a launch pad, which is connected to a launch control center. These facilities manage critical tasks like vehicle assembly and fueling.

To reach space, a vehicle must follow a very specific flight path. It must first travel vertically to exit the thick part of the atmosphere. Once it reaches a certain height, it must accelerate to a high horizontal velocity. This sideways speed is necessary to prevent the payload from falling back to Earth. For an orbital launch, the vehicle must reach a specific speed to stay in orbit. If the vehicle does not reach this speed, it is considered a suborbital launch. Suborbital vehicles carry payloads to lower velocities or launch at different angles.

Rocket engines generate power using various chemical propellants. These substances provide the reaction forces needed to move in the vacuum of space. Common propellants include liquid hydrogen, kerosene, and liquid oxygen. Some rockets use solid fuel for thrust. Others use hypergolic propellants, which ignite upon contact. The physics of these flights often require a multistage design. In a multistage rocket, different parts of the vehicle drop away as they run out of fuel. This reduces the total mass the remaining engines must carry.

NASA classifies launch vehicles based on their payload capacity to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This helps engineers understand the scale of different missions. Small-lift launch vehicles can carry payloads between 0 and 2 tons. Medium-lift vehicles carry between 2 and 20 tons, such as the Soyuz ST. Heavy-lift vehicles carry between 20 and 50 tons, like the Ariane 5. Finally, super-heavy lift vehicles carry more than 50 tons. The Saturn V is a famous example of a super-heavy vehicle.

Some very small rockets, called sounding rockets, do not even reach orbit.

Launch vehicles are also categorized by whether they can be used more than once. Most traditional rockets are expendable launch vehicles. These are designed for one-time use, and their boosters usually disintegrate upon reentry or impact. In contrast, reusable launch vehicles are designed to be recovered intact. As of 2023, all operational reusable vehicles have been partially reusable. This means companies recover specific parts, like the first stage, while other parts are lost. The Space Shuttle is an example of partial reuse. It recovered its solid rocket boosters and its orbiter, but it did not reuse the large external fuel tank.

In recent years, private companies have revolutionized how rockets return to Earth. After 1980, the Space Shuttle and the Soviet Buran demonstrated horizontal landing capabilities. However, newer technology focuses on vertical landing. SpaceX began developing the ability to vertically land the first stage of the Falcon 9. They achieved their first successful landing in December 2015. Since 2017, rocket stages have routinely landed on pads near the launch site or on platforms at sea.

Blue Origin has also demonstrated this with its New Shepard suborbital vehicle. Blue successfully reflown and landed the same booster five times by October 2016.

Modern space exploration is also moving toward a concept called distributed launch. This involves using multiple launches to achieve a single large goal. For example, the International Space Station was built by assembling different modules while in orbit. This method allows for massive structures that a single rocket could not carry. Newer designs, such as the SpaceX Starship, are being built with integrated distributed launch capabilities. This includes the ability to refuel spacecraft in low Earth orbit. Such technology will allow much heavier payloads to travel to deep space or even other planets.