A heavy-lift launch vehicle, HLV or HLLV, is an orbital launch vehicle capable of lifting between 20,000 to 50,000 kg (44,000 to 110,000 lb) into low Earth orbit (LEO).[1] As of 2019[update], operational heavy-lift launch vehicles include the Ariane 5, the Long March 5, the Proton-M and the Delta IV Heavy.[2] In addition, the Angara A5, the Falcon 9 Full Thrust, and the Falcon Heavy are designed to provide heavy-lift capabilities in at least some configurations but have not yet been proven to carry a 20-tonne payload into LEO. Several other heavy-lift rockets are in development. An HLV is between medium-lift launch vehicles and super heavy-lift launch vehicles.
Rocket | In service | Manufacturer | Max. LEO payload | Launches >20 t | Heaviest launch | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
...to LEO or MEO | ...to GTO or GSO | ...to HEO and beyond | |||||
OperationalCurrently operational rockets that have demonstrated their heavy-lift capability to low Earth orbit: | |||||||
Ariane 5 (ECA and ES) |
since 2002 | Airbus for ESA | 21,000 kg (46,000 lb)[3] |
4 | 20,293 kg[4] Georges Lemaître ATV 29 July 2014 |
10,865 kg[5] ViaSat-2 and Eutelsat 172B 1 June 2017 |
~6,000 kg to Sun-Earth L2[6] Herschel and Planck 14 May 2009 |
Delta IV Heavy | since 2004 | ULA | 28,790 kg (63,470 lb)[7] |
1 public (up to 4 classified) |
~21,000 kg[8][a] Orion EFT-1 5 December 2014 |
Classified[b] | ~685 kg to heliocentric Parker Solar Probe |
Long March 5/5B (CZ-5/5B) |
since 2016 | CALT | 25,000 kg (55,000 lb)[9] |
1 | 21,600 kg[10] LM5B-Y1 5 May 2020[11] |
8,000 kg[12] Shijian 20 27 December 2019 |
8,200 kg to Moon Chang'e 5 23 November 2020 |
UnprovenRockets that have not flown a 20-tonne payload to LEO, but are rated over this threshold: | |||||||
Proton-M | since 2001 | Khrunichev | 23,000 kg (51,000 lb)[13] |
0 | N/A (22,776 kg by predecessor Proton-K) |
6,740 kg[14] ViaSat-1 19 October 2011 |
3,755 kg to Mars[15] ExoMars TGO 9 June 2016 |
Angara-A5 | since 2014 | Khrunichev, | 24,500 kg (54,000 lb)[16][c] |
0 | N/A | 2,400 kg[17] Mass simulator 14 December 2020 |
N/A |
Falcon 9 Full Thrust (expendable configuration)[d] |
since 2015 | SpaceX | 22,800 kg (50,300 lb)[18] |
0 | 9,600 kg[19] Iridium NEXT-5 30 March 2018 (15,600 kg[20] by partially reusable configuration Falcon 9) |
6,761 kg[21] Intelsat 35e 5 July 2017 (7,075 kg[22] by partially reusable configuration Falcon 9) |
570 kg to Sun-Earth L1[23] DSCOVR 11 February 2015 |
Falcon Heavy (with all boosters reusable)[e] |
since 2018 | SpaceX | 38,000–45,000 kg (84,000–99,000 lb) [24] |
0 | 3,700 kg[f] STP-2 25 June 2019 |
6,465 kg[25][g] Arabsat-6A 11 April 2019 |
1,300 kg beyond Mars[26] Tesla Roadster 6 February 2018 |
RetiredFormerly operational rockets with a payload capacity of between 20 and 50 tonnes: | |||||||
Saturn IB | 1966 to 1975 | Chrysler (S-IB), Douglas (S-IVB) | 21,000 kg (46,000 lb)[27] |
2 | 20,847 kg Skylab 4 16 November 1973 |
N/A | N/A |
Proton-K | 1967 to 2012 | Khrunichev | 19,760 kg (43,560 lb)[28] |
4[29] | 22,776 kg Zvezda 26 July 2000 |
4,723 kg Intelsat 903 30 March 2002 |
6,220 kg to Mars Phobos 1 7 July 1988 |
Space Shuttle | 1981 to 2011 | United Space Alliance | 24,400 kg (53,800 lb) (in cargo bay)[30] |
11 | 22,753 kg STS-93 28 July 1999 |
N/A | N/A |
Titan IV | 1989 to 2005 | Lockheed Martin | 21,680 kg (47,800 lb)[31] | up to 17 (classified) | Classified[b] | Classified[b] | 5,712 kg to Saturn Cassini–Huygens 15 October 1997 |
In developmentRockets that are actively being developed: | |||||||
Vulcan / Centaur | Q4 2021[32] | United Launch Alliance | 25,000 kg (56,000 lb)[33] | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Ariane 6 (A64) | NET 2022[34] [35] |
ArianeGroup for ESA | 21,650 kg (47,730 lb)[36]:46 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
New Glenn | 2022[37] | Blue Origin | 45,000 kg (99,000 lb)[38] | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
HLV | NET 2022 | Indian Space Research Organisation | 20,000 kg (44,000 lb) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
SHLV | NET 2022 | Indian Space Research Organisation | 41,300 kg (91,100 lb)[39] | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Vulcan / ACES | NET 2023[40] | United Launch Alliance | 37,400 kg (82,500 lb)[7][41][h] | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Angara-A5V | ~2027 | Khrunichev, Polyot | 38,000 kg (83,876 lb) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
H3 Heavy | 2030 | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for JAXA | 28,300 kg (62,400 lb)[42] | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Earlier concepts | |||||||
Ares I | N/A | NASA (canceled in 2010)[43] |
25,400 kg (56,000 lb) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Saturn C-3 | N/A | NASA (cancelled 1963) Engines developed for Saturn V |
45,000 kg (99,000 lb) [i] | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Ariane 5 ES launching the Albert Einstein ATV towards the International Space Station in June 2013
Delta IV Heavy launching a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload on 28 August 2013, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
Proton-M on the launch pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome
Titan IV ready to launch the Cassini–Huygens probe from Vandenberg in October 1997
Each Iridium Next satellite will weigh 860 kilograms at launch, for a total satellite payload mass of 8,600 kilograms, plus the 1,000-kilogram dispenser.