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From left: Falcon Heavy, Long March 5, Proton-M
Class overview
Name	Heavy-lift launch vehicle
Preceded by	Medium-lift launch vehicle
Succeeded by	Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
Built	Since 1966
General characteristics
Capacity	20,000 to 50,000 kg (44,000 to 110,000 lb)

A heavy-lift launch vehicle (HLV) is an orbital launch vehicle capable of lifting payloads between 20,000 to 50,000 kg (44,000 to 110,000 lb) (by NASA classification) or between 20,000 to 100,000 kilograms (44,000 to 220,000 lb) (by Russian classification) into low Earth orbit (LEO). Heavy-lift launch vehicles often carry payloads into higher-energy orbits, such as geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) or heliocentric orbit (HCO). An HLV is between a medium-lift launch vehicle and a super heavy-lift launch vehicle.

History and design

Government

The first heavy-lift launch vehicles in the 1960s included the US Saturn IB and the Soviet Proton. Saturn IB was designed to carry the Apollo spacecraft into orbit and had increased engine thrust and a redesigned second stage from its predecessor. Proton was originally designed to be a large intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Russia still operates variants of the Proton as of 2024, although it is expected to be phased out in favor of the Angara A5.

NASA introduced the Space Shuttle as the first partially reusable launch vehicle in 1981. The Space Shuttle carried up to eight crew members in addition to deploying heavy payloads to LEO, including space station modules and Department of Defense payloads. Higher-energy orbits for payloads were reached through the use of a kick stage such as the Inertial Upper Stage.

The United States Air Force (USAF) operated the Titan IV to supplement Space Shuttle launches. This was derived from the Titan family of ICBMs and launch vehicles, with upgrades including solid rocket boosters (SRBs), vehicle lengthening, and an optional third stage. The USAF began the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program in 1994 to ensure access to space through contracted launch providers. This lead to the development of the Delta IV, with the heavy variant using three first stage cores. United Launch Alliance (ULA) introduced Vulcan Centaur in 2024 as the successor to its Delta IV and Atlas V rockets, with Vulcan featuring a single, wider core and optional SRBs.

China's Long March 5 was introduced in 2016 as the most powerful version of the Long March family. It is notable as a Chinese launch vehicle using non-hypergolic liquid propellants.

Commercial

The European Ariane 5 first flew in 1996 and launched many commercial payloads to GTO. It benefited in this role by launching from Guiana Space Center, a spaceport near the equator in French territory. Ariane 5 often carried multiple payloads per launch and set records for mass to GTO delivered for commercial payloads.

Falcon 9 was introduced by SpaceX in 2010, designed as a medium-lift launch vehicle with a reusable first stage. Falcon 9 grew more capable through iterative design, with upgrades including improved Merlin engines and the lengthening of both stages. Since the introduction of Falcon 9 Full Thrust in 2015, the vehicle meets the capacity requirements of a heavy-lift vehicle when the first stage is expended. In 2021, Falcon 9 carried a record of 143 satellites into orbit on a single launch. Falcon Heavy uses three first stage boosters similarly to Delta IV Heavy, but requires a strengthened center core. Falcon Heavy made its first flight in 2017 and was most capable operational launch vehicle until NASA's SLS launched in 2022. Falcon Heavy is categorized as a heavy-lift launch vehicle when flown in configuration to recover the center core and both side boosters. When expending the center core or all boosters, its payload to LEO exceeds 50,000 kg, qualifying Falcon Heavy as a super heavy-lift launch vehicle.

Rated launch vehicles

Operational

Vehicle	Origin	Manufacturer	Mass to LEO (kg)	Heaviest launch (kg)			Launches	First flight
				...to LEO or MEO	...to GTO or GSO	...to HEO and beyond
Long March 5/5B	China	CALT	25,000	23,200	14,000	8,350 to Moon	12	2016
Proton-M	Russia	Khrunichev	23,000	20,350	6,740	3,755 to Mars	115	2001
Angara A5	Russia	Khrunichev KBKhA	24,500	—	2,400	—	4	2014
Falcon 9	United States	SpaceX	22,800	17,400	7,076	1,108 to HCO	18	2015 (Falcon 9 FT)
Falcon Heavy	United States	SpaceX	38,000+	3,700	6,465	5,900 to Jupiter	11	2018
Vulcan Centaur	United States	ULA	25,400	—	—	1,500 to HCO	2	2024

Under development

Vehicle	Origin	Manufacturer	Mass to LEO (kg)	Expected flight
New Glenn	United States	Blue Origin	45,000	2024
Ariane 6 (A64)	France  Europe	ArianeGroup	21,650	2025
HLV	India	ISRO	20,000	TBD
SHLV	India	ISRO	41,300	TBD
Zhuque-3	China	LandSpace	21,000	2025
Gravity-2	China	Orienspace	25,600	2025
Terran R	United States	Relativity Space	33,500	2026
Angara-A5V	Russia	Khrunichev, Polyot	38,000	2027
H3 Heavy	Japan	Mitsubishi	28,300	2030

Retired

Vehicle	Origin	Manufacturer	Mass to LEO (kg)	Heaviest launch (kg)			Launches	First flight	Last Flight
				...to LEO or MEO	...to GTO or GSO	...to HEO and beyond
Saturn IB	United States	Chrysler & Douglas	21,000	20,847	—	—	9	1966	1975
Proton-K	Soviet Union  Russia	Khrunichev	19,760	22,776	4,723	6,220	310	1967	2012
Space Shuttle	United States	USA	27,500	22,753	—	—	135	1981	2011
Titan IV	United States	Lockheed Martin	21,680	≥ 19,600	Classified	5,712 to Saturn	39	1989	2005
Ariane 5 ECA/ES	France  Europe	Ariane Group	21,000	20,293	11,210	6,161.4 to Sun-Earth L2	92	2002	2023
Delta IV Heavy	United States	ULA	28,790	< 21,000	Classified	685 to heliocentric orbit	16	2004	2024

Notes

1. The first successful landing of a Falcon 9 first stage occured in 2015
2. from Vostochny cosmodrome
3. Only when the first stage is expended. In reusable configuration, Falcon 9 is classified as a medium-lift launch vehicle
4. in expendable configuration
5. 18 expendable launches for Full Thrust and Block 5 versions, meeting the capacity requirement of a heavy-lift vehicle
6. The first Falcon 9 v1.0 launched in 2010; however, versions prior to Falcon 9 Full Thrust were not capable of lifting payloads over 20,000kg
7. When all cores are recovered. When the center core is expended, Falcon Heavy is classified as a super heavy-lift launch vehicle with a theoretical payload to LEO over 50,000 kg
8. Depending on booster recovery configuration
9. to 90,000-km supersynchronous GTO
10. Falcon Heavy launched Europa Clipper to heliocentric orbit in expendable configuration. Europa Clipper will utilize gravity assists to reach Jovian orbit.
11. 8 of these launches were in at least partially expendable configurations, rating the vehicle as super heavy for those launches
12. Vulcan has heavy-lift capabilities when launching with certain SRB configurations.
13. when launching in VC6 configuration with six SRBs
14. The lead manufacturer is from France, but the rocket has significant contributions from companies based in Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland and Sweden.
15. Proton-K is considered to be a heavy-lift launch vehicle
16. 4 launches carried over 20,000 kg
17. excluding orbiter mass
18. ^ Actual payloads flown are classified under the NRO launch program.
19. KH-11 launches had 19,600 kg
20. Cassini-Huygens was launched to heliocentric orbit and used gravity assists to reach Saturn.
21. The lead manufacturer is from France, but the rocket has significant contributions from companies based across Europe.
22. The officially reported mass of 21,000 kg includes the Launch Abort System (LAS) which did not reach orbit.

See also

• Comparison of orbital launch systems
• Comparison of orbital rocket engines
• Comparison of space station cargo vehicles
• List of orbital launch systems
• Sounding rocket, suborbital launch vehicle
• Small-lift launch vehicle, capable of lifting up to 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) to low Earth orbit
• Medium-lift launch vehicle, capable of lifting between 2,000 and 20,000 kg (4,400 and 44,100 lb) to low Earth orbit
• Super heavy-lift launch vehicle, capable of lifting more than 50,000 kg (110,000 lb) to Low Earth orbit

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