Super heavy-lift launch vehicles, to scale
Class overview
NameSuper heavy-lift launch vehicle
OperatorsVarious space organisations
Preceded byHeavy-lift launch vehicle
Built1967–
On order
Building
Retired
General characteristics
PropulsionVarious liquid-fueled engines and solid motors
Capacity
  • >50 metric tons (NASA)
  • >100 metric tons (Russia)

A super heavy-lift launch vehicle is a rocket that can lift to low Earth orbit a "super heavy payload", which is defined as more than 50 metric tons (110,000 lb) [1][2] by the United States and as more than 100 metric tons (220,000 lb) by Russia.[3] It is the most capable launch vehicle classification by mass to orbit, exceeding that of the heavy-lift launch vehicle classification.

Only 14 such payloads were successfully launched before 2022: 12 as part of the Apollo program before 1972 and two Energia launches, in 1987 and 1988. Most planned crewed lunar and interplanetary missions depend on these launch vehicles.

Many early super heavy-lift launch vehicle concepts were produced in the 1960s, including the Sea Dragon. During the Space Race, the Saturn V and N1 were built by the United States and Soviet Union, respectively. After the Saturn V's successful Apollo program and the N1's failures, the Soviets' Energia launched twice in the 1980s, once bearing the Buran spaceplane. The next two decades saw multiple concepts drawn out once again, most notably Space Shuttle-derived vehicles and Rus-M, but none were built. In the 2010s, super heavy-lift launch vehicles received interest once again, leading to the launch of the Falcon Heavy, the Space Launch System, and Starship, and the beginning of development of the Long March and Yenisei rockets.

Flown vehicles

Retired

  • Saturn V was a NASA launch vehicle that made 12 orbital launches between 1967 and 1973, principally for the Apollo program through 1972. The Apollo lunar payload included a command module, service module, and Lunar Module, with a total mass of 45 t (99,000 lb).[4][5] When the third stage and Earth-orbit departure fuel was included, Saturn V placed approximately 140 t (310,000 lb) into low Earth orbit.[6] The final launch of Saturn V in 1973 placed Skylab, a 77-tonne (170,000 lb) payload, into LEO.
  • The Energia launcher was designed by the Soviet Union to launch up to 105 t (231,000 lb) to low Earth orbit.[7] Energia launched twice in 1987/88 before the program was cancelled by the Russian government, which succeeded the Soviet Union, but only the second flight payload reached orbit. On the first flight, launching the Polyus weapons platform (approximately 80 t (180,000 lb)), the vehicle failed to enter orbit due to a software error on the kick-stage.[7] The second flight successfully launched the Buran orbiter.[8] The NASA Space Shuttle differed from traditional rockets in that the orbiter was essentially a reusable stage that carried cargo internally. Buran was intended to be reusable, similar to the Space Shuttle Orbiter, but not a rocket stage as it had no rocket engines (except for on-orbit maneuvering). It relied entirely on the disposable launcher Energia to reach orbit.

Operational

Under development

  • The SpaceX Starship system is a two-stage-to-orbit fully reusable launch vehicle being privately developed by SpaceX, consisting of the Super Heavy booster as the first stage and a second stage, also called Starship.[22][23] It is designed to be a long-duration cargo and passenger-carrying spacecraft.[24] Following FAA granting SpaceX a launch license on April 14, 2023,[25][26] SpaceX performed an orbital test flight on April 20, which saw the Starship rocket successfully launch. However, the in-flight termination system was engaged to destroy the vehicle.[27] A second launch was performed on November 18 of that year, which successfully led to the stage separation of the booster and the Starship, about 2 minutes into the mission. However, the booster proceed to destroy itself in the minute after, most likely due to a fault being triggered, activating the self destruct system,[28] while the Starship continued to fly for over 8 minutes, reaching an altitude of 148 km (92 mi), above the boundary of space, before also disintegrating.[29][30]

Unsuccessfully flown

  • The N1 was a three-stage super heavy lift launch vehicle developed in the Soviet Union from 1965 to 1974. It was the Soviet counterpart to the Saturn V, however all four test flights of the vehicle ended in flight failure. For lunar missions it would carry the L3 crewed lunar payload into Low Earth Orbit, which had an additional two stages, a Soyuz 7K-LOK as a mothership and an LK lunar lander that would be used for crewed lunar landings. Its Block A first stage held the record for the most thrust of any rocket stage built until it was superseded by the Super Heavy booster on its first flight.

Comparison

Rocket Configuration Organization Nationality Human rated Maximum first stage thrust LEO payload Maiden orbital flight First >50 t payload Operational Reusable Launches (success / total) Launch cost Launch cost (2020 USD, millions) Cost / Ton of payload (2020 USD, millions)
Saturn V Apollo/Skylab NASA  United States Yes 34,500 kN
(7,750,000 lbf)		 140 t (310,000 lb)A 1967 1967 Retired
(1973)		 No 12H / 13 US$1.23 billion (2019) US$1,245 US$8.9
N1 L3 OKB-1  Soviet Union Not achieved 45,400 kN
(10,200,000 lbf)		 95 t (209,000 lb) None None 1969-1972 No 0 / 4 3.0 billion roubles (1971) US$1,500[31] US$16
Energia NPO Energia  Soviet Union Not achieved 34,800 kN
(7,800,000 lbf)		 100 t (220,000 lb)B 1987 1987 Retired
(1988)		 No 1 / 2 US$764 million (1985) US$1,838 US$18
Falcon Heavy Recoverable side boostersC SpaceX  United States No[32] 22,800 kN
(5,100,000 lbf)		 57 t (126,000 lb)[9] 2022[33]G Not yet Operational but mass untested PartiallyC 5 / 5 G US$90 million (2018) US$92 US$1.6
Expended No 63.8 t (141,000 lb)[34] 2023 Not yet Operational but mass untested No 1 / 1 G US$150 million (2018) US$154 US$2.4
SLS Block 1 NASA  United States Yes 39,000 kN
(8,800,000 lbf)		 95 t (209,000 lb)[35]D 2022 2022 Operational No[36] 1 / 1 US$2.2 billion (2021) US$2,100 US$22.1
Block 1B Planned 105 t (231,000 lb)[37] 2027 (planned) — Development — Unknown Unknown Unknown
Block 2 Planned 41,000 kN
(9,200,000 lbf)		 130 t (290,000 lb)[38] 2031 (planned) — Development — Unknown Unknown Unknown
Starship Recoverable booster and upper stage SpaceX  United States Planned 89,000 kN
(20,000,000 lbf)[39]		 200 t (440,000 lb)[40]E 2023 — Testing Fully 0 / 2 Projected US$<10 million (2022)[41]F US$<10 US$<0.07
Recoverable booster No 300 t (661,000 lb)[42] Unknown — Development Partially — Unknown Unknown Unknown
Long March 10 CALT  China Planned 26,250 kN
(5,900,000 lbf)		 70 t (150,000 lb)[43] 2027 (planned)[44] — Development No — Unknown Unknown Unknown
Long March 9 CALT[45]  China Planned 60,000 kN
(13,490,000 lbf)		 150 t (330,000 lb)[46] 2033 (planned)[45][47] — Development Partially[45] — Unknown Unknown Unknown
Yenisei Yenisei JSC SRC Progress  Russia Planned 43,500 kN
(9,780,000 lbf)		 103 t (227,000 lb) 2028 (planned)[48] — Development No — Unknown Unknown Unknown
Don Planned 130 t (290,000 lb) 2032 (planned) — Development No — Unknown Unknown Unknown

^A Includes mass of Apollo command and service modules, Apollo Lunar Module, Spacecraft/LM Adapter, Saturn V Instrument Unit, S-IVB stage, and propellant for translunar injection; payload mass to LEO is about 122.4 t (270,000 lb)[49]
^B Required upper stage or payload to perform final orbital insertion
^C Side booster cores recoverable and centre core intentionally expended. First re-use of the side boosters was demonstrated in 2019 when the ones used on the Arabsat-6A launch were reused on the STP-2 launch.
^D Includes mass of Orion spacecraft, European Service Module, Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, and propellant for translunar injection
^E Does not include dry mass of spaceship
^F Projected by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk
^G Falcon Heavy has launched 9 times since 2018, but first three times did not qualify as a "super heavy" because recovery of the centre core was attempted.
^H Apollo 6 was a "partial failure": It reached orbit, but had problems with the second and third stages.

Proposed designs

Chinese proposals

Long March 10 was first proposed in 2018 as a concept for the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program.[50] Long March 9, a over 150 t (330,000 lb) to LEO capable rocket was proposed in 2018[51] by China, with plans to launch the rocket by 2028. The length of the Long March-9 will exceed 114 meters, and the rocket would have a core stage with a diameter of 10 meters. Long March 9 is expected to carry a payload of over 150 tonnes into low-Earth orbit, with a capacity of over 50 tonnes for Earth-Moon transfer orbit.[52][53] Development was approved in 2021.[54]

Russian proposals

Yenisei,[55] a super heavy-lift launch vehicle using existing components instead of pushing the less-powerful Angara A5V project, was proposed by Russia's RSC Energia in August 2016.[56]

A revival of the Energia booster was also proposed in 2016, also to avoid pushing the Angara project.[57] If developed, this vehicle could allow Russia to launch missions towards establishing a permanent Moon base with simpler logistics, launching just one or two 80-to-160-tonne super-heavy rockets instead of four 40-tonne Angara A5Vs implying quick-sequence launches and multiple in-orbit rendezvous. In February 2018, the КРК СТК (space rocket complex of the super-heavy class) design was updated to lift at least 90 tonnes to LEO and 20 tonnes to lunar polar orbit, and to be launched from Vostochny Cosmodrome.[58] The first flight is scheduled for 2028, with Moon landings starting in 2030.[48] It looks like this proposal has been at least paused.[59]

US proposals

Blue Origin has plans for a project following their New Glenn rocket, termed New Armstrong, which some media sources have speculated will be a larger launch vehicle.[60]

Cancelled designs

Comparison of Saturn V, Sea Dragon and Interplanetary Transport System
Comparison of Space Shuttle, Ares I, Saturn V and Ares V

Numerous super-heavy-lift vehicles have been proposed and received various levels of development prior to their cancellation.

As part of the Soviet crewed lunar project to compete with Apollo/Saturn V, the N1 rocket was secretly designed with a payload capacity of 95 t (209,000 lb). Four test vehicles were launched from 1969 to 1972, but all failed shortly after lift-off.[61] The program was suspended in May 1974 and formally cancelled in March 1976.[62][63] The Soviet UR-700 rocket design concept competed against the N1, but was never developed. In the concept, it was to have had a payload capacity of up to 151 t (333,000 lb)[64] to low earth orbit.

During project Aelita (1969-1972), the Soviets were developing a way to beat the Americans to Mars. They designed the UR-700A, a nuclear powered variant of the UR-700, and UR-700M, a LOx/Kerosene variant to assemble the 1,400 t (3,100,000 lb) MK-700 spacecraft in earth orbit in two launches. The UR-700M would have a payload capacity of 750 t (1,650,000 lb).[65] The only Universal Rocket to make it past the design phase was the UR-500 while the N1 was selected to be the Soviets' HLV for lunar and Martian missions.[66]

The UR-900, proposed in 1969, would have had a payload capacity of 240 t (530,000 lb) to low earth orbit. It never left the drawing board.[67]

The General Dynamics Nexus was proposed in the 1960s as a fully reusable successor to the Saturn V rocket, having the capacity of transporting up to 450–910 t (990,000–2,000,000 lb) to orbit.[68][69]

The American Saturn MLV family of rockets was proposed in 1965 by NASA as successors to the Saturn V rocket.[70] It would have been able to carry up to 160,880 kg (354,680 lb) to low Earth orbit. The Nova designs were also studied by NASA before the agency chose the Saturn V in the early 1960s.[71]

Based on the recommendations of the Stafford Synthesis report, First Lunar Outpost (FLO) would have relied on a massive Saturn-derived launch vehicle known as the Comet HLLV. The Comet would have been capable of injecting 230.8 t (508,800 lb) into low earth orbit and 88.5 t (195,200 lb) on a TLI making it one of the most capable vehicles ever designed.[72] FLO was cancelled during the design process along with the rest of the Space Exploration Initiative.

The U.S. Ares V for the Constellation program was intended to reuse many elements of the Space Shuttle program, both on the ground and flight hardware, to save costs. The Ares V was designed to carry 188 t (414,000 lb) and was cancelled in 2010.[73]

The Shuttle-Derived Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle ("HLV") was an alternate super heavy-lift launch vehicle proposal for the NASA Constellation program, proposed in 2009.[74]

A 1962 design proposal, Sea Dragon, called for an enormous 150 m (490 ft) tall, sea-launched rocket capable of lifting 550 t (1,210,000 lb) to low Earth orbit. Although preliminary engineering of the design was done by TRW, the project never moved forward due to the closing of NASA's Future Projects Branch.[75][76]

The Rus-M was a proposed Russian family of launchers whose development began in 2009. It would have had two super heavy variants: one able to lift 50-60 tons, and another able to lift 130-150 tons.[77]

SpaceX Interplanetary Transport System was a 12 m (39 ft) diameter launch vehicle concept unveiled in 2016. The payload capability was to be 550 t (1,210,000 lb) in an expendable configuration or 300 t (660,000 lb) in a reusable configuration.[78] In 2017 the 12 m evolved into a 9 m (30 ft) diameter concept Big Falcon Rocket which was renamed as SpaceX Starship.[79]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ A configuration in which all three cores are intended to be recoverable is classified as a heavy-lift launch vehicle since its maximum possible payload to LEO is under 50,000 kg.[11][10]

References

  1. ↑ McConnaughey, Paul K.; et al. (November 2010). "Draft Launch Propulsion Systems Roadmap: Technology Area 01" (PDF). NASA. Section 1.3. Small: 0–2 t payloads; Medium: 2–20 t payloads; Heavy: 20–50 t payloads; Super Heavy: > 50 t payloads
  2. ↑ "Seeking a Human Spaceflight Program Worthy of a Great Nation" (PDF). Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee. NASA. October 2009. pp. 64–66. ...the U.S. human spaceflight program will require a heavy-lift launcher ... in the range of 25 to 40 mt ... this strongly favors a minimum heavy-lift capacity of roughly 50 mt....
  3. ↑ Osipov, Yury (2004–2017). Great Russian Encyclopedia. Moscow: Great Russian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  4. ↑ "Apollo 11 Lunar Module". NASA.
  5. ↑ "Apollo 11 Command and Service Module (CSM)". NASA.
  6. ↑ Alternatives for Future U.S. Space-Launch Capabilities (PDF), The Congress of the United States. Congressional Budget Office, October 2006, pp. X, 1, 4, 9
  7. 1 2 "Polyus". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  8. ↑ "Buran". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  9. 1 2 Musk, Elon [@elonmusk] (12 February 2018). "Side boosters landing on droneships & center expended is only ~10% performance penalty vs fully expended. Cost is only slightly higher than an expended F9, so around $95M" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. 1 2 "Capabilities & Services". SpaceX. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  11. ↑ Elon Musk [@elonmusk] (30 April 2016). "@elonmusk Max performance numbers are for expendable launches. Subtract 30% to 40% for reusable booster payload" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ↑ Clark, Stephen (4 October 2021). "Payload issue delays SpaceX's next Falcon Heavy launch to early 2022". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  13. ↑ Chang, Kenneth (6 February 2018). "Falcon Heavy, SpaceX's Big New Rocket, Succeeds in Its First Test Launch". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  14. ↑ "Tesla Roadster (AKA: Starman, 2018-017A)". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  15. ↑ "Arabsat 6A". Gunter's Space Page. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  16. ↑ SMC [@AF_SMC] (18 June 2019). "The 3700 kg Integrated Payload Stack (IPS) for #STP2 has been completed! Have a look before it blasts off on the first #DoD Falcon Heavy launch! #SMC #SpaceStartsHere" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ↑ Siceloff, Steven (12 April 2015). "SLS Carries Deep Space Potential". Nasa.gov. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  18. ↑ "World's Most Powerful Deep Space Rocket Set To Launch In 2018". Iflscience.com. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  19. ↑ Chiles, James R. "Bigger Than Saturn, Bound for Deep Space". Airspacemag.com. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  20. ↑ "Finally, some details about how NASA actually plans to get to Mars". Arstechnica.com. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  21. ↑ Gebhardt, Chris (6 April 2017). "NASA finally sets goals, missions for SLS – eyes multi-step plan to Mars". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  22. ↑ Berger, Eric (29 September 2019). "Elon Musk, Man of Steel, reveals his stainless Starship". Ars Technica. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
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  24. ↑ Lawler, Richard (20 November 2018). "SpaceX BFR has a new name: Starship". Engadget. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  25. ↑ Wattles, Jackie (14 April 2023). "SpaceX's Starship rocket, the most powerful ever built, receives government approval for launch". cnn.com. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  26. ↑ "SpaceX President updates schedule for Starship's orbital launch debut". 11 May 2022.
  27. ↑ Therrien, Alex; Whitehead, Jamie (20 April 2023). "SpaceX Starship live: SpaceX Starship finally launches but blows up after take-off". BBC News. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  28. ↑ https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1725879726479450297?s=20
  29. ↑ Wattles, Jackie (18 November 2023). "Live updates: SpaceX Starship rocket lost in second test flight". CNN. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  30. ↑ Josh Dinner (18 November 2023). "SpaceX Starship megarocket launches on 2nd-ever test flight, explodes in 'rapid unscheduled disassembly' (video)". Space.com. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  31. ↑ "N1 1964". Retrieved 4 September 2022. (adjusted for inflation since 1985)
  32. ↑ Pasztor, Andy. "Elon Musk Says SpaceX's New Falcon Heavy Rocket Unlikely to Carry Astronauts". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  33. ↑ "SpaceX Falcon Heavy lofts USSF-44 on first flight in three years". NASASpaceFlight.com. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  34. ↑ "Falcon Heavy". SpaceX. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  35. ↑ Harbaugh, Jennifer, ed. (9 July 2018). "The Great Escape: SLS Provides Power for Missions to the Moon". NASA. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  36. ↑ "The Great Escape: SLS Provides Power for Missions to the Moon". 2 May 2018.
  37. ↑ "Space Launch System" (PDF). NASA Facts. NASA. 11 October 2017. FS-2017-09-92-MSFC. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  38. ↑ Creech, Stephen (April 2014). "NASA's Space Launch System: A Capability for Deep Space Exploration" (PDF). NASA. p. 2. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  39. ↑ @elonmusk (10 July 2023). "Looks like we can increase Raptor thrust by ~20% to reach 9000 tons (20 million lbs) of force at sea level" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  40. ↑ @elonmusk (10 July 2023). "And deliver over 200 tons of payload to a useful orbit with full & rapid reusability. 50 rockets flying every 3 days on average enables over a megaton of payload to orbit per year – enough to build a self-sustaining city on Mars" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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  42. ↑ @elonmusk (24 May 2023). "Starship payload is 250 to 300 tons to orbit in expendable mode. Improved thrust & Isp from Raptor will enable ~6000 ton liftoff mass" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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  44. ↑ Jones, Andrew (17 December 2021). "China's new rocket for crewed moon missions to launch around 2026". SpaceNews. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  45. 1 2 3 Jones, Andrew (9 November 2022). "China scraps expendable Long March 9 rocket plan in favor of reusable version". SpaceNews. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
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  47. ↑ PhilLeafSpace (24 April 2023). "PhilLeafSpace" (in Simplified Chinese). Weibo. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  48. 1 2 Zak, Anatoly (8 February 2019). "Russia Is Now Working on a Super Heavy Rocket of Its Own". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  49. ↑ "Yes, NASA's New Megarocket Will be More Powerful Than the Saturn V". Space.com. 16 August 2016.
  50. ↑ "China is building a new rocket to fly its astronauts on the moon". Space.com. October 2020.
  51. ↑ "China reveals details for super-heavy-lift Long March 9 and reusable Long March 8 rockets". 5 July 2018.
  52. ↑ Mu Xuequan (19 September 2018). "China to launch Long March-9 rocket in 2028". Xinhua. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018.
  53. ↑ 盧伯華 (1 December 2022). "頭條揭密》中國版星艦2030首飛 陸長征9號超重型火箭定案" (in Traditional Chinese). 中国新闻网. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
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  58. ↑ "РКК "Энергия" стала головным разработчиком сверхтяжелой ракеты-носителя" [RSC Energia is the lead developer of the super-heavy carrier rocket]. RIA.ru. RIA Novosti. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  59. ↑ "Better late than never: why the development of the Yenisei launch vehicle was stopped". 17 September 2021.
  60. ↑ "Blue Origin's huge new rocket has a nose cone bigger than its current rocket". Cnet.
  61. ↑ "N1 Moon Rocket". Russianspaceweb.com.
  62. ↑ Harvey, Brian (2007). Soviet and Russian Lunar Exploration. Springer-Praxis Books in Space Exploration. Springer Science+Business Media. p. 230. ISBN 978-0-387-21896-0.
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  65. ↑ "UR-700M". astronautix.com. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  66. ↑ "UR-700M". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  67. ↑ "Russian UR-900 launch vehicle". astronautix.com. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  68. ↑ "SP-4221 The Space Shuttle Decision Chapter 2 NASA's Uncertain Futrue". NASA. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
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  71. ↑ Teitel, Amy Shira (31 May 2019). "Nova: The Apollo rocket that never was". Astronomy Magazine. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  72. ↑ "First Lunar Outpost". spacedaily.com. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  73. ↑ "Ares".
  74. ↑ "Shuttle-Derived Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle" (PDF). NASA. 17 June 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  75. ↑ Grossman, David (3 April 2017). "The Enormous Sea-Launched Rocket That Never Flew". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  76. ↑ “Study of Large Sea-Launch Space Vehicle,” Contract NAS8-2599, Space Technology Laboratories, Inc./Aerojet General Corporation Report #8659-6058-RU-000, Vol. 1 – Design, January 1963
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