Key for Abbreviations

HTHL: Horizontal take-off horizontal landing VTHL: Vertical take-off horizontal landing VTVL: Vertical take-off and landing SSTO: Single-stage-to-orbit Single-stage-to-orbit A single-stage-to-orbit vehicle reaches orbit from the surface of a body without jettisoning hardware, expending only propellants and fluids. The term usually, but not exclusively, refers to reusable vehicles.... TSTO: Two-stage-to-orbit Two-stage-to-orbit A two-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle is a spacecraft in which two distinct stages provide propulsion consecutively in order to achieve orbital velocity... LEO: Low Earth orbit Low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...

List of space launch system designs covers designs and concepts for rocket

Rocket

A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...

s and other vehicles for sending payloads into space.

This is a list of plans, concepts, and/or proposals for launch systems such as rockets and reusable spaceplane

Spaceplane

A spaceplane is a vehicle that operates as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere, as well as a spacecraft when it is in space. It combines features of an aircraft and a spacecraft, which can be thought of as an aircraft that can endure and maneuver in the vacuum of space or likewise a spacecraft that...

s, typically for orbiting

Orbit

In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...

 the Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

. Plans may mature into an actual launch system, or may not be developed. An example of launch vehicle plan, is the Space Launch System

Space Launch System

The Space Launch System, or SLS, is a Space Shuttle-derived heavy launch vehicle being designed by NASA, following the cancellation of the Constellation Program, to replace the retired Space Shuttle. The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 envisions the transformation of the Ares I and Ares V vehicle...

 proposed by NASA in 2011, which is planning to be developed and tested over the next two decades.

Early designs

• HATV designs [1940s]
• Von Braun Ferry Rocket
  Von Braun Ferry Rocket
  Von Braun Ferry Rocket was a concept design for a shuttle spacecraft that has been developed by Wernher von Braun in a seminal series of early 1950s' Collier's magazine articles Man Will Conquer Space Soon! by Wernher von Braun et al. The Ferry Rocket concept has evolved over time.-Re-creations:The...
  
   [1950s]
• NOVA designs [1959]
• Mercury-Jupiter
  Mercury-Jupiter
  Mercury-Jupiter was a Jupiter missile with a Mercury capsule and was proposed as a suborbital launch vehicle for Project Mercury in October, 1958; however, it was never flown, and was canceled in July 1959 due to budget constraints....
  
   expendable rocket [1950s]
• North American X-15B
  North American X-15
  The North American X-15 rocket-powered aircraft/spaceplane was part of the X-series of experimental aircraft, initiated with the Bell X-1, that were made for the USAAF/USAF, NACA/NASA, and the USN. The X-15 set speed and altitude records in the early 1960s, reaching the edge of outer space and...
  
   studies [1958]

X-15B was a modified X-15 for spaceflight, launching on a various configurations of a SM-64 Navaho

SM-64 Navaho

The North American SM-64 Navaho was a supersonic intercontinental cruise missile project built by North American Aviation. The program ran from 1946 to 1958 when it was cancelled in favor of intercontinental ballistic missiles...

 derivative or Titan I

Titan I

The Martin Marietta SM-68A/HGM-25A Titan I was the United States' first multistage ICBM . Incorporating the latest design technology when designed and manufactured, the Titan I provided an additional nuclear deterrent to complement the U.S. Air Force's SM-65 Atlas missile...

 stages.

• Blue Scout/X-15/B-52 three stage to orbit proposal (1962).

Shuttle related

• Martin "Astrorocket" (1963)
• Lockheed "Reusable Orbital Carrier" (1963)
• Lockheed “System III & IV” (1963)
• North American HTHL TSTO (1963)
• Douglas "Astro" (1963]
• CLASS III NOVA [General Dynamics “NEXUS”
  NEXUS (rocket)
  The NEXUS reusable rocket was a concept design created in the 1960s by a group at General Dynamics led by Krafft Arnold Ehricke. It was intended as the next leap beyond the Saturn V, carrying up to eight times more payload. Several versions were designed, including 12,000 and 24,000 short ton...
  
  , Martin “RENOVA”, Douglas “ROOST”] (1963)
• Douglas “R.O.M.B.U.S.” (1963)
• Douglas “R.O.M.B.U.S.” & PROJECT SELENA (1963)
• Douglas “R.O.M.B.U.S.” & PROJECT DEIMOS (1963)
• Douglas “Hyperion” [1964]
• Douglas “Pegasus” [1964]
• Douglas “Ithacus" [1964]
• North American Air-augmented VTVL SSTO [1963]
• NASA / DoD A.A.C.B. CLASS I & II [1965-66]
• NASA / DoD A.A.C.B. CLASS III [1965-66]
• Douglas “S.A.S.S.T.O.”
  Douglas SASSTO
  Douglas Aircraft's SASSTO, short for "Saturn Application Single Stage to Orbit", was a single-stage-to-orbit reusable launch system designed by Philip Bono's team in 1967. SASSTO was a study in minimalist designs, a launcher with the specific intent of repeatedly placing a Gemini capsule in orbit...
  
   [1966]
• McDonnell-Douglas “I.L.R.V.” [1968]
• Lockheed “Starclipper”
  Lockheed Star Clipper
  Lockheed's Star Clipper was a proposed Earth-to-orbit shuttle based around a large lifting body spacecraft and a wrap-around drop tank. Originally proposed during a USAF program in 1966, the basic Star Clipper concept lived on during the early years of the NASA Space Shuttle program, and as that...
  
   [1968]
• General Dynamics “Triamese” [1968]

• Space Shuttle PHASE-A designs [1969]
• MSC/North American CONCEPT-A “DC-3”
  North American DC-3
  The DC-3 was a proposed space shuttle designed by Maxime Faget at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston. The design was nominally developed by North American Aviation , although it was a purely NASA-internal design....
  
   [Shuttle Phase-A] [1969]
• McDonnell-Douglas CONCEPT-B “FR-3C” [Shuttle Phase-A] [1969]
• McDonnell-Douglas "Alternate CONCEPT-B" [Shuttle Phase-A] [1969]
• Lockheed CONCEPT-C “LS-112” [Shuttle Phase-A] [1969]
• General Dynamics CONCEPT-D “FR-3A” [Shuttle Phase-A] [1969]
• Martin Marietta Spacemaster
  Martin Marietta Spacemaster
  The Martin Marietta Spacemaster was a proposed configuration for what became the Space Shuttle, which featured an X-24-derived orbiter, and an unusual “catamaran style” booster stage. During launch and ascent, the orbiter would be located in a recess in the booster. The booster's 14 engines would...
  
   [Shuttle Phase-A] [1969]
• Boeing & Lockheed PHASE A/B Shuttle [1970]
• North American & General Dynamics PHASE B Shuttle [1970]
• North American & General Dynamics “B9U/NAR-161-B” PHASE B Shuttle [1971]
• McDonnell-Douglas & Martin Marietta PHASE B Shuttle [1971]
• Grumman & Boeing PHASE B Shuttle (1970)
• Grumman & Boeing “H33” [PHASE B Shuttle] (1971)
• Chrysler “S.E.R.V.” [PHASE-A Shuttle] (1971)
  • Chrysler proposal for NASA Space Transportation System
    Space Transportation System
    The Space Transportation System is another name for the NASA Space Shuttle and Space Shuttle program. However, the name originates from, and can describe a more elaborate set of spacefaring hardware in the 1970s, although this meaning is obscure...
    
     (Space Shuttle). Used some Saturn
    Saturn V
    The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...
    
    -infrastructure, one possible payload was small spaceplane called MURP (Manned Upper Reusable Payload). Payload to LEO would have been 11, 51 or 57 tons depending on the launch configuration, most notably, whether the spaceplane was to be launched or not.
• Alternate Space Shuttle Concepts (ASCC) (1970)
  • 29 different configurations for Space Shuttles were studied at MSFC
    Marshall Space Flight Center
    The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest center of NASA, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program...
    
    , including SERV.
• Lockheed “LS-200” PHASE-A Shuttle (1971)
• PHASE-B' "Shuttle Contractor Studies" (1971)
• PHASE-B' "Shuttle Cost Tradeoffs" (1971)
• Rockwell PHASE-C/D Shuttle (1972)

• Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLLV), shuttle based launcher (1970s)

• Solar Power Satellites Advanced Launch Vehicles (1973-80)
• Robert Salkeld's “Tripropellant" RLVs (1965-78)
• Martin Marietta / NASA-LaRC VTHL SSTO (1975)
• Boeing / NASA-LaRC HTHL SSTO (1975)
• NASA-JSC S.P.S. Launch Vehicles (1976)
• Boeing “LEO” VTVL SSTO (1976)
• Boeing 2-STAGE VTVL “HLLV” (1976)
• Boeing 2-STAGE VTHL “HLLV” (1976-79)
• Martin Marietta 2-STAGE “HLLV” (1977)
• Rockwell “Star-Raker” Ramjet HTHL SSTO (1978)
• Rockwell 2-STAGE “HLLV” (1978-80)
• NASA "Shuttle II" Advanced Manned Launch System studies (1978-89)
• “Spacejet” and other NASA-LaRC Concepts (1978-80)
• NASA-LaRC “Future Space Transportation System” (1981-84)
• NASA-LaRC “Shuttle II” [1985-88]
• NASA-LaRC “Advanced Manned Launch System" (1989)
• Boeing / USAF
  United States Air Force
  The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
  
   “Air-Launched Sorite Vehicle” [ALSV] (1979-82)
• Rockwell / USAF “Trans-Atmospheric Vehicle” (1980-84)
• General Dynamics “Trans-Atmospheric Vehicle” (1982)
• Lockheed / USAF “Trans-Atmospheric Vehicle” (1984)ref name=lindroos/>
• McDonnell-Douglas “Trans-Atmospheric Vehicle” (1984)

Miscellaneous future launch systems

• BAC MUSTARD, triplet shuttles (1964)

British Aircraft Corporation

British Aircraft Corporation

The British Aircraft Corporation was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs , the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1960. Bristol, English Electric and Vickers became "parents" of BAC with...

 Multi-Unit Space Transport And Recovery Device

MUSTARD

The Multi-Unit Space Transport And Recovery Device or MUSTARD was a concept explored by the British Aircraft Corporation around 1968 for launching payloads weighing as much as 5,000 lb. into orbit...

• Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Raumtransporter-8.
• MBB BETA, VTVL SSTO designs (1970)

Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Ballistisches Einstufiges Träger-Aggregat (BETA) BETA is similar to SASSTO, and three configurations were proposed: BETA, BETA 2, and BETA 3, each with different payload weight.

• Hypersonic Technology Program [1984]
• Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Sänger II 2-STO HTHL (1985)
• Deutsche Aerospace HORUS (Hypersonic Orbital Reusable Upper Stage) (1980s)
• National Aero-Space Plane [1980s]
• Rockwell X-30
  Rockwell X-30
  -See also:-References: 2. -External links:*...
  
   NASP advanced tech demo (1980-1992)
• Aérospatiale / ESA Hermes designs [1975-1992]
• British Aerospace HOTOL
  HOTOL
  HOTOL, for Horizontal Take-Off and Landing, was a British air-breathing space shuttle effort by Rolls Royce and British Aerospace.Designed as a single-stage-to-orbit reusable winged launch vehicle, it was to be fitted with a unique air-breathing engine, the RB545 called the Swallow, to be...
  
   designs SSTO HTHL (1982)
• Jarvis
  Jarvis (rocket)
  Studied in 1985, long after the Saturn V had been retired, the Jarvis would be used for Pacific launches and would once again utilize the engines from the Saturn V, except that the Jarvis' third stage would use an R-4D engine that was developed for the Apollo Service and Lunar Module used in...
  
   with 38,000 kg mass to LEO. Studied in 1985.
• McDonnell Douglas DC-X
  McDonnell Douglas DC-X
  The DC-X, short for Delta Clipper or Delta Clipper Experimental, was an unmanned prototype of a reusable single stage to orbit launch vehicle built by McDonnell Douglas in conjunction with the United States Department of Defense's Strategic Defense Initiative Organization from 1991 to 1993...
  
  /Delta Clipper SSTO VTVL tech demo (1990s)
• Black Horse reusable SSTO proposal [1990s]). The vehicle is also known as Shuttle-Derived Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle, High Confidence Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle, and HLV. In a picture shown at the 17 June 2009 meeting of the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee in Washington DC, NASA Space Shuttle Program Manager John Shannon introduced a High Confidence Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle capable of putting 104 metric tonnes to LEO.
• Direct
  Direct
  Direct may refer to:* Direct current, a direct flow of electricity* Direct examination, the in-trial questioning of a witness by the party who has called him or her to testify...
  
   proposals (2000s - current)

Direct's Jupiter

Jupiter (rocket family)

The Jupiter family of Heavy Lift Launch Vehicles is part of the proposed DIRECT Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle architecture. It is intended to be an alternative to the Ares I and Ares V rockets which were under development for the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration's ...

-rocket designs studied under the DIRECT 3.0-program (started in 2006) include many versions, such as Jupiter-130 and Jupiter-246, with claimed lift capacities exceeding 60 and 90 tonnes to LEO (up to 100 tonnes with Jupiter-upper stage, and 120 with five-segment solid rocket boosters and upper stage) and the in-line-version (110/35/75). Also older, DIRECT 2.0-program versions of Jupiter, like Jupiter-120 and Jupiter-232, exist.

• Constellation Ares I, IV, V designs [2000s]
  • Ares IV (40mt TLI) as part of the Constellation Program of 2005.
  • Ares V Lite (140/55/120)
• Liberty
  Liberty (rocket)
  Liberty is a 2011 launch vehicle concept proposed to NASA by Alliant Techsystems and Astrium under phase 2 of the NASA Commercial Crew Development program intended to stimulate development of privately operated crew vehicles to low Earth orbit....
  
   TSTO (2000s - current)

A rocket with 20227 kilograms (44,592.9 lb) to ISS orbit. The rocket consists of Alliant Techsystems

Alliant Techsystems

Alliant Techsystems Inc., most commonly known by its ticker symbol, ', is one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the United States with more than 18,000 employees in 22 states, Puerto Rico and internationally, and 2010 revenues in excess of an estimated...

 Stage I (Ares I) and EADS Astrium Stage II (Ariane 5). It will cost less than $180M or less than $8,899/kg

• Space Launch System
  Space Launch System
  The Space Launch System, or SLS, is a Space Shuttle-derived heavy launch vehicle being designed by NASA, following the cancellation of the Constellation Program, to replace the retired Space Shuttle. The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 envisions the transformation of the Ares I and Ares V vehicle...
  
   [2011]

A NASA Space Shuttle

Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...

-based launch system designed to replace the Shuttle after its retirement. This is the NASA's current plan to replace the Shuttle (authorized by NASA Authorization Act of 2010

NASA Authorization Act of 2010

The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 is a U.S. law which authorizes NASA appropriations for fiscal years 2011–2013 with the same top-line budget values as requested by President of the United States Barack Obama...

). The systems payload capacity to LEO should be 64-130 tons depending heavily on the launch configuration.

Saturn related

• Saturn-Shuttle
  Saturn-Shuttle
  The Saturn-Shuttle was a proposed interface of the Space Shuttle orbiter and external tank with the S-IC stage on the Saturn V rocket. An interstage would be fitted on top of the S-IC stage to support the external tank, formerly occupied by the S-II stage, so that NASA would have been able to steer...
  
   [1970s]

• Saturn A-1
  Saturn A-1
  Saturn A-1, studied in 1959, was projected to be the first version of Saturn I and was to be used if necessary before the S-IV liquid hydrogen second stage became available...
  
  , Saturn A-2
  Saturn A-2
  Studied with the Saturn A-1 in 1959, the Saturn A-2 was deemed more powerful than the Saturn I rocket, consisting of a first stage, which actually flew on the Saturn IB, a second stage which contains four S-3 engines that flew on the Jupiter IRBM and a Centaur high-energy liquid third stage.-...
  
  , Saturn B-1
  Saturn B-1
  Studied in 1959, the Saturn B-1, was a four-stage concept rocket similar to the Jupiter-C, and consisted of a Saturn IB first stage, a cluster of four Titan I first stages used for a second stage, a S-IV third stage and a Centaur high-energy liquid fourth stage. Like its proposed predecessors, the...
  
  
• Saturn INT-18, a conceptual study in 1966 to build a rocket utilizing various Saturn V
  Saturn V
  The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...
  
  -components. Numerous version were studied, with payload capacity between 21,300 and 66,590 kg to LEO (two heaviest variant had payload capacities of 51,700 kg and 66,400-66,590 kg to LEO.)
• Saturn INT-20
  Saturn INT-20
  The Saturn INT-20 was a proposed intermediate payload follow-on from the Apollo Saturn V launch vehicle. An interstage would be fitted on top of the S-IC stage to support the S-IVB stage, so it could be considered either a retrofitted Saturn IB with a more powerful first stage, or a stubby,...
  
  , a proposed launcher in the 1960s–1970s using the Saturn V-components. Three variants were studied with the heaviest (the five-engine variant) having payload capacity of 60,500 kg to LEO, and the second heaviest (the four-engine variant) having payload capacity of 60,000 kg to LEO.
• Saturn INT-21
  Saturn INT-21
  The Saturn INT-21 was a study for an American orbital launch vehicle of the 1970s. It was derived from the Saturn V rocket used for the Apollo program, using its first and second stages, but lacking the third stage. The guidance unit would be moved from the top of the third stage to the top of the...
  
  , described in a study of the 1970s to develop a smaller launcher based on Saturn V. It was expected to be composed of Boeing S-IC
  S-IC
  The S-IC was the first stage of the Saturn V rocket. The S-IC first stage was built by The Boeing Company. Like the first stages of most rockets, most of its mass of over two thousand metric tonnes at launch was propellant, in this case RP-1 rocket fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer...
  
   and modified North American
  North American Aviation
  North American Aviation was a major US aerospace manufacturer, responsible for a number of historic aircraft, including the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, the X-15 rocket plane, and the XB-70, as well as Apollo Command and Service...
  
   S-II
  S-II
  The S-II was the second stage of the Saturn V rocket. It was built by North American Aviation. Using liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen it had five J-2 engines in a cross pattern...
  
   with payload capacity of 75,000 kg to LEO. Also heavier variants with payload to LEO 84,000 kg, 89,000 kg, 101,000 kg, 112,000 kg and 116,000 kg were studied (the heavier variants had successively more engines).
• Saturn MLV-V-1, a NASA study of an improved Saturn V rocket in 1965. Payload to LEO 137,250 kg.
• Saturn MLV-V-1A, a NASA study of an improved Saturn V rocket in 1965. Payload to LEO 145,000 kg.
• Saturn MLV-V-2, a NASA study to develop the Saturn V rocket in 1965. Payload to LEO 137,250 kg
• Saturn MLV-V-3, a NASA study in 1965 to improve the Saturn V. Payload to LEO 160,400 kg
• Saturn MLV-V-4(S), rocket NASA studied in 1965. A developed version of Saturn V. Payload 118,000 kg to LEO.
• Saturn MLV-V-4(S)-A, a development of the Saturn V studied by NASA in 1965. Payload to LEO 160,880 kg.
• Saturn MLV-V-4(S)-B, a rocket studied by Boeing
  Boeing
  The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
  
   in 1967. Was based on Saturn V. Payload to LEO 171,990 kg.
• Saturn V 2, a 2-stage version of Saturn V
  Saturn V
  The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...
  
  . Used to launch Skylab
  Skylab
  Skylab was a space station launched and operated by NASA, the space agency of the United States. Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a mass of...
  
  . Payload to LEO 75,000 kg.
• Saturn V/4-260, a rocket studied by Boeing in 1967-1968. Used Saturn V
  Saturn V
  The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...
  
  -components. Payload to LEO 362,700 kg.
• Saturn V-23(L), a Boeing study of a Saturn V-based rocket in 1967. Payload to LEO 262,670 kg.
• Saturn V-24(L), a Boeing study of a Saturn V-based rocket in 1967. Payload to LEO 435,300 kg.
• Saturn V-25(S)B, another Boeing study of a Saturn V-based rocket in 1967. Payload to LEO 223,500 kg.
• Saturn V-25(S)U, a Boeing study of a Saturn V-based rocket in 1968. Would have been used to launch the NERVA
  NERVA
  NERVA is an acronym for Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application, a joint program of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and NASA managed by the Space Nuclear Propulsion Office until both the program and the office ended at the end of 1972....
  
   nuclear rocket to orbit for Mars-expedition. Payload to LEO 248,663 kg.
• Saturn V-3B, a Boeing-studied variation of a Saturn MLV-V-3-study. Studied in 1967. Rocket was based in the Saturn V
  Saturn V
  The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...
  
  -rocket. Payload capacity 166,600 kg to LEO.
• Saturn V-4X(U), a Boeing-study in 1968 extending the Saturn V-25(S)-study. Payload to LEO 527,600 kg.
• Saturn V-A
  Saturn V-A
  Studied by Marshall Space Flight Center in 1968, the Saturn V-A was identical to the Saturn INT-20, except it consisted of an ordinary S-IC first stage and S-IVB second stage, although in random cases, a Centaur third stage would be fine for deep space missions....
  
  , a NASA-study in 1968 essentially identical to Saturn INT-20
  Saturn INT-20
  The Saturn INT-20 was a proposed intermediate payload follow-on from the Apollo Saturn V launch vehicle. An interstage would be fitted on top of the S-IC stage to support the S-IVB stage, so it could be considered either a retrofitted Saturn IB with a more powerful first stage, or a stubby,...
  
  . Payload to LEO 60,000 kg.
• Saturn V-C
  Saturn V-C
  The Saturn V-C, was just like the Saturn V-B, studied in the same year as the V-C, except it would use a S-IVB third stage to get a payload into a higher orbit. A Centaur fourth stage was optional for deep space missions.- References :...
  
  , a NASA-study in 1968 extending the Saturn V-A
  Saturn V-A
  Studied by Marshall Space Flight Center in 1968, the Saturn V-A was identical to the Saturn INT-20, except it consisted of an ordinary S-IC first stage and S-IVB second stage, although in random cases, a Centaur third stage would be fine for deep space missions....
  
   and Saturn INT-20
  Saturn INT-20
  The Saturn INT-20 was a proposed intermediate payload follow-on from the Apollo Saturn V launch vehicle. An interstage would be fitted on top of the S-IC stage to support the S-IVB stage, so it could be considered either a retrofitted Saturn IB with a more powerful first stage, or a stubby,...
  
  -studies. Payload to LEO 81,600 kg.
• Saturn V-Centaur
  Saturn V-Centaur
  Studied by Marshall Space Flight Center in 1968, the Saturn V-Centaur booster would have been used for deep space missions if it had actually flown. It consisted of an ordinary Saturn V launch vehicle, except that the Apollo spacecraft would be replaced with a Centaur as a high-energy...
  
  , another NASA-study in 1968 extending the Saturn V-A
  Saturn V-A
  Studied by Marshall Space Flight Center in 1968, the Saturn V-A was identical to the Saturn INT-20, except it consisted of an ordinary S-IC first stage and S-IVB second stage, although in random cases, a Centaur third stage would be fine for deep space missions....
  
   and Saturn INT-20
  Saturn INT-20
  The Saturn INT-20 was a proposed intermediate payload follow-on from the Apollo Saturn V launch vehicle. An interstage would be fitted on top of the S-IC stage to support the S-IVB stage, so it could be considered either a retrofitted Saturn IB with a more powerful first stage, or a stubby,...
  
  -studies. Payload to LEO 118,000 kg.
• Saturn V-D
  Saturn V-D
  The Saturn V-D was a conceptual booster with the ability to launch three times as much payload as the Russian Energia booster. Studied in 1968, it was considered to be the mightiest of the proposed varitions of the Saturn V rocket, rehased as one of the boosters from the Boeing 1967 Saturn studies...
  
  , a NASA-study of 1968 extending the Boeing study of 1967 to develop a Saturn V
  Saturn V
  The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...
  
  -based rocket. Payload to LEO 326,500 kg.
• Saturn V-ELV, a NASA study of 1966 to develop Saturn V-based rocket. Payload to LEO 200,000 kg.
• Saturn C-3B, a launcher studied in the USA in 1961. Cancelled after the Saturn C-5 was selected for Apollo program(Saturn C-5-rocket later evolved into Saturn V). Would have had the payload capacity of 78,000 kg to LEO.
• Saturn C-3BN, a launcher studied in the USA in 1961. Cancelled after the Saturn C-5 was selected for Apollo program; the Saturn V-rocket was based in the Saturn C-5. Otherwise similar to Saturn C-3B, but would have utilized a nuclear upper stage. Payload capacity of 94,000 kg to LEO.
• Saturn C-4
  Saturn C-4
  The Saturn C-4 was a conceptual American launch vehicle, originally proposed in 1960 to be used in a Lunar orbit rendezvous lunar landing.It would have consisted of three stages; an S-IB-4 first stage, a S-II-4 second stage and a S-IVB third stage...
  
  , an American launch vehicle studied for the lunar orbit rendezvous
  Lunar orbit rendezvous
  Lunar orbit rendezvous is a key concept for human landing on the Moon and returning to Earth.In a LOR mission a main spacecraft and a smaller lunar module travel together into lunar orbit. The lunar module then independently descends to the lunar surface. After completion of the mission there, a...
  
  -method of lunar exploration. Lost competition for the launcher of Apollo program to Saturn C-5 (Saturn C-5 was modified slightly during the 1960s to produce the Saturn V-rocket) because Saturn C-5 had reserve capacity that the Moon mission designers wanted. Payload to LEO 99,000 kg.
• Saturn C-4B, the last variant of Saturn C-4
  Saturn C-4
  The Saturn C-4 was a conceptual American launch vehicle, originally proposed in 1960 to be used in a Lunar orbit rendezvous lunar landing.It would have consisted of three stages; an S-IB-4 first stage, a S-II-4 second stage and a S-IVB third stage...
  
   before Saturn C-5 was chosen for the Moon landing in 1961 (Saturn C-5 was modified slightly during the 1960s to produce the Saturn V-rocket) and the development of other Saturn C-series rockets was halted. Payload 95,000 kg to LEO.
• Saturn C-5, the rocket chosen for Apollo program in 1961. Saturn C-5's development was continued after it was chosen to be the American Moon rocket, and the result was Saturn V. The difference between Saturn C-5 and Saturn V (albeit small) is that the upper stages of Saturn V were enlarged in relation to the C-5. The Saturn C-5-configuration of 1961 had payload capacity to LEO 120,000 kg.
• Saturn C-5N
  Saturn C-5N
  The Saturn C-5N was a conceptual version of the Saturn V launch vehicle which would have had a nuclear third stage instead of the S-IVB used on the Saturn V. This would have increased the payload to Low Earth orbit of the rocket from 118,000 kg to 155,000 kg....
  
  , was a conceptual version of the Saturn V launch vehicle which would have had a nuclear third stage. Payload to LEO 155,000 kg.
• Saturn C-8
  Saturn C-8
  The Saturn C-8 was the largest member of the Saturn series of rockets to be designed. It was a potential alternative to the Nova rocket, should NASA have chosen a direct-landing method of lunar exploration for the Apollo program. The first stage was an increased diameter version of the S-IC. The...
  
  , the largest of Saturn-variants to be considered. Was intended for direct landing method of lunar exploration, like the Nova's. Was abandoned after the Saturn C-5 was selected for Apollo (turn C-5 developed into the Saturn V). Payload to LEO 210 ton.
• Nova's, a group of heavier-than-Saturn V
  Saturn V
  The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...
  
   launch vehicles studied by many American aerospace companies and NASA. Some Nova-rockets (most notably Nova C-8, Nova 8L) were intended for direct landing method of lunar exploration like the Saturn C-8
  Saturn C-8
  The Saturn C-8 was the largest member of the Saturn series of rockets to be designed. It was a potential alternative to the Nova rocket, should NASA have chosen a direct-landing method of lunar exploration for the Apollo program. The first stage was an increased diameter version of the S-IC. The...
  
  , and these rocket-designs were cancelled (like the Saturn C-8
  Saturn C-8
  The Saturn C-8 was the largest member of the Saturn series of rockets to be designed. It was a potential alternative to the Nova rocket, should NASA have chosen a direct-landing method of lunar exploration for the Apollo program. The first stage was an increased diameter version of the S-IC. The...
  
  ) after Saturn V was chosen for the Apollo program. These rockets had payload capacity between 24-75 tons to translunar injection orbit TLI
  Trans Lunar Injection
  A Trans Lunar Injection is a propulsive maneuver used to set a spacecraft on a trajectory which will arrive at the Moon.Typical lunar transfer trajectories approximate Hohmann transfers, although low energy transfers have also been used in some cases, as with the Hiten probe...
  
   (Saturn V had payload capacity of 45 tons to TLI). Other Nova-rockets were also intended for Mars missions in the 1960s-1970s. The Mars-mission Nova-rockets had intended payload to LEO 301 ton - 455 ton.

Additional systems

• Heavy launch vehicle (ISRO India) with 100 ton to LEO and 20 ton to Geo http://indianspaceweb.blogspot.com/2010/07/isro-heavy-lift-vehicle.html
• Angara-100 (Khrunichev
  Khrunichev
  Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center is a Moscow-based producer of spacecraft and space-launch systems, including the Proton and Rokot rockets. The company's history dates back to 1916, when an automobile factory was established outside Moscow...
  
  ) with 110 - 150 mt to LEO
• The Chinese Moon rocket
  Moon rocket
  Moon rocket may refer to:Current/Past Manned moon rockets / man-rated moon rockets* Saturn V - the Apollo program launcher for the manned moon landings* N1 rocket - Sergei Korolev's failed launcher for the Soviet manned moon program...
  
   with a payload capacity of 50 tons to lunar transfer orbit (there is a mention of a Chinese Moon rocket capable of lifting 500 tons to lunar transfer orbit in the wikipedia article
  Chinese space program
  The space program of the People's Republic of China is directed by the China National Space Administration . Its technological roots can be traced back to the late 1950s, when the People's Republic began a rudimentary ballistic missile program in response to perceived American threats...
  
   )
• Galaxy Express or GX-rocket, using US first stage and Japanese upper stage, 3,600 kg mass to LEO, cancelled in 2010 after Japanese government stopped funding the project.
• Sea Dragon
  Sea Dragon (Rocket)
  The Sea Dragon was a 1962 design study for a fully reusable two-stage sea-launched rocket. The project was led by Robert Truax while working at Aerojet, one of a number of designs he created that were to be launched by floating the rocket in the ocean...
  
  , a gigantic sea-launched rocket studied in 1962 capable of sending 550 mt to LEO.
• UR-700M
  Universal Rocket
  The Universal Rocket or UR family of missiles and carrier rockets is a Russian, previously Soviet rocket family. Intended to allow the same technology to be used in all Soviet rockets, the UR is produced by the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Centre. Several variants were originally...
  
  , designed by the Soviet rocket engineer Vladimir Chelomey for a carrier rocket for the Soviet Mars-program Project Aelita in 1969. The design was based on the Soviet UR-700-rocket. Capacity to LEO 750 tons.
• UR-700
  Universal Rocket
  The Universal Rocket or UR family of missiles and carrier rockets is a Russian, previously Soviet rocket family. Intended to allow the same technology to be used in all Soviet rockets, the UR is produced by the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Centre. Several variants were originally...
  
  , a rocket designed by the Soviet
  Soviet Union
  The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
  
   rocket engineer Vladimir Chelomey in the 1960s to be the Soviet Moon rocket. UR-700 was based on Chelomey's UR-500-rocket (also known as Proton). UR-700 was designed to be used for direct manned flight to the Moon. UR-700 was not chosen for the Soviet moon rocket, as the Soviets decided (like the Americans) to use lunar orbit rendezvous-method of lunar exploration, and develop the Sergei Korolev's N1 rocket. Despite this, the development of the UR-700 continued from 1962 to 1968. Different variants with 70–175 tons payload to LEO were conceived. The main variant had payload capacity of 151,000 kg to LEO and 50,000 kg to translunar trajectory. The original design for UR-700 was later developed further by developing new upper stages to the rocket; these developments had payload capacity of 185, 215, 230–270 tons to LEO.
• UR-900
  Universal Rocket
  The Universal Rocket or UR family of missiles and carrier rockets is a Russian, previously Soviet rocket family. Intended to allow the same technology to be used in all Soviet rockets, the UR is produced by the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Centre. Several variants were originally...
  
  , proposed in 1969 for Soviet Mars exploration by Vladimir Chelomey. It was to be developed from the UR-700-rocket, and it had payload capacity of 240 tons to LEO.
• Superraket, a Soviet pre-1959 rocket study of a nuclear rocket with payload capacity 150,000 kg to LEO. Ancestor of the N1.
• N1, N1 1962 and N1 1964; these three rockets are different versions of the Soviet Moon rocket
  Moon rocket
  Moon rocket may refer to:Current/Past Manned moon rockets / man-rated moon rockets* Saturn V - the Apollo program launcher for the manned moon landings* N1 rocket - Sergei Korolev's failed launcher for the Soviet manned moon program...
  
  . All of the three rockets were designed by S. Korolev. The payload capacities to LEO were 95,000 kg for N1 1964, 75,000 kg for N1 1962 and 70,000 kg for N1. Different names for the N1 are N-1 11A52;N-1;SL-15;11A52;G-1 and for the N1 1964 SL-15;11A52;G-1.

• N1 Nuclear A, a version of the N1 with nuclear upper stage studied by S. Korolev in 1963. Payload to LEO 270,000 kg.
• N1 Nuclear V-B, a variant of the N1 with nuclear upper stage. Payload to LEO 360,000 kg.
• N1 Nuclear AF, a continuation of the N1 Nuclear A-study in 1963. Payload to LEO 300,000 kg.
• N1 Nuclear V, a variation of the N1 with nuclear upper stage. Payload to LEO 420,000 kg.
• N-IM 1965, a study of a developed version of the N1. Payload to LEO 155,000 kg.
• N-IF 1965, a study of follow-on to the N1. Payload to LEO 100,000 kg.
• N-IFV-II-III, a further study of the N-IF 1965. Payload to LEO 150,000 kg.
• N-IMV-II-III, a further study of the N-IM 1965. Payload to LEO 230,000 kg.
• N-IMV-III, a further study of the N-IM 1965 in 1965. Payload to LEO 185,000 kg.
• N-IUV-III, a further study of the N-IU 1965 in 1965.Payload to LEO 115,000 kg.
• N-IFV-III, a further study of the N-IF 1965 in 1965. Payload to LEO 125,000 kg.
• N-IU, a study by S. Korolev to further develop the N1. Payload to LEO 95,000 kg.
• N1F, the last version (with all the modifications made during the testing phase) of the N1. Cancelled in 1974. Payload to LEO 105,000 kg. Another variant of this was N1F Sr (the two rockets differed in some aspects of the upper stages).
• N1M, a version of the N1 in the late 1960s that lost the competition for development to N1F, which became the final version of the Soviet Moon rocket. N1F-L3M, a variant of the N1M. Development ended in 1971.
• N1-MOK was the final derivative of the N1. It was a single-stage-to-orbit vehicle studied in 1974. Payload to LEO 90,000 kg.
• Vulkan-Herkules
  Energia
  Energia was a Soviet rocket that was designed by NPO Energia to serve as a heavy-lift expendable launch system as well as a booster for the Buran spacecraft. Control system main developer enterprise was the NPO "Electropribor"...
  
  , ultimate version of Energia, payload to LEO 200mt
• SpaceX Falcon 5
  Falcon 5
  The Falcon 5 was a proposed two-stage-to-orbit partially reusable launch vehicle designed by SpaceX, since canceledand replaced by the larger, more powerful Falcon 9.-Overview:...
  
   with 4,100 kg mass to LEO, previously proposed and later abandoned.
• SpaceX Falcon X with 38000 kilograms (83,775.7 lb) mass to LEO
• SpaceX Falcon X Heavy with 125 mt to LEO
• SpaceX Falcon XX with 140 mt to LEO

See also

• Comparison of orbital launch systems
  Comparison of orbital launch systems
  This page exposes the full list of orbital launch systems. For the short simple list of launchers families, see Comparison of orbital launchers families....
  
  
• List of orbital launch systems
• List of private spaceflight companies#Crew and cargo transport vehicles
• Spaceplane
  Spaceplane
  A spaceplane is a vehicle that operates as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere, as well as a spacecraft when it is in space. It combines features of an aircraft and a spacecraft, which can be thought of as an aircraft that can endure and maneuver in the vacuum of space or likewise a spacecraft that...
  
  

Further reading

• SP-4221 The Space Shuttle Decision Chapter 8 (NASA)
• T.A. Heppenheimer - SP-4221 The Space Shuttle Decision (NASA, 1998)

External links

• Encyclopedia Astronautica - orbital launch vehicle
• INTRODUCTION TO FUTURE LAUNCH VEHICLE PLANS [1963-2001 by Marcus Lindroos (Updated 6/15/2001)]
• Space Future - Vehicle Designs
• Category:Proposed or planned spacecraft (Wikimedia Commons)
• 10 Space Shuttles which never flew (Lockheed Starclipper, Chrysler SERV, Phase B Shuttles, Rockwell C-1057, Shuttle C, Air Launched Sortie Vehicle (ALSV), Hermes, Buran, Shuttle II, Lockheed Martin VentureStar)