launch vehicle: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Photos

Robert H. Goddard and rocket

Apollo 15 liftoff

Diagram showing the Apollo Saturn V rocket with labeled stages and spacecraft modules, including the command, service, and lunar modules, at launch and during their journey to the Moon. Insets explain each module's function and configuration changes from launch to lunar travel.

Soviet launch vehicle rocket engines

Illustration comparing the heights of major launch vehicles, including V-2, R-7, Saturn V, space shuttle, Ariane 5, Delta IV Heavy, Proton, CZ-2F, and Starship, shown side by side with a vertical meter scale for reference.

Labeled diagram of a U.S. space shuttle showing its three main components: the winged orbiter with cargo bay and crew area, a large external liquid-propellant tank, and two solid-fuel rocket boosters, with key parts and systems identified.

U.S. space shuttle Discovery

See All Images →

Topics

Vanguard Agena Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle Geostationary Space Launch Vehicle Centaur Redstone rocket Jupiter-C H-IIA booster Satellite Launch Vehicle 3 sounding rocket staged rocket

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

aerospace industry: Spacecraft, launch vehicle, and missile development

Key People

Wernher von Braun

Wernher von Braun

German engineer

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

president of India

Yuri Gagarin and Sergei Korolev

Sergei Korolev

Soviet scientist

default image

Samuel Kurtz Hoffman

American engineer

Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.

All About Astronomy