A heavy carrier rocket is a class of launch vehicles (LV) capable of displaying from 20 to 50 tons into low Earth orbit (LEO) [1] .
At the beginning of the XXI century, it was the class of the most powerful launch vehicles that mankind possessed. At the same time, in the 20th century in the USA and in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , superheavy class LVs were also created, however, at present, the only existing superheavy LV is the American Falcon Heavy , which first started on February 6, 2018 and has a declared load capacity of up to 63.8 tons at the NOO ( in a single use).
Heavy launch
In parentheses indicate the load capacity when delivering cargo to the DOE .
- β Delta IV Heavy β (up to 28.7 tons ) - since 2004.
- Changzheng-5 (up to 25 tons ) - since 2016.
- " Proton-M " ( 23 tons ) - adopted by the USSR in 1965.
- Arian-5 ES ( 21 tons )
- Arian-5 ECA ( 11 tons per GPO )
- Falcon 9 FT (up to 22.8 tons ) - since 2015.
In addition, close to the characteristics of the heavy class is the Japanese launch vehicle H-IIB ( 19 tons ).
Severe pH under test
- Angara-A5 ( 24.5 tons ) - the flight test phase began in 2016 and will last until 2023.
Heavy launch under
- Vulcan ( ULA ) - heavy launch vehicle, the first launch is planned no earlier than 2019.
- New Glenn ( 45 tons ) - the first launch is planned in 2021-2022.
- " Angara-A5B " (37.5 tons) - the first launch is planned in 2025 [2] .
Historic Heavy Launchers
- " Titan-4 " (21 tons)
Reusable spacecraft also had a heavy-lift launch vehicle Space Shuttle ( 24 tons ).
Notes
- β NASA Space Technology Roadmaps - Launch Propulsion Systems, p.11 : β... Heavy: 20-50t payloads, Super Heavy:> 50t payloadsβ
- β Roscosmos refused to launch the Angara-A5V rocket until 2025 due to a reduction in the FKP (Russian) and TASS . Date of treatment May 29, 2017.