A medium-lift launch vehicle (MLV) is a rocket launch vehicle that is capable of lifting between 2,000 to 20,000 kg (4,400 to 44,100 lb) by NASA classification or between 5,000 to 20,000 kilograms (11,000 to 44,000 lb) by Russian classification[1] of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO).[2] An MLV is between small-lift launch vehicles and heavy-lift launch vehicles.
Vehicle | Origin | Manufacturer | Mass to LEO (kg) |
Mass to other orbits (kg) |
Launches | Status | First flight | Last flight |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vostok | ![]() |
RSC Energia | 4,730 | 163 | Retired | 1958 | 1991 | |
Saturn I | ![]() |
Chrysler & Douglas | 9,000 | 10 | Retired | 1961 | 1965
long | |
Atlas-Centaur | ![]() |
Lockheed | 5,100 | 61 | Retired | 1962 | 1983 | |
Titan II GLV | ![]() |
Martin | 3,580 | 12 | Retired | 1964 | 1966 | |
Titan IIIC | ![]() |
Martin | 13,100 | 3,000 to GTO 1,200 to TMI |
36 | Retired | 1965 | 1982 |
Molniya-M | ![]() ![]() |
TsSKB-Progress | 2,400 | 280 | Retired | 1965 | 2010 | |
Proton-K | ![]() ![]() |
Khrunichev | 19,760 | 311 | Retired | 1965 | 2012 | |
Soyuz original | ![]() |
OKB-1 | 6,450 | 32 | Retired | 1966 | 1975 | |
R-36 Tsyklon | ![]() ![]() |
Yuzhmash | 2,820-5,250 (depends on variant)[3][4] | 500-910 to GTO[5] | 236 | Retired | 1967 | 2009 |
Soyuz-L | ![]() |
OKB-1 | 5,500 | 3 | Retired | 1970 | 1971 | |
Titan IIID | ![]() |
Martin | 12,300 | 22 | Retired | 1971 | 1982 | |
Soyuz-M | ![]() |
OKB-1 | 6,600 | 8 | Retired | 1971 | 1976 | |
Soyuz-U | ![]() ![]() |
TsSKB-Progress | 6,900 | 786 | Retired | 1973 | 2017 | |
Feng Bao 1 | ![]() |
Shanghai Bureau No.2 | 2,500 | 8 | Retired | 1973 | 1981 | |
Long March 2A | ![]() |
CALT | 2,000 | 4 | Retired | 1974 | 1976 | |
Titan IIIE | ![]() |
Martin Marietta | 15,400 | 3,700 to TMI | 7 | Retired | 1974 | 1977 |
Delta 3920–5920 | ![]() |
Douglas | 3,452–3,848 | 30 | Retired | 1980 | 1990 | |
N-II[6] | ![]() |
Mitsubishi | 2,000 | 8 | Retired | 1981 | 1987 | |
Soyuz-U2 | ![]() |
TsSKB-Progress | 7,050 | 72 | Retired | 1982 | 1995 | |
Long March 2C | ![]() |
CALT | 3,850 | 1,900 to SSO | 56 | Operational | 1982 | |
Atlas G | ![]() |
Lockheed | 5,900 | 7 | Retired | 1984 | 1989 | |
Long March 3 | ![]() |
CALT | 5,000 | 1,340 to GTO | 14 | Retired | 1984 | 2000 |
Zenit-2 | ![]() ![]() |
Yuzhnoye | 13,740 | 36 | Retired | 1985 | 2004 | |
H-I | ![]() |
Mitsubishi | 3,200 | 1,100 to GTO | 9 | Retired | 1986 | 1992 |
Long March 4A | ![]() |
SAST | 4,000 | 2 | Retired | 1988 | 1990 | |
Ariane 4 | ![]() ![]() |
Aérospatiale | 7,600 | 4,800 to GTO | 116 | Retired | 1988 | 2003 |
Delta II | ![]() |
United Launch Alliance | 6,100 | 2,170 to GTO 1,000 to HCO |
156 | Retired | 1989 | 2018 |
Atlas I, II, III | ![]() |
Lockheed | 5,900–8,686 | 2,340–4,609 to GTO | 80 | Retired | 1990 | 2005 |
Long March 2E | ![]() |
CALT | 9,200 | 7 | Retired | 1990 | 1995 | |
Long March 2D | ![]() |
SAST | 3,500 | 1,300 to SSO | 52 | Operational | 1992 | |
PSLV | ![]() |
ISRO | 3,800 | 1,200 to GTO 1,750 to SSO |
50 | Operational | 1993 | |
H-II / IIS | ![]() |
Mitsubishi | 10,060 | 4,000 to GTO | 7 | Retired | 1994 | 1999 |
Long March 3A | ![]() |
CALT | 6,000 | 2,600 to GTO 5,000 to SSO |
27 | Operational | 1994 | |
Long March 3B | ![]() |
CALT | 11,200 | 5,100 to GTO 5,700 to SSO |
12 | Retired | 1996 | 2012 |
Delta III | ![]() |
Boeing | 8,290 | 3,810 to GTO | 3 | Retired | 1998 | 2000 |
Dnepr | ![]() |
Yuzhmash | 4,500 | 2,300 to GTO 550 to TLI |
22 | Retired | 1999 | 2015 |
Zenit-3 | ![]() |
Yuzhmash | 7,000 | 6,160 to GTO | 46 | Operational | 1999 | |
Long March 2F | ![]() |
CALT | 8,400 | 3,500 to GTO | 16 | Operational | 1999 | |
Long March 4B/4C | ![]() |
SAST | 4,200 | 1,500 to GTO 2,800 to SSO |
76 | Operational | 1999 | |
H-IIA | ![]() |
Mitsubishi | 10,000-15,000 | 4,100-6,000 to GTO | 39 | Operational | 2001 | |
Soyuz-FG | ![]() |
TsSKB-Progress | 6,900 | 70 | Retired | 2001 | 2019 | |
GSLV Mk.I | ![]() |
ISRO | 4,000 | 2,150 to GTO | 6 | Retired | 2001 | 2010 |
Atlas V | ![]() |
United Launch Alliance | 18,850 | 8,900 to GTO | 86 | Operational | 2002 | |
Soyuz-2/Soyuz ST | ![]() |
TsSKB-Progress | 8,200 | 3,250 to GTO 4,400 to SSO |
73 | Operational | 2006[a] | |
Long March 3B/E | ![]() |
CALT | 11,500 | 5,500 to GTO 6,900 to SSO |
63 | Operational | 2007 | |
Long March 3C | ![]() |
CALT | 9,100 | 3,800 to GTO 6,500 to SSO |
15 | Operational | 2008 | |
H-IIB | ![]() |
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | 19,000 | 8,000 to GTO | 9 | Retired | 2009 | 2020 |
Falcon 9 v1.0 | ![]() |
SpaceX | 10,450 | 4,540 to GTO | 5 | Retired | 2010 | 2013 |
GSLV Mk.II | ![]() |
ISRO | 5,000 | 2,700 to GTO | 7 | Operational | 2010 | |
Antares 110–130 | ![]() |
Orbital Sciences | 5,100[7] | 1,500 to SSO | 5 | Retired | 2013 | 2014 |
Falcon 9 v1.1 | ![]() |
SpaceX | 13,150 | 4,850 to GTO | 15 | Retired | 2013 | 2016 |
Soyuz-2.1v | ![]() |
TsSKB-Progress | 2,800 | 1,400 to SSO | 7 | Operational | 2013 | 2021 |
Falcon 9 Full Thrust
(Falcon 9 Block 3 and 4) |
![]() |
SpaceX | 15,600+[8] | 7,075+[9] to GTO | 63 | Retired | 2015 | 2018 |
Antares 230 | ![]() |
Northrop Grumman | 7,800[7] | 3,000 to SSO | 3 | Operational | 2016 | |
Long March 7/7A | ![]() |
CALT | 13,500 | 5,500 to SSO 7,000 to GTO |
5 | Operational | 2016 | |
GSLV Mk.III | ![]() |
ISRO | 10,000 | 4,000 to GTO | 4 | Operational | 2017[b] | |
Falcon 9 Block 5 | ![]() |
SpaceX | 16,250 reusable 22,800 expendable |
5,500 to GTO reusable 8,300 to GTO expendable 4,020 to Mars |
93 | Operational | 2018 | |
Long March 8 | ![]() |
CALT | 8,100 | 4,500 to SSO | 1 | Operational | 2020 | |
Nuri | ![]() |
KARI | 2,600 (LEO, 300 km) | 1,500 to SSO (700 km) | 1 | Operational | 2021[c] | |
H3 | ![]() |
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | 4,000 | 4,000-7900 | 0 | Under development | 2022 | |
Angara 1.2 | ![]() |
Khrunichev | 3,500[10] | 0 | Under development | 2022[b] | ||
Vega-C | ![]() |
Avio | 2,200 to SSO (700 km)[11] | 0 | Under development | 2022 | ||
Ariane 6 (A62) | ![]() |
ArianeGroup | 10,350 | 5,000 to GTO | 0 | Under development | 2022 | |
Irtysh | ![]() |
Progress Rocket Space Centre | 18,000 | 5,000 to GTO | 0 | Under development | 2023 | |
Unified Launch Vehicle | ![]() |
Indian Space Research Organization | 4,500-15000 | 1,500-6000 to GTO | 0 | Under development | 2023 | |
Neutron | ![]() ![]() |
Rocket Lab | 8,000 | 0 | Under development | 2024 | ||
Terran R | ![]() |
Relativity Space | 20,000 | 0 | Under development | 2024 | ||
Beta | ![]() |
Firefly Aerospace | 8,000 | 5,800 to SSO[12] | 0 | Under development | 2024 |