Launch vehiclesPayloadReuse
Orbital Rockets Comparison
The full launch-vehicle reference: payload to LEO/GTO, height, thrust, reuse model, cost, and status — filterable and sortable by lift class.
Open guideLaunch vehicles compared
The active and near-term heavy/medium orbital rockets, ranked by payload to low Earth orbit (LEO). Reuse and status drive real cost and cadence far more than raw payload — a lighter reusable rocket often beats a heavier expendable one on price per kilogram. Figures and status as of Nov 2026; open the deep-dive for live specs and per-mission caveats.
| Rocket | Maker | LEO payload | Height | Reuse | Status | First flight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starship | SpaceX | 150,000 kg target | 124 m | Full (target) | Orbit reached (Flight 14, Sep 2026) | 2023 |
| Falcon Heavy | SpaceX | 63,800 kg | 70 m | Boosters + fairings | Operational | 2018 |
| New Glenn | Blue Origin | 45,000 kg | 98 m | First stage | Grounded; return targeted Nov 2026 | 2025 |
| Vulcan Centaur | ULA | 27,200 kg | 61.6 m | Expendable | Grounded; return targeted 13 Nov 2026 | 2024 |
| Long March 5 | CASC | 25,000 kg | 57 m | Expendable | Operational | 2016 |
| Angara A5 | Roscosmos | 24,500 kg | 55.4 m | Expendable | Operational | 2014 |
| Falcon 9 | SpaceX | 22,800 kg | 70 m | First stage + fairings | Operational | 2010 |
| Ariane 6 | ArianeGroup / ESA | 21,650 kg | 63 m | Expendable | Operational | 2024 |
The spaceflight stack
Getting mass to orbit is only step one. Each layer below has its own engineering constraints — and its own cheat sheet.
1. LaunchRockets to orbit
Thrust, staging, reuse economics, and the payload/orbit tradeoff. Rockets → Calculate delta-v and propellant →
2. OrbitSatellites & constellations
What a modern satellite carries, and how a LEO constellation stays connected. Starlink →
3. LiveHabitats & life support
Closing the loop on air, water, and heat once people stay in space. Habitats → How it makes weight: spin gravity →
4. BeyondAtmosphere & cosmos
From supersonic flight in the atmosphere to the life cycle of stars. Stars →
Spaceflight cheat sheets
The full deep-dive references behind the comparison above.
SatellitesConstellationsLEO
Starlink Satellite Anatomy
What a modern LEO satellite is made of, V1 to V3: phased-array antennas, ion thrusters, inter-satellite laser links, and mass budgets.
Open guide
Life supportECLSSHabitats
Space Habitats & Life Support
Closed-loop air, water, and thermal control: how you keep humans alive off Earth, and where the recycling loops still leak.
Open guide
Spin gravityCalculatorHabitats
Artificial Gravity Calculator
Spin rate, rim speed, gravity gradient and Coriolis for any rotating habitat, the published comfort limits, and the Stanford torus, O'Neill cylinder and Kalpana One compared.
Open guide
AviationSupersonicSpecs
Boom Supersonic Overture
Overture specs, range, speed, and program timeline — the atmospheric-flight companion to the orbital vehicles above.
Open guide
AstronomyStarsReference
Stellar Lifecycle
From nebula to supernova and beyond: the birth, main sequence, and death of stars, as a scroll-driven visual journey.
Open guideAdjacent: frontier hardware
Not spaceflight, but built by the same companies pushing the same limits — worth a look if rockets are your lens on hard engineering.