GCAT Release 1.5.4 (2023 Oct24) | Data Update 2024 Apr 18
Launch Vehicle List
The LV (launch vehicle) list has the following fields:
- Name of launch vehicle
- Launch vehicle family
- base stage.
- Manufacturer.
See the Orgs file.
- Launch vehicle variant.
Sometimes two different launch vehicles
have the same name. For instance, the Vanguard rocket had variants
with different third stages; the Little Joe 1 had various combinations
of rocket motors; some variants of the H-1 had different strapons or
different numbers of stages. These variants are indicated by
an extra string in this field.
- Alias.
An entry in this field indicates that the vehicle mentioned
as an alias is an alternate name for this vehicle. For instance, the Taurus 1110
has the alias `ARPA Taurus', indicating that the separate entry for ARPA
Taurus actually refers to the same vehicle as the Taurus 1110; the vehicle
was simply renamed. I have chosen in my launch listings to use the
vehicle name in use by the launch agency at the time of launch.
The Saturn IB, for example, was known for a while as the Uprated Saturn I,
and has identical entries under each name.
- Stage numbers.
Two numbers giving the minimum and maximum stage number.
The minimum is usually 1, but sometimes 0 to allow for strapon stages,
and occasionally -1 to allow for two kinds of strapon stage (e.g. Atlas IIAS).
- Length
(metres.)
The length is approximate, and may vary when different payloads and fairings are used.
- Diameter
(metres)
- Launch mass,
(tonnes)
- LEO payload capacity
in kg, approximate; only provided for some of the orbital vehicles. Values in these fields are
especially tentative.
- GTO payload capacity
in kg, approximate; only provided for some of the orbital vehicles. Values in these fields are
especially tentative.
- Launch thrust,
kN.
- Vehicle type,
see below.
- Estimated max apogee
(kilometers). In many cases this is a rough
order of magnitude (ROM) estimate. In some cases for IRBM/ICBMs I include an extra
figure representing the range.
The following vehicle types are defined: (number of examples is from the 2003 release and has not been updated)
| Code | Type |
|---|
| D | Deep Space launch |
| M | Missile |
| O | Orbital vehicle |
| R | Research rocket |
| V | Reentry test vehicle |
| X | Exoatmospheric test |
| Y | Exoatmospheric weather rocket |
| A | Endoatmospheric missile |
| C | Cruise missile |
| Q | Endoatmospheric reentry test |
| T | Endoatmospheric test/research |
| W | Endoatmospheric weather rocket |
These types for individual launch vehicle types are slightly more finely
divided than those used for the Family/Stage datafile: apart from the
use of O rather than L, the R category is broken up to include V, X and
Y subtypes and the T/A category is joined by the Q type. Note that
the A,C,Q,T,W types of rocket never enter space (by my 80 km definition).