Super heavy-lift launch vehicle

Only 14 such payloads were successfully launched before 2022: 12 as part of the Apollo program before 1972 and two Energia launches, in 1987 and 1988.

Several super heavy-lift launch vehicle concepts were produced in the 1960s, including the Sea Dragon. During the Space Race, the Saturn V and N1 were built by the United States and Soviet Union, respectively. After the Saturn V's successful Apollo program and the N1's failures, the Soviets' Energia launched twice in the 1980s, once bearing the Buran spaceplane. The next two decades saw multiple concepts drawn out once again, most notably Space Shuttle-derived vehicles and Rus-M, but none were built.

In the 21st century, super heavy-lift launch vehicles began to receive interest once again, leading to the development and launch of the Falcon Heavy, the Space Launch System and Starship, as well as the development of the Long March 9 and 10, Yenisei, NGLV, and New Glenn 9x4 rockets.

Flown vehicles

Retired

• Saturn V was a NASA launch vehicle that made 13 orbital launches between 1967 and 1973, principally for the Apollo program through 1972. The Apollo lunar payload included a command module, service module, and Lunar Module, with a total mass of 45 t (99,000 lb). When the third stage and Earth-orbit departure fuel was included, Saturn V placed approximately 140 t (310,000 lb) into low Earth orbit (LEO). The final launch of Saturn V in 1973 placed Skylab, a 77-tonne (170,000 lb) payload, into LEO.
• The Energia launcher was designed by the Soviet Union to launch up to 105 t (231,000 lb) to low Earth orbit. Energia launched twice in 1987/88 before the program was cancelled by the Russian government, which succeeded the Soviet Union, but only the second flight payload reached orbit. On the first flight, launching the Polyus weapons platform (approximately 80 t (180,000 lb)), the vehicle failed to enter orbit due to a software error on the kick-stage. The second flight successfully launched the Buran orbiter. Buran was intended to be reusable, similar to the Space Shuttle Orbiter, but it relied entirely on the disposable launcher Energia to reach orbit.

Operational

• Falcon Heavy is rated to launch 63.8 t (141,000 lb) to low Earth orbit (LEO) in a fully expendable configuration and an estimated 57 t (126,000 lb) in a partially reusable configuration, in which two of its three boosters are recovered. The latter configuration flew on 1 November 2022, but with a much smaller ~3,700 kg (8,200 lb) payload being launched to geostationary orbit with a maximum ~9,200 kg (20,300 lb) payload being launched to geostationary orbit on 29 July 2023 on the rocket's seventh overall flight. The fully expendable configuration first flew on 1 May 2023, but with a smaller ~6,722 kg (14,819 lb) payload being launched to geostationary orbit. The first test flight occurred on 6 February 2018, in a configuration in which recovery of all three boosters was attempted, with Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster of 1,250 kg (2,760 lb) sent to an orbit beyond Mars.
• The Space Launch System (SLS) is a US government super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle developed by NASA that can carry 95 t (209,000 lb) to low Earth orbit. It launched its first mission on 16 November 2022 and is slated to be the primary launch vehicle for NASA's deep space exploration plans, including the planned crewed lunar flights of the Artemis program and a possible follow-on human mission to Mars in the 2030s.
• Starship is a two-stage-to-orbit fully reusable launch vehicle being privately developed by SpaceX, consisting of the Super Heavy booster as the first stage and a second stage, also called Starship. It is designed to be a long-duration cargo and passenger-carrying spacecraft. Starship completed its first successful launch on its third flight on March 14, 2024, and achieved soft landing of both stages on its fourth flight. The first stage booster was successfully caught on its fifth flight, and a booster first stage was reused on its ninth flight. On September 28, 2026, during its fourteenth flight, Starship became operational when it deployed 26 Starlink v3 satellites to LEO (estimated payload mass 52 t).

Under development

• The Long March 9 is a Chinese three-stage-to-orbit partially reusable launch vehicle being developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. The design has undergone numerous major changes over the years and with the most recent designs showing some resemblance to the SpaceX Starship. The Long March 9 is planned to be operational by the early 2030s.
• The Long March 10 is a Chinese three-stage-to-orbit partially reusable launch vehicle being developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology with an initial launch targeting 2027.
• New Glenn 9x4 is a partially reusable two-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle being developed by Blue Origin. The vehicle is derived from the currently flying New Glenn 7x2.

Unsuccessfully flown

• The N1 was a three-stage super heavy lift launch vehicle developed in the Soviet Union from 1965 to 1974. It was the Soviet counterpart to the Saturn V, however all four test flights of the vehicle ended in flight failure. For lunar missions, it would carry the L3 crewed lunar payload into Low Earth Orbit, which had an additional two stages, a Soyuz 7K-LOK as a mothership and an LK lunar lander that would be used for crewed lunar landings. Its Block A first stage held the record for the most thrust of any rocket stage built until it was superseded by the Super Heavy booster on its first flight.