List of NASA launch vehicles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of launch vehicles used in missions by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Intercontinental ballistic missiles such as the SM-65 Atlas, are not included. Launch vehicles used for missions operated by private companies (such as SpaceX) for NASA are also not included.
List
| Name | Years in operation | Program | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Joe 1 | 1959 | Project Mercury | |
| Blue Scout II | 1961 | ||
| Little Joe | 1959-1961 | ||
| Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle[1] | 1960-1961 | First crewed launch vehicle | |
| Titan II GLV | 1964-1966 | Project Gemini | |
| Little Joe II | 1963-1966 | Apollo program | Uncrewed, used for testing the launch escape system |
| Saturn I[2] | 1961-1965 | United States' first medium-lift launch vehicle | |
| Saturn IB[3] | 1966-1975 | Also used in the Apollo-Soyuz mission | |
| Saturn V[4] | 1967-1973 | First launch vehicle to take humans past Low Earth orbit, used in Skylab missions | |
| Space Shuttle[5] | 1981-2011 | Space Shuttle program | First partially reusable launch vehicle |
| Atlas V[6] | 2002-2025 | Commercial Crew Program | Active as of June 2025, retiring |
| Space Launch System[7] | 2022- | Artemis program | Active as part of the Artemis program |
| Delta rocket family | 1960-2024 | Various programs | |
| Atlas rocket family | 1957- | Various programs | Active |
| Titan rocket family | 1958-2005 | Various programs |