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Astronomy & Space vocabulary · Rockets & Spacecraft

Launch vehicle

Meaning in astronomy & space, with examples

nounCommon term

In astronomy & space, launch vehicle means: A rocket designed to carry a payload from Earth's surface into space. The term covers all its stages, engines and boosters together.

In Turkish: fırlatma aracı, taşıyıcı roket

How it is used

The formal term used by agencies, launch companies and engineers; journalists often just say 'rocket'. People speak of heavy-lift, medium-lift and reusable launch vehicles.

Example sentences

  1. The new launch vehicle failed on its first test flight, but the second one was a success.

  2. Choosing a launch vehicle depends on the mass of the satellite and the target orbit.

Common collocations

  • heavy-lift launch vehicle
  • reusable launch vehicle
  • launch vehicle provider
  • small launch vehicle
  • rocketA vehicle or engine that moves forward by pushing hot gas out of the back at high speed. Rockets are used to send satellites, probes and crews into space.
  • payloadThe cargo a rocket carries into space for a customer or a mission, such as a satellite, a probe, supplies or a crew capsule, as opposed to the rocket itself.
  • stageOne section of a rocket with its own engines and propellant. When a stage runs out of fuel, it separates and drops away, making the rest of the rocket lighter.
  • boosterA rocket or rocket stage that gives extra thrust in the first minutes of a launch and then separates. Side boosters are attached to the outside of the main rocket.
  • launchThe act of sending a rocket, spacecraft or satellite up from the ground into space. As a verb, to send it up in this way.

More terms: Rockets & Spacecraft

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