Type of company which specialises in launching spacecraft
Alaunch service provider orlaunch vehicle provider[1] is a type of company that delivers a payload into space, including the delivery of satellites, spacecraft, cargo, astronauts, and potentially space tourists.[2] Services provided may include furnishinglaunch vehicles, launch support, equipment and facilities, for the purpose of launching satellites into orbits or deep space. These companies and their launch vehicles are in various stages of development, with some (such as SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and ULA) already in regular operation, while others are not.[3]
In 2018, the launch services sector accounted for $5.5 billion out of a total $344.5 billion "global space economy".[4]: 9 It is responsible for the ordering, conversion or construction of thecarrier rocket, assembly and stacking, payload integration, and ultimately conducting the launch itself. Some of these tasks may be delegated or sub-contracted to other companies. For example,United Launch Alliance formally subcontracted the production ofGEMsolid rocket motors for theirDelta II andDelta IV (Medium version) rockets toAlliant Techsystems. (Both vehicles are now retired.)[5][6] An LSP does not necessarily build all the rockets it launches.
A document central to successful launch service provision is theInterface Control Document (ICD), a contract that specifies the integration and mission requirements responsibilities across the service provider and the service solicitor.[7]
In some cases, an LSP is not required to launch a rocket. Government organizations such as the military and defense forces may conduct the launch themselves.
^Forganni, Antonella; de Sousa, Bruno R.; Borowitz, Mariel; Hoerber, Thomas, eds. (2025).Routledge Handbook of Space Policy. New York, NY: Routledge. p. 115.ISBN978-1040271926.
^Federal Aviation Administration (2012). "Commercial Space Transportation: 2011 Year in Review". In Freeman SO, Butler KI (eds.).Commercial Space Industry: Manufacturing, Suborbitals and Transportation (This is an edited, reformatted and augmented version of the Federal Aviation Administration, HQ-121525.INDD, dated January 2012.). Space Science, Exploration and Policies. New York: Nova Science Publishers.ISBN978-1-62257-303-5. Retrieved2022-04-22.
This template lists historical, current, and future space rockets that at least once attempted (but not necessarily succeeded in) an orbital launch or that are planned to attempt such a launch in the future
Symbol† indicates past or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but never succeeded (never did or has yet to perform a successful orbital launch)
