Editing Launch vehicle (section)

==Mass to orbit==
Launch vehicles are classed by NASA according to [[low Earth orbit]] payload capability:<ref name="classes">[https://web.archive.org/web/20230718230006/https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/500393main_TA01-LaunchPropulsion-DRAFT-Nov2010-A.pdf NASA Space Technology Roadmaps - Launch Propulsion Systems, p.11]: "Small: 0-2t payloads, Medium: 2-20t payloads, Heavy: 20-50t payloads, Super Heavy: >50t payloads"</ref>

*[[Small-lift launch vehicle]]: < {{convert|2000|kg|lb}} - e.g. [[Vega (rocket)|Vega]]<ref name="arianspace201408">{{cite web |title=Launch services—milestones |url=http://www.arianespace.com/launch-services-ariane5/milestones.asp |publisher=Arianespace |access-date=19 August 2014 }}</ref>
*[[Medium-lift launch vehicle]]: {{convert|2000|to|20000|kg|lb}} - e.g. [[Soyuz ST]]<ref name="arianespace2009">{{cite web |title=Welcome to French Guiana |url=http://www.arianespace.com/spaceport-intro/spaceport-brochure-2009-en.pdf |website=arianespace.com |publisher=Arianespace |access-date=19 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923185100/http://www.arianespace.com/spaceport-intro/spaceport-brochure-2009-en.pdf |archive-date=23 September 2015 }}</ref>
*[[Heavy lift launch vehicle|Heavy-lift launch vehicle]]: > {{convert|20000|to|50000|kg|lb}} - e.g. [[Ariane 5]]<ref name=arianespace2009/>
*[[Super heavy-lift launch vehicle|Super-heavy lift vehicle]]: > {{convert|50000|kg|lb}} - e.g. [[Saturn V]]<ref name=hsf200910>[http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/396093main_HSF_Cmte_FinalReport.pdf HSF Final Report:  Seeking a Human Spaceflight Program Worthy of a Great Nation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091122095823/http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/396093main_HSF_Cmte_FinalReport.pdf |date=2009-11-22 }}, October 2009, ''Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee'', p. 64-66: "5.2.1 The Need for Heavy Lift ... require a “super heavy-lift” launch vehicle ... range of 25 to 40 mt, setting a notional lower limit on the size of the super heavy-lift launch vehicle if refueling is available ... this strongly favors a minimum heavy-lift capacity of roughly 50 mt ..."</ref>

[[Sounding rocket]]s are similar to small-lift launch vehicles, however they are usually even smaller and do not place payloads into orbit. A modified [[S-Series (rocket family)|SS-520]] sounding rocket was used to place a 4-kilogram payload ([[TRICOM-1R]]) into orbit in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|title=SS-520|url=https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_lau/ss-520.htm|website=space.skyrocket.de|access-date=2020-06-02}}</ref>