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List of launch service providers

Type of company which specialises in launching spacecraft

Summary

Type of company which specialises in launching spacecraft

A launch service provider or launch vehicle provider is a type of company that delivers a payload into space, including the delivery of satellites, spacecraft, cargo, astronauts, and potentially space tourists. Services provided may include furnishing launch 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.

In 2018, the launch services sector accounted for $5.5 billion out of a total $344.5 billion "global space economy". It is responsible for the ordering, conversion or construction of the carrier 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 of GEM solid rocket motors for their Delta II and Delta IV (Medium version) rockets to Alliant Techsystems. (Both vehicles are now retired.) An LSP does not necessarily build all the rockets it launches.

A document central to successful launch service provision is the Interface Control Document (ICD), a contract that specifies the integration and mission requirements responsibilities across the service provider and the service solicitor.

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.

Current launch service providers

Corporate

  • AgniKul Cosmos (India)
  • Antrix Corporation (India)
  • Arianespace (France)
  • Astra (United States)
  • Blue Origin (United States)
  • CAS Space (China)
  • Deep Blue Aerospace (China)
  • Eurockot Launch Services (Germany)
  • Evolution Space (United States)
  • Firefly Aerospace (United States)
  • Galactic Energy (China)
  • GK Launch Services (Russia, Kazakhstan)
  • INNOSPACE (Korea)
  • International Launch Services aka ILS (United States)
  • Interstellar Technologies (Japan)
  • ISC Kosmotras (Russia)
  • i-Space (China)
  • Landspace (China)
  • LinkSpace (China)
  • Mitsubishi Heavy Industries via MHI Launch Services (Japan)
  • Northrop Grumman Space Systems Group (United States)
  • HyImpulse (Germany)
  • OneSpace (China)
  • Orienspace (China)
  • PLD Space (Spain)
  • Relativity Space (United States)
  • Rocket Factory Augsburg (Germany)
  • Rocket Lab (United States/New Zealand)
  • Sea Launch (Switzerland)
  • Skyroot Aerospace (India)
  • Space One (Japan)
  • Space Pioneer (China)
  • SpaceX (United States)
  • Starsem (France)
  • Stoke Space (United States)
  • The TRIT (India)
  • United Launch Alliance aka ULA (United States)
  • Up Aerospace (United States)
  • Vector Launch (United States)
  • Virgin Galactic (United States)
  • Zero 2 Infinity (Spain)

Former Corporate

  • Orbital ATK (United States)
  • Orbital Sciences Corporation (United States)
  • Stratolaunch Systems (United States)
  • Virgin Orbit (United States)

Governmental and State-owned

  • CALT (China)
  • DARPA (United States)
  • ExPace (China)
  • Glavkosmos (Russia)
  • ISA (Iran)
  • JAXA (Japan)
  • NATA (North Korea)
  • NASA (United States)
  • NSIL (India)

References

References

  1. (15 March 2016). "GSA Professional Services Schedule Launch Integrated Services (SLIS) Implementation Guide". General Services Administration.
  2. (2025). "Routledge Handbook of Space Policy". Routledge.
  3. "Launch Database {{!}} SpaceFund".
  4. (January 2018). "The Annual Compendium of Commercial Space Transportation: 2018". United States Government (Federal Aviation Administration).
  5. (5 April 2016). "Propulsion Products Catalog". Orbital ATK.
  6. Clark, Stephen. (14 September 2018). "Engineers say goodbye to society-changing Delta 2 rocket – Spaceflight Now". Pole Star Publications.
  7. Federal Aviation Administration. (2012). "Commercial Space Industry: Manufacturing, Suborbitals and Transportation". Nova Science Publishers.
  8. "Stoke Space / 100% reusable rockets / USA".
  9. "TRIT – The Centre of Excellence".
  10. (2 May 2023). "Rocket carrying cremains crashes after launching from Spaceport America".
  11. "Virgin Galactic".
  12. Moore, Maurice H.. (February 2011). "Department of Defense Spacelift In A Fiscally Constrained Environment". U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.
  13. Brooks, Timothy A.. (1991). "Regulating International Trade in Launch Services". [[High Technology Law Journal]].
  14. Heiney, Anna. (2018-04-10). "LSP Overview".
  15. "Mandate {{!}} NSIL".
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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