United States
Comparing the Size of The World’s Rockets, Past and Present
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The Size of The World’s Rockets, Past and Present
The SpaceX Starship might be the next rocket to take humans to the moon, but it won’t be the first, and likely not the last.
Starting in the mid-20th century, humanity has explored space faster than ever before. We’ve launched satellites, telescopes, space stations, and spacecrafts, all strapped to rocket-propelled launch vehicles that helped them breach our atmosphere.
This infographic from designer Tyler Skarbek stacks up the many different rockets of the world side-by-side, showing which country designed them, what years they were used, and what they (could) accomplish.
How Do The World’s Rockets Stack Up?
Before they were used for space travel, rockets were produced and developed to be used as ballistic missiles.
The first rocket to officially reach space—defined by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale as crossing the Kármán line at 100 kilometers (62 miles) above Earth’s mean sea level—was the German-produced V-2 rocket in 1944.
But after World War II, V-2 production fell into the hands of the U.S., the Soviet Union (USSR), and the UK.
Over the next few decades and the unfolding of the Cold War, what started as a nuclear arms race of superior ballistic missiles turned into the Space Race. Both the U.S. and the USSR tried to be the first to achieve and master spaceflight, driving production of many new and different rockets.
Origin Country | Rocket | Years Active | Payload (Range) | Success/Failure |
---|---|---|---|---|
Germany | V-2 | 1942–1952 | (Suborbital) | 2852/950 |
U.S. | Vanguard | 1957–1959 | 9 kg (LEO) | 3/8 |
USSR | Sputnik | 1957–1964 | 1,322 kg (LEO) | 6/1 |
U.S. | Juno 1 | 1958–1958 | 11 kg (LEO) | 3/3 |
U.S. | Juno II | 1958–1961 | 41 kg (LEO) | 4/6 |
USSR | Vostok | 1958–1991 | 4,725 kg (LEO) | 106/3 |
U.S. | Redstone | 1960–1961 | 1,800 kg (Suborbital) | 5/1 |
U.S. | Atlas LV-3B | 1960–1963 | 1,360 kg (LEO) | 7/2 |
U.S. | Atlas-Agena | 1960–1978 | 1,000 kg (LEO) | 93/16 |
U.S. | Scout | 1961–1994 | 150 kg (LEO) | 121/27 |
USSR | Voskhod | 1963–1976 | 5,900 kg (LEO) | 281/14 |
U.S. | Titan II | 1964–1966 | 3,100 kg (LEO) | 12/0 |
Europe (ELDO) | Europa | 1964–1971 | 360 kg (GTO) | 4/7 |
France | Diamant | 1965–1975 | 160 kg (LEO) | 9/3 |
U.S. | Atlas E/F | 1965–2001 | 820 kg (LEO) | 56/9 |
USSR | Soyuz | 1965–Present | 7,100 kg (LEO) | 1263/44 |
USSR | Proton | 1965–Present | 23,700 kg (LEO) | 375/48 |
U.S. | Saturn 1B | 1966–1975 | 21,000 kg (LEO) | 9/0 |
U.S. | Saturn V | 1967–1973 | 48,600 kg (TLI) | 13/0 |
USSR | Kosmos-3M | 1967–2010 | 1,500 kg (LEO) | 424/20 |
UK | Black Arrow | 1969–1971 | 135 kg (LEO) | 2/2 |
U.S. | Titan 23B | 1969–1971 | 3,300 kg (LEO) | 32/1 |
USSR | N1 | 1969–1972 | 23,500 kg (TLI) | 0/4 |
Japan | N-1 | 1975–1982 | 1,200 kg (LEO) | 6/1 |
Europe (ESA) | Ariane 1 | 1976–1986 | 1,400 kg (LEO) | 9/2 |
USSR | Tsyklon-3 | 1977–2009 | 4,100 kg (LEO) | 114/8 |
U.S. | STS | 1981–2011 | 24,400 kg (LEO) | 133/2 |
USSR | Zenit | 1985–Present | 13,740 kg (LEO) | 71/13 |
Japan | H-I | 1986–1992 | 3,200 kg (LEO) | 9/0 |
USSR | Energia | 1987–1988 | 88,000 kg (LEO) | 2/0 |
Israel | Shavit | 1988–2016 | 800 kg (LEO) | 8/2 |
U.S. | Titan IV | 1989–2005 | 17,000 kg (LEO) | 35/4 |
U.S. | Delta II | 1989–2018 | 6,100 kg (LEO) | 155/2 |
Europe (ESA) | Ariane 4 | 1990–2003 | 7,600 kg (LEO) | 113/3 |
U.S. | Pegasus | 1990–Present | 443 kg (LEO) | 39/5 |
Russia | Rokot | 1990–Present | 1,950 kg (LEO) | 31/3 |
U.S. | Atlas II | 1991–2004 | 6,580 kg (LEO) | 63/0 |
China | Long March 2D | 1992–Present | 3,500 kg (LEO) | 44/1 |
India | PSLV | 1993–Present | 3,800 kg (LEO) | 47/3 |
Japan | H-IIA | 1994–2018 | 15,000 kg (LEO) | 40/1 |
Europe (ESA) | Ariane 5 | 1996–Present | 10,865 kg (GTO) | 104/5 |
Brazil | VLS-1 | 1997–2003 | 380 kg (LEO) | 0/2 |
USSR | Dnepr-1 | 1999–2015 | 4,500 kg (LEO) | 21/1 |
U.S. | Atlas III | 2000–2005 | 8,640 kg (LEO) | 6/0 |
Japan | M-V | 2000–2006 | 1,800 kg (LEO) | 6/1 |
U.S. | Minotaur 1 | 2000–2013 | 580 kg (LEO) | 11/0 |
India | GSLV MK1 | 2001–2016 | 5,000 kg (LEO) | 6/5 |
U.S. | Atlas V 400 | 2002–Present | 15,260 kg (LEO) | 54/1 |
U.S. | Delta IV Medium | 2003–Present | 9,420 kg (LEO) | 20/0 |
U.S. | Delta IV Heavy | 2004–Present | 28,790 kg (LEO) | 12/1 |
U.S. | Falcon 1 | 2006–2009 | 180 kg (LEO) | 2/3 |
China | Long March 4C | 2006–Present | 4,200 kg (LEO) | 26/2 |
U.S. | Atlas V 500 | 2006–Present | 18,850 kg (LEO) | 27/0 |
Iran | Safir | 2008–Present | 65 kg (LEO) | 4/1 |
U.S. | Minotaur IV | 2010–Present | 1,735 kg (LEO) | 6/0 |
Europe (ESA) | Vega | 2012–Present | 1,450 kg (SSO) | 14/1 |
U.S. | Minotaur V | 2013–Present | 532 kg (GTO) | 1/0 |
Japan | Epsilon | 2013–Present | 1,500 kg (LEO) | 4/0 |
U.S. | Antares | 2013–Present | 8,000 kg (LEO) | 11/1 |
U.S. | Falcon 9 FT | 2013–Present | 22,800 kg (LEO) | 96/0 |
India | GSLV MK3 | 2014–Present | 4,000 kg (GTO) | 4/0 |
Russia | Angara 5 | 2014–Present | 13,450 kg (LEO) | 3/0 |
U.S. | New Shepard | 2015–Present | (Suborbital) | 14/0 |
New Zealand | Electron | 2017–Present | 225 kg (SSO) | 17/2 |
U.S. | Falcon 9 Heavy | 2018–Present | 54,400 kg (LEO) | 3/0 |
U.S. | Starship | 2021–Present | 100,000 kg (LEO) | 0/0 |
U.S. | SLS | 2021–Present | 36,740 kg (TLI) | 0/0 |
As the Space Race wound down, the U.S. proved to be the biggest producer of different rockets. The eventual dissolution of the USSR in 1991 transferred production of Soviet rockets to Russia or Ukraine. Then later, both Europe (through the European Space Agency) and Japan ramped up rocket production as well.
More recently, new countries have since joined the race, including China, Iran, and India. Though the above infographic shows many different families of rockets, it doesn’t include all, including China’s Kuaizhou rocket and Iran’s Zuljanah and Qased rockets.
Rocket Range Explained and Continued Space Aspirations
Designing a rocket that can reach far into space while carrying a heavy payload—the objects or entities being carried by a vehicle—is extremely difficult and precise. It’s not called rocket science for nothing.
When rockets are designed, they are are created with one specific range in mind that takes into account the fuel needed to travel and velocity achievable. Alternatively, they have different payload ratings depending on what’s achievable and reliable based on the target range.
- Suborbital: Reaches outer space, but its trajectory intersects the atmosphere and comes back down. It won’t be able to complete an orbital revolution or reach escape velocity.
- LEO (Low Earth orbit): Reaches altitude of up to ~2,000 km (1242.74 miles) and orbits the Earth at an orbital period of 128 minutes or less (or 11.25 orbits per day).
- SSO (Sun-synchronous orbit): Reaches around 600–800 km above Earth in altitude but orbits at an inclination of ~98°, or nearly from pole to pole, in order to keep consistent solar time.
- GTO (Geosynchronous transfer orbit): Launches into a highly elliptical orbit which gets as close in altitude as LEO and as far away as 35,786 km (22,236 miles) above sea level.
- TLI (Trans-lunar injection): Launches on a trajectory (or accelerates from Earth orbit) to reach the Moon, an average distance of 384,400 km (238,900 miles) from Earth.
But there are other ranges and orbits in the eyes of potential spacefarers. Mars for example, a lofty target in the eyes of SpaceX and billionaire founder Elon Musk, is between about 54 and 103 million km (34 and 64 million miles) from Earth at its closest approach.
With space exploration becoming more common, and lucrative enough to warrant billion-dollar lawsuits over contract awards, how far will future rockets go?
Politics
How Much Do Americans Trust the Media?
Media trust among Americans has reached its lowest point since Trump won the 2016 presidential election.

How Much Do Americans Trust the Media?
Media trust among Americans has reached its lowest point in six years.
Gallup began its survey on media trust in 1972, repeating it in 1974 and 1976. After a long period, the public opinion firm restarted the polls in 1997 and has asked Americans about their confidence level in the mass media—newspapers, TV, and radio—almost every year since then.
The above graphic illustrates Gallup’s latest poll results, conducted in September 2023.
Americans’ Trust in Mass Media, 1972-2023
Americans’ confidence in the mass media has sharply declined over the last few decades.
Trust in the mass media | % Great deal/Fair amount | % Not very much | % None at all |
---|---|---|---|
1972 | 68 | 24 | 6 |
1974 | 69 | 21 | 8 |
1976 | 72 | 22 | 4 |
1997 | 53 | 31 | 15 |
1998 | 55 | 35 | 9 |
1999 | 55 | 34 | 11 |
2000 | 51 | 37 | 12 |
2001 | 53 | 33 | 14 |
2002 | 54 | 35 | 11 |
2003 | 54 | 35 | 11 |
2004 | 44 | 39 | 16 |
2005 | 50 | 37 | 12 |
2007 | 47 | 35 | 17 |
2008 | 43 | 35 | 21 |
2009 | 45 | 37 | 18 |
2010 | 43 | 36 | 21 |
2011 | 44 | 36 | 19 |
2012 | 40 | 39 | 21 |
2013 | 44 | 33 | 22 |
2014 | 40 | 36 | 24 |
2015 | 40 | 36 | 24 |
2016 | 32 | 41 | 27 |
2017 | 41 | 29 | 29 |
2018 | 45 | 30 | 24 |
2019 | 41 | 30 | 28 |
2020 | 40 | 27 | 33 |
2021 | 36 | 29 | 34 |
2022 | 34 | 28 | 38 |
2023 | 32 | 29 | 39 |
In 2016, the number of respondents trusting media outlets fell below the tally of those who didn’t trust the media at all. This is the first time that has happened in the poll’s history.
That year was marked by sharp criticism of the media from then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.
In 2017, the use of the term ‘fake news’ rose by 365% on social media, and the term was named the word of the year by dictionary publisher Collins.
The Lack of Faith in Institutions and Social Media
Although there’s no single reason to explain the decline of trust in the traditional media, some studies point to potential drivers.
According to Michael Schudson, a sociologist and historian of the news media and a professor at the Columbia Journalism School, in the 1970s, faith in institutions like the White House or Congress began to decline, consequently impacting confidence in the media.
“That may have been a necessary corrective to a sense of complacency that had been creeping in—among the public and the news media—that allowed perhaps too much trust: we accepted President Eisenhower’s lies about the U-2 spy plane, President Kennedy’s lies about the ‘missile gap,’ President Johnson’s lies about the war in Vietnam, President Nixon’s lies about Watergate,”
Michael Schudson – Columbia Journalism School
More recently, the internet and social media have significantly changed how people consume media. The rise of platforms such as X/Twitter and Facebook have also disrupted the traditional media status quo.
Partisans’ Trust in Mass Media
Historically, Democrats have expressed more confidence in the media than Republicans.
Democrats’ trust, however, has fallen 12 points over the past year to 58%, compared with 11% among Republicans and 29% among independents.
According to Gallup, Republicans’ low confidence in the media has little room to worsen, but Democrat confidence could still deteriorate and bring the overall national reading down further.
The poll also shows that young Democrats have less confidence in the media than older Democrats, while Republicans are less varied in their views by age group.
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