Famous Rockets

Read more about the article Proton-K: Taking first lander to Mars!
Famous Rockets / Space Exploration

Proton-K: Taking first lander to Mars!

Not many rockets get to live long to go for 300+ launches! Proton-K, by the time it retired on 30th March 2012, had completed 310 launches! That's an incredible feat, especially recognizing the fact that the first launch was in 1967. The Proton-K, also designated Proton 8K82K after its GRAU index, 8K82K, was a Russian, previously Soviet, carrier rocket derived from the earlier Proton. It was built by Khrunichev and launched from sites 81 and 200 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in…

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July 3, 2021
Read more about the article Vega: Italian Star Rocket!
Aeolus lifts off on Vega Photo credits: European Space Agency
Famous Rockets / Space Exploration

Vega: Italian Star Rocket!

Vega is an acronym that means — Vettore Europeo di Generazione Avanzata (Italian), or Vecteur européen de génération avancée (French), or European Vector of Advanced Generation (English) meaning "Advanced generation European carrier rocket". It is an expendable launch system in use by Arianespace jointly developed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the European Space Agency (ESA). Italy is the leading contributor to the Vega program (65%), followed by France (13%). Other participants include Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden.…

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July 3, 2021
Read more about the article Electron: a taste of electric power!
A National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) payload was successfully launched aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Launch Complex-1 Credits: National Reconnaissance Office
Famous Rockets / Space Technology

Electron: a taste of electric power!

Electron is a two-stage, partially recoverable orbital launch vehicle developed by Rocket Lab, an American aerospace company founded in New Zealand with a wholly-owned New Zealand subsidiary. It is powered by Rutherford engines which are the first electric-pump-fed engines to power an orbital-class rocket. Electron achieved the feat of reaching orbit on January 21, 2018. The rocket is also the first to use fully carbon-composite tanks (not just carbon-overwrap pressure vessels, the body of the Electron is just carbon fiber, no…

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July 3, 2021
Read more about the article Long March 3B/E: Taking China to the Moon
A Long March-3B rocket carrying two new-generation satellites for the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwest China’s Sichuan Province, July 25, 2015. Photo Credit: Xinhua / Zhu Zheng
Famous Rockets / Space Exploration

Long March 3B/E: Taking China to the Moon

The Long March 3B is a Chinese orbital launch vehicle having three stages, with an optional fourth stage. The rocket has four liquid-fueled side boosters and was first launched in 1996. The Long March rockets have subsequently maintained an excellent reliability record. Since 2010, Long March launches have made up 15–25% of all space launches globally. A Long March-3B rocket carrying two new-generation satellites for the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest…

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July 2, 2021
Read more about the article Ariane 5: 100 launches and still firing!
Ariane 5 in full glory! Photo Credits: ESA
Famous Rockets / Space Exploration / Space Technology

Ariane 5: 100 launches and still firing!

A rocket that created a streak of 82 successful launches! Yes, you read it right! 82 successful launches in a row, with a total of 109 launches as of the date and still more to go. Ariane 5 is one of the most successful heavy-lift launch vehicles developed and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). ESA originally designed Ariane 5 to launch the Hermes spaceplane, and thus it is rated for human space launches. After the launch of…

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July 2, 2021
Read more about the article Titan IIIE: Escaping Solar System!
The Voyager 2 aboard Titan III-Centaur launch vehicle lifted off on August 20, 1977. The Voyager 2 was a scientific satellite to study the Jupiter and the Saturn planetary systems including their satellites and Saturn's rings. Photo credits: NASA
Famous Rockets / Space Exploration / Space Probes

Titan IIIE: Escaping Solar System!

Voyager, Viking, and Helios: What's common in these 3 space probes? All of them were launched by Titan IIIE rocket. An American expendable launch system, Titan IIIE was launched 7 times between 1974 and 1977. It enabled several high-profile NASA missions, including the Voyager and Viking planetary probes and the joint West Germany-U.S. Helios spacecraft. The Voyager 2 aboard Titan III-Centaur launch vehicle lifted off on August 20, 1977. The Voyager 2 was a scientific satellite to study the Jupiter and…

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July 1, 2021

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