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Launching of Mercury-Redstone 2.
Launching of Mercury-Redstone 2. Mercury - Redstone 2 (MR-2 was a rocket mission launched at 1655 UTC on January 31, 1961 from LC-5 at Cape Canaveral

A rocket launch is the first phase of the flight of a rocket. A rocket or rocket vehicle is a Missile, Aircraft or other Vehicle which obtains Thrust by the reaction of the For orbital spaceflights, or for launches into interplanetary space, rockets are launched from a launch pad, which is usually a fixed location on the ground but may also be on a floating platform such as the San Marco platform, or the Sea Launch launch vessel. An orbital spaceflight (or orbital flight is a Spaceflight in which a Spacecraft is placed on a trajectory where it could remain in space for at least Outer space, often simply called space, comprises the relatively empty regions of the Universe outside the escape velocities of Celestial bodies. A launch pad is the area and facilities where rockets or spacecrafts liftoff The San Marco Platform (also known as Luigi Broglio Space Centre after its founder Luigi Broglio) is a Spaceport platform on an old oil

Launches of suborbital flights (including missile launches), can also be from:

Launches not into space can also be from:

"Rocket launch technologies" generally refers to the entire set of systems needed to successfully launch a vehicle, not just the vehicle itself, but also the firing control systems, ground control station, launch pad, and tracking stations needed for a successful launch and/or recovery. SpaceShipOne is a Spaceplane that completed the first privately funded Human spaceflight on June 21, 2004. The Douglas GAM-87A Skybolt was an air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM developed during the late 1950s A balloon is a flexible bag filled with a type of Gas, such as Helium, Hydrogen, Nitrous oxide or air. A rockoon (derived from the terms Rocket and Balloon) was an extension to the rocket which allowed the rocket to achieve further distance The da Vinci Project was a privately funded volunteer-staffed attempt to launch a reusable manned Suborbital Spacecraft. The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System is a United States Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency program developed to provide a last line of defense A shoulder-launched missile weapon is a Weapon that fires a Projectile at a target, yet is small enough to be carried by a single person and fired while A ground control station (GCS is a land- or sea-based control center that provides the facilities for human control of unmanned vehicles in the air or in space A launch pad is the area and facilities where rockets or spacecrafts liftoff An earth station or ground station is the surface-based (terrestrial end of a Communications link to an object in Outer space.

When launching a spacecraft to orbit, a "dogleg" is a guided, powered turn during ascent phase that causes a rocket's flight path to deviate from a "straight" path. A dogleg is necessary if the desired launch azimuth, to reach a desired orbital inclination, would take the ground track over land (or over a populated area, e. g. Russia usually does launch over land, but over unpopulated areas). Doglegs are undesirable due to extra onboard fuel required, causing heavier load, and a reduction of vehicle performance.

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Commercial launches

Commercial launch service providers include:

Viewing rocket launches

In the United States, dates for commercial and manned space launches are matters of public record, and are available months ahead of time. Boeing Integrated Defense Systems ( Boeing IDS) based in St Louis, Missouri, USA, is a unit of The Boeing Company responsible for Delta is a family of Expendable launch systems that have provided space launch capability in the United States since 1960 The Energia (or Energiya, Энергия in Russian, meaning Energy) Rocket was a Soviet rocket that was designed EADS Astrium Space Transportation was formed in June 2003 from the Space Infrastructure division of Astrium (whose core was originally ERNO) and the Arianespace SA is a French company and was founded in 1980. They undertake the production operation and marketing of the Ariane 5 rocket launcher as part This article is about the rocket developed by the European Space Agency. International Launch Services (ILS is a US-Russian joint venture with exclusive rights to the worldwide sale of commercial Proton rocket launch services from the Baikonur Cosmodrome The Proton rocket The Delta IV is a family of Delta Rockets designed by Boeing 's Integrated Defense Systems division and built in United Launch Alliance's The Atlas V Rocket is an Expendable launch vehicle formerly built by Lockheed Martin and now built by the Lockheed Martin- Boeing joint venture Starsem is a European Russian company that was created in 1996 to commercialise the Soyuz launcher. The Soyuz launch vehicle (Western designation A-2 is an Expendable launch system manufactured by TsSKB-Progress in Samara Russia. The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (usually known by its abbreviation GSLV) is an Expendable launch system operated by the Indian Space Research The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The exact dates of military launches remain confidential until only days before, but the months are public as well.

With the exception of the Space Shuttle, the visitor complex of the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida is open to the general public (with a nominal admission fee) for viewing rocket launches from the Space Center and from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA 's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System ( STS) is the Spacecraft currently used by the United States The John F Kennedy Space Center ( KSC) is the NASA Space vehicle launch facility and Launch Control Center ( Spaceport) on Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS is a detachment of the 45th Space Wing (45 SW Patrick AFB provides headquarters functions from the 45 SW a major airfield Viewing Space Shuttle launches from the visitor center requires special reservations. The visitor center is generally 10 km (6 miles) from the launch pads. Special reservations for the Space Shuttle are required because it is a much more powerful vehicle than the expendable launch vehicles currently in use, as well as the possibility of a disaster that would result in immediate death for the astronauts, such as the explosion of Challenger at the launch of mission STS-51-L. Space accidents, either during operations or training for Spaceflights have killed 22 Astronauts (five percent of all people who have been in space two percent Space Shuttle Challenger ( NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-099 was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service STS-51-L was the twenty-fifth flight of the American Space Shuttle program, which marked the first time a civilian had flown aboard the Space Shuttle Outside the center itself, the best launch viewing sites are along the beaches within the vicinity.

Launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California can best be seen from the cities of Santa Maria or Lompoc, or the surrounding beaches. Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States military installation with a Spaceport, in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Santa Maria is the largest city in Santa Barbara County California. Lompoc (pronounced /Lom'-poke/ is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States.

Launches by Russia from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan can best be viewed from the city of Baikonur. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( Kazakh: Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, Bayqoñır ğarış aylağı; Russian: Космодром Kazakhstan, also Kazakstan ( Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, qɑzɑqˈstɑn Казахстан, Kazakhstán,) officially the Baikonur ( Kazakh: Байқоңыр Russian: Байконур formerly known as Leninsk, is a city in Kyzylorda Province of Kazakhstan

Launches by the European Space Agency from Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana can best be viewed from Kourou or the surrounding beaches. The European Space Agency ( ESA) established in 1975 is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member The Guiana Space Centre, or more commonly Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG is a French Spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana. French Guiana (Guyane française officially fr ''Guyane'' is an Overseas department (French département d'outre-mer, or DOM) of France Kourou is a town and commune in French Guiana, an overseas ''région'' and ''département'' of France located in South America

Launch vehicles

Main article: launch vehicle

If a rocket is launched to deliver a payload from a planetary surface into space it is called a launch vehicle. In Spaceflight, a launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a Rocket used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into Outer space. In military aircraft or space exploration the payload is the carrying capacity of an aircraft or space ship including as Cargo, Munitions scientific instruments In Spaceflight, a launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a Rocket used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into Outer space.

There are several broad categories that launch vehicles fall under, including:

For the launch vehicles currently in use for human spaceflight, see that article. An expendable launch system is a Launch system that uses an expendable launch vehicle (ELV to carry a payload into Space. A reusable launch system (or reusable launch vehicle, RLV is a Launch system which is capable of launching a Launch vehicle into space more than once A single-stage-to-orbit (or SSTO) vehicle reaches Orbit from the surface of a body without jettisoning hardware expending only propellants and fluids A two-stage-to-orbit ( TSTO or DSTO - Double/Dual-Stage-To-Orbit launch vehicle is a spacecraft in which two distinct stages provide propulsion A human spaceflight is a Spaceflight with a human crew, and possibly passengers

There were ca. 46 launches into space in 2004.

See also

External links

Spacecraft propulsion is any method used to change the velocity of Spacecraft and artificial Satellites There are many different methods In Astrodynamics and Rocketry, gravity drag (or gravity losses) is the difference between the Delta-v expended and the actual change in speed Non-rocket spacelaunch (NRS is the idea of reaching outer space specifically from the Earth's surface predominately without the use of conventional chemical rockets which today The following is a list of Rockets Launch systems Known as "space rockets" these vehicle families have had launch attempts An orbital spaceflight (or orbital flight is a Spaceflight in which a Spacecraft is placed on a trajectory where it could remain in space for at least A sub-orbital spaceflight (or sub-orbital flight is a Spaceflight in which the Spacecraft reaches space, but its Trajectory intersects Takeoff is the phase of Flight in which an Aircraft goes through a transition from moving along the ground ( Taxiing) to flying in the air usually
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