Rocket Stages
First-class booster, core, and upper stages of flagship vehicles, with their engines and propellants.
- Ariane 5 core stage (EPC)Rocket stage
The Ariane 5 cryogenic main stage (Étage Principal Cryotechnique), powered by a single Vulcain 2 engine burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
RolecoreEngines1 - Ariane 5 solid boosters (EAP)Rocket stage
The pair of large solid rocket boosters (Étage d'Accélération à Poudre) that provide most of Ariane 5's liftoff thrust.
Rolebooster - Falcon 9 first stageRocket stage
The reusable Falcon 9 first stage, powered by nine Merlin 1D engines and recovered by propulsive landing on a droneship or landing pad.
RolefirstEngines9 - Falcon 9 second stageRocket stage
The expendable Falcon 9 upper stage, powered by a single vacuum-optimized Merlin engine.
RoleupperEngines1 - S-IC (Saturn V first stage)Rocket stage
The Saturn V first stage, powered by five F-1 engines burning RP-1 and liquid oxygen — the stage that generated the Saturn V's ~34 MN of liftoff thrust.
RolefirstEngines5 - S-II (Saturn V second stage)Rocket stage
The Saturn V second stage, powered by five J-2 engines burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
RolesecondEngines5 - S-IVB (Saturn upper stage)Rocket stage
The restartable single-J-2 upper stage used as the Saturn V third stage and the Saturn IB second stage; its restart performed trans-lunar injection for Apollo.
RoleupperEngines1 - SLS Core StageRocket stage
The SLS core stage, powered by four RS-25 engines (repurposed Space Shuttle main engines) burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
RolecoreEngines4 - SLS Solid Rocket BoosterRocket stage
The pair of five-segment solid rocket boosters, derived from the Shuttle SRBs, that provide most of the SLS's liftoff thrust.
Rolebooster - Space Shuttle Solid Rocket BoosterRocket stage
The pair of reusable solid rocket boosters that provided most of the Space Shuttle's liftoff thrust before being recovered from the ocean by parachute.
Rolebooster