The ten rockets with the largest rated payload to low Earth orbit among rockets that have flown successfully, led by the Saturn V at 140 tonnes.
The Saturn V has the largest rated payload to low Earth orbit of any rocket that has flown successfully, at 140 tonnes. Energia (105 tonnes) is second and SpaceX's Starship Block 3 (100 tonnes) third. Ranking uses each vehicle's rated LEO capacity in Wikipedia's launch-system comparison tables as of October 2026; unflown designs are excluded.
Payload capacity to low Earth orbit (LEO) is the standard way to compare how much a rocket can lift. This list ranks rockets that have actually flown successfully, retired and current, by their rated LEO capacity. A rating is not the same as a payload actually flown. Most rockets have never launched a payload anywhere near their rated maximum, and the headline figures for Saturn V and SLS count the upper stage and propellant left in orbit, not only the spacecraft.
NASA's Apollo Moon rocket is rated at 140 tonnes to low Earth orbit, the highest rating of any rocket that has flown successfully. That figure counts everything placed in orbit on a lunar mission: the Apollo spacecraft, the S-IVB third stage and the propellant it still carried for the trip to the Moon.
The Soviet super-heavy launcher is rated at 105 tonnes to low Earth orbit, assuming the payload performs its own final orbit insertion. It flew twice, in 1987 and 1988, the second time carrying the uncrewed Buran shuttle, before the programme ended.
Starship's Block 3 version is listed at 100 tonnes to low Earth orbit, a SpaceX target rather than a demonstrated mass: the heaviest payload it has carried is far smaller. Block 3 made its first successful flight in 2026; a planned Block 4 is listed at 200 tonnes but has not flown.
NASA's SLS Block 1 is rated at 95 tonnes to low Earth orbit, a figure that includes the Orion spacecraft, its service module, the upper stage and the propellant for the trip to the Moon. It flew Artemis I in 2022 and has made two launches.
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy is rated at 63.8 tonnes to low Earth orbit when all three cores are expended. Recovering boosters for reuse lowers the rating, and this list counts only the expendable figure.
Blue Origin's New Glenn is rated at 45 tonnes to low Earth orbit with a reusable first stage. It first flew in 2025; a larger 9x4 version is under development and has not flown.
ULA's Delta IV Heavy, built from three liquid-hydrogen cores, was rated at 28.37 tonnes to low Earth orbit. It flew 16 times between 2004 and 2024.
China's Long March 5B is the two-stage version of the Long March 5 built to put large modules in low Earth orbit, rated at 25 tonnes. It launched the modules of China's Tiangong space station.
The Space Shuttle could carry 24.4 tonnes of payload in its cargo bay to low Earth orbit. That figure excludes the orbiter itself, which also reached orbit. The system flew 135 times between 1981 and 2011.
Europe's Ariane 6 with four boosters and upgraded Block 2 hardware is rated at 23.65 tonnes to low Earth orbit. That puts it just ahead of Russia's Proton-M (22 tonnes) and the earlier Ariane 6 A64 (21.6 tonnes). The Block 2 version first flew in 2026.
| # | Name | Operator | First flight | Reusable | Status | Rated LEO payload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saturn V | NASA | 1967 | No (expendable) | Retired (last flight 1973) | 140 t |
| 2 | Energia | NPO Energia (USSR) | 1987 | No (expendable) | Retired (last flight 1988) | 105 t |
| 3 | SpaceX Starship (Block 3) | SpaceX | 2026 | Yes (designed to be fully reusable) | Operational | 100 t |
| 4 | Space Launch System (Block 1) | NASA | 2022 | No (expendable) | Operational | 95 t |
| 5 | Falcon Heavy (expendable) | SpaceX | 2018 | Partially (side boosters recoverable) | Operational | 63.8 t |
| 6 | New Glenn (7x2) | Blue Origin | 2025 | Partially (first stage reusable) | Operational | 45 t |
| 7 | Delta IV Heavy | United Launch Alliance | 2004 | No (expendable) | Retired (last flight 2024) | 28.37 t |
| 8 | Long March 5B | CALT (China) | 2020 | No (expendable) | Operational | 25 t |
| 9 | Space Shuttle | NASA | 1981 | Partially (orbiter and boosters reused) | Retired (last flight 2011) | 24.4 t |
| 10 | Ariane 6 (A64 Block 2) | ArianeGroup (Europe) | 2026 | No (expendable) | Operational | 23.65 t |
Rockets are ranked by maximum rated payload mass to low Earth orbit in tonnes, as listed in the LEO column of Wikipedia's Comparison of orbital launch systems (current and flight-test vehicles) and Comparison of retired orbital launch systems, both accessed October 18, 2026. These two tables are one compilation on one basis. A vehicle qualifies only if that compilation records at least one successful flight. Designs that have not flown are excluded, among them Starship Block 4, SLS Block 1B, New Glenn 9x4, Long March 9 and Long March 10. So is the Soviet N1 (rated 95 tonnes), whose four launches all failed. Each vehicle appears once, in its highest-rated flown configuration: Falcon Heavy at its fully expendable rating. Figures are design ratings, not demonstrated masses. Rank 1 is the highest rating.
Low Earth orbit generally means orbits up to about 2,000 km. Manufacturers quote LEO capacity to a low reference orbit, which differs between vehicles, so small differences between ratings are not exact like-for-like comparisons.
The Soviet N1 moon rocket was rated at 95 tonnes to low Earth orbit, but all four launches between 1969 and 1972 failed and it never reached orbit. This list only includes rockets with at least one successful flight.
No. It is SpaceX's stated target for the Block 3 vehicle, as listed in Wikipedia's comparison table. The heaviest payload Starship has actually carried is far smaller. Like every figure here, it is a rating, not a mass that has been launched.
Only partly. The 24.4 tonnes is the cargo-bay payload and excludes the orbiter itself, which also went to orbit on every flight.
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