launch vehicle

American  

noun

1. Aerospace. a rocket used to launch a spacecraft or satellite into orbit or a space probe into space.

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launch vehicle British  

noun

1. a rocket, without its payload, used to launch a spacecraft

2. another name for booster

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Etymology

Origin of launch vehicle

First recorded in 1955–1960

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

launch vehicle

Under an international collaboration agreement, ESA supplied the telescope's launch service using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026

The rocket-propelled launch vehicle will not take off from a launch pad.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

As of late May, the company was already more than 1,300 satellites short of that target, with delays blamed in part on "launch vehicle availability" from Blue Origin and other providers.

From BBC ● May 29, 2026

Since the U.S. struck Iran’s three Iranian nuclear sites last summer, experts say, Iran has conducted tests of a space launch vehicle, one of which appears to have malfunctioned.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026

Over the course of the decade, a series of space missions confirmed that the idea of having a launch vehicle that separated from the mother ship would, in fact, work.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson