launch vehicle

noun

: a rocket used to launch a satellite or spacecraft

Examples of launch vehicle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The failure was blamed on the collapse of the H3’s payload support structure, damaging the rocket’s second stage and leading to the unplanned separation of the satellite from the launch vehicle. —Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 19 June 2026

While development of the Starship launch vehicle continues apace, in 2026, SpaceX also supports 10 million+ Starlink customers. —Jon Martindale, PC Magazine, 16 June 2026

Phil McAlister, a director at NASA for more than 19 years, had meetings and conversations with Shotwell and Musk about the development of the reusable Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Crew Dragon capsule. —Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 16 June 2026

SpaceX comes to the road show with its reusable Falcon 9 launch vehicle; the Starlink satellite network, which includes more than 10,000 satellites in orbit and counting; and a record of turning improbable space hardware into working systems. —Chris Stokel-Walker, Scientific American, 12 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1960, in the meaning defined above