Eighty years of launches in nine machines — ending with one that stands 124 metres tall and out-pushes the Moon rocket twice over.
The V-2 was built as a weapon, but a vertical test in June 1944 climbed past 170 km — the first human-made object ever to reach space.
The Soviet R-7 lifted Sputnik, then Gagarin. Its descendants still carry crews to orbit today, making it by far the longest-serving rocket family.
Saturn V flew 13 times and never lost a crew. It remained the most powerful rocket ever launched for more than fifty years after its last flight.
The N1 packed 30 engines into its first stage — and all four launches ended in failure. The Soviet crewed Moon programme quietly died with it.
The Space Shuttle flew 135 missions and glided home to a runway, proving large spacecraft could be flown again — though never as cheaply as promised.
Ariane 5 flew 117 times across 27 years and ended its career with its most valuable payload: the James Webb Space Telescope, placed almost perfectly.
Falcon 9 made landing a rocket routine. By mid-2026 SpaceX had recovered boosters over 600 times, and a single booster had flown 36 missions.
The Space Launch System sent Artemis I on a loop around the Moon on its very first flight, leaving the pad with more thrust than Saturn V ever produced.
Starship stands about 124 metres tall, and its 33 engines give it roughly twice the thrust of Saturn V. After 13 test flights, it is still being proven.
Every rocket on this list looked reckless before it worked. The one that changes the next eighty years is sitting on a pad somewhere right now.