Every orbital-class rocket that has flown at least once, ranked by sea-level liftoff thrust, as of October 5, 2026. SpaceX’s Starship V3 leads at 80,800 kilonewtons, nearly double the Soviet N1 and well above NASA’s Saturn V and SLS.
Pictured: the “FULL MISSION! SpaceX Starship Flight 14” video, for Starship, #1 with 80,800 kN of liftoff thrust.
| Rank | Rocket | Liftoff thrust (kN) | Thrust (lbf) | First flight | Operator | Status | Country | Outcome / note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Starship / Super Heavy (V3) | 80,800 | 18,160,000 | 2023 | SpaceX | Active | United States | Test flights; first orbital flight Sep 28, 2026 |
| 2 | N1 | 45,400 | 10,200,000 | 1969 | Soviet space program | Retired | Soviet Union | All four flights failed (1969–72) |
| 3 | SLS Block 1 | 39,100 | 8,800,000 | 2022 | NASA | Active | United States | Flew Artemis I (2022) and II (2026) |
| 4 | Energia | 35,832 | 8,055,000 | 1987 | Soviet space program | Retired | Soviet Union | Two flights (1987, 1988) |
| 5 | Saturn V | 34,500 | 7,760,000 | 1967 | NASA | Retired | United States | 13 launches, no payload lost |
| 6 | Space Shuttle | 30,160 | 6,780,000 | 1981 | NASA | Retired | United States | Flew 1981–2011 |
| 7 | Falcon Heavy | 22,819 | 5,130,000 | 2018 | SpaceX | Active | United States | 14 flights as of Oct 1, 2026 |
| 8 | New Glenn | 17,219 | 3,870,000 | 2025 | Blue Origin | Active | United States | Pre-upgrade thrust; upgrades under way |
| 9 | Ariane 64 | 15,400 | 3,460,000 | 2026 | Arianespace / ESA | Active | Europe | Ariane 6 with four boosters |
| 10 | Ariane 5 ECA | 15,120 | 3,400,000 | 2002 | Arianespace / ESA | Retired | Europe | Last Ariane 5 flight Jul 5, 2023 |
| 11 | Titan IVB | 15,000 | 3,370,000 | 1997 | US Air Force / Lockheed Martin | Retired | United States | Last flight Oct 19, 2005 |
| 12 | Vulcan Centaur (VC4S) | 13,000 | 2,920,000 | 2024 | United Launch Alliance | Active | United States | Largest flown version; VC6 not yet flown |
| 13 | Atlas V 551 | 12,141 | 2,730,000 | 2006 | United Launch Alliance | Active | United States | Satellite launches ended Jul 2026 |
| 14 | Long March 5 | 10,680 | 2,400,000 | 2016 | CASC / CALT | Active | China | 18 launches, 1 failure |
| 15 | Proton-M | 10,532 | 2,368,000 | 2001 | Khrunichev / Roscosmos | Active | Russia | Proton family has flown since 1965 |
No matching rows.
As of October 5, 2026. Thrust is the manufacturer- or agency-published sea-level thrust at liftoff, in kilonewtons, with pounds-force converted from it (1 kN is about 224.8 lbf); values are nominal design figures, not measured, and sources differ by a few percent. Inclusion rule: a rocket must have launched at least once, one row per vehicle at its most powerful version that has actually flown. That puts the N1 in despite all four flights failing, and leaves out designs that have never flown, such as Long March 9, Long March 10A, SLS Block 1B, Vulcan VC6 and the 9×4 New Glenn. The table is trimmed to the top 15, so Delta IV Heavy (9,341 kN) and smaller rockets fall just outside. Figures still evolving: Starship’s number is the V3 rating (Flights 12–14 in 2026; earlier versions were lower), and New Glenn’s is its pre-upgrade rating. “Active” for Atlas V means it has stopped launching satellites (July 2026) but still has Starliner flights booked, and Vulcan is flying but has had national-security missions paused after a booster anomaly in February 2026.[1]
Version 3 of the 33-engine Super Heavy booster, with Raptor 3 engines, is rated at about 80,800 kN (more than 18 million pounds-force) at liftoff, well over the 33,700 to 35,000 kN of the Saturn V.[2] V3 debuted on Flight 12 on May 22, 2026, and Flight 14 on September 28, 2026 was Starship’s first orbital flight, deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites even after one booster engine and one ship engine shut down early.[2][3]
The Soviet Moon rocket’s first stage burned 30 NK-15 engines at once for 45,400 kN, the most powerful rocket stage ever flown, and N1 sits here because it did launch, four times between 1969 and 1972.[4] All four flights failed, and the second one crashed back onto its pad in one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history.[4]
NASA puts the Block 1 SLS at 8.8 million pounds-force (about 39 MN) from four RS-25 engines and two five-segment solid boosters, about 15% more than the Saturn V.[5] It flew uncrewed on Artemis I in 2022 and carried four astronauts around the Moon on Artemis II, launching April 1, 2026.[5]
Four RD-170 kerosene boosters and a hydrogen core with four RD-0120 engines gave the Soviet heavy-lifter about 35,832 kN at liftoff.[6] It flew twice, with the Polyus military platform in 1987 and the uncrewed Buran shuttle on November 15, 1988, before the programme was discontinued.[6] The figure is an astronautix.com value, and published numbers for Energia vary by a few percent.
Five F-1 engines produced about 34.5 MN (roughly 7.6 million pounds-force) at liftoff according to NASA-sourced figures, though some references quote up to 35,100 kN.[7] Thirteen Saturn Vs flew between November 9, 1967 and May 14, 1973, and it stayed the most powerful rocket to reach orbit until Starship.[7]
The orbiter’s three main engines and two solid boosters produced a total liftoff thrust of about 30.16 MN, or 6.78 million pounds-force, with the boosters supplying most of it.[8] It flew from 1981 to its final launch, Atlantis on STS-135, on July 8, 2011.[8]
Three Falcon 9 cores with 27 Merlin engines deliver about 22,819 kN (5.13 million pounds-force), the most powerful operational rocket until SLS flew.[9] NROL-97 on October 1, 2026 was its 14th flight and the first for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, following ViaSat-3 and the Roman Space Telescope earlier this year.[9]
Blue Origin’s seven BE-4 engines provide about 3.9 million pounds-force (17,219 kN) at liftoff, a figure Blue Origin plans to lift to roughly 19,900 kN with upgraded engines.[10] Its third flight, on April 19, 2026, was the first to reuse a booster, which landed at sea, though the payload ended up in the wrong orbit.[10]
Europe’s Ariane 6 with four solid boosters is credited with up to 15,400 kN at liftoff.[11] Flight VA269 on June 17, 2026 flew the first Ariane 64 with upgraded P160C-based boosters and carried 36 Amazon Leo satellites, the heaviest payload an Ariane has launched.[11] The listed thrust was published for the P120C boosters, so the newer boosters may add a little.
Two large solid boosters plus a Vulcain 2 core gave Europe’s previous workhorse about 15,120 kN.[12] Ariane 5 retired after 117 flights, the last being VA261 on July 5, 2023 with Heinrich Hertz and Syracuse-4B.[12]