A medium-lift launch vehicle (MLV) is a rocket launch vehicle that is capable of lifting between by NASA classification or between by Russian classification of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). An MLV is between a small-lift launch vehicle and a heavy-lift launch vehicle. Medium-lift vehicles comprise the majority of orbital launches , with both the Soyuz and Falcon 9 having launched several hundred times.
The Soviet R-7 family was based on the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Sputnik was a small-lift derivative that carried the first satellite into orbit, and the R-7 design quickly grew in capacity, with Luna launching in 1958. The 1960s saw the R-7 series continue to develop, with Vostok 1 carrying the first human into space, Voskhod carrying multiple crew members, and the first Soyuz. , Soyuz variants are still operational and have launched over 1,100 times. The R-7 family has launched more times than any other family of orbital rockets.
The first US medium-lift vehicle was a purpose-built orbital launch vehicle, the Saturn I. Saturn I first launched in 1961, and the Saturn family would eventually grow into the heavy-lift Saturn IB and the super-heavy lift Saturn V.
ICBM-derived launch vehicles for the US include the Atlas, Titan, and Delta families. Atlas-Centaur launched in 1962 and marked the first use of a Centaur upper stage. , the derivative Atlas V is still operational; Centaur has seen extensive use on multiple vehicles and is operational on the Atlas V and Vulcan vehicles. Titan II GLV carried the Gemini spacecraft. The family was further developed into Titan III which utilized solid rocket boosters (SRBs), and in 1989, the heavy-lift Titan IV. Medium-lift versions of the Delta family include Delta II which utilized up to nine SRBs, and the Delta IV which could use optional SRBs or three first-stage cores as a heavy variant.
SpaceX introduced the Falcon 9 in 2010, designed to be a partially reusable launch vehicle. Falcon 9 underwent iterative upgrades and completed the first propulsive landing of an orbital rocket stage in 2015. SpaceX then began regularly reusing first stages. In 2022, Falcon 9 broke the record of 47 launches in one year held by Soyuz-U. Falcon 9 launched 91 times in 2023 and 132 times in 2024.
China's Long March family and the European Ariane family were introduced in the 1970s. Japan launched the H-I in 1986 before developing the H-II and H3. India introduced the PSLV in 1993 and LVM3 in 2014. South Korea's Nuri reached orbit in 2022.