// ORBITAL LOGISTICS AND PROPULSION TERM
Staging
Staging is a technique used in rocket design where a rocket is built in multiple sections, or "stages," that are dropped off sequentially after their fuel is used up, making the rocket lighter and more efficient.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
Staging is a rocket design principle involving the use of multiple, independently propelled sections (stages) that are sequentially jettisoned after expending their propellant, significantly increasing the rocket's final velocity and payload capacity by reducing inert mass.
BACKGROUND
As of May 27, 2026, the SpaceX Starship has been launched 12 times, with 7 successes and 5 failures. SpaceX has developed Starship with the intention of lowering launch costs using economies of scale. It aims to achieve this by reusing both rocket stages, increasing payload mass to orbit, increasing launch frequency, creating a mass-manufacturing pipeline and adapting it to a wide range of space missions. Starship is the latest project in SpaceX's reusable launch system development program and plan to colonize Mars, and is one of two landing systems selected by NASA for the Artemis program's crewed Lunar missions.
READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIASYNONYMS & ALIASES
- multi-staging
- multi-stage rocket design
- tiered propulsion
USAGE NOTE
Staging is fundamental to achieving orbital velocity and deep-space missions with current rocket technology.
DEVELOPERS
Organizations developing technology related to Staging.
Develops the Falcon 9 and Starship launch vehicles, which feature reusable first stages. The company pioneered propulsive vertical landing for orbital-class boosters after stage separation and is developing a 'hot staging' technique for its Starship system, where the second stage engine ignites before the first stage is fully separated.
A joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing, ULA has a long history of reliable, multi-stage expendable rockets like the Atlas V and Delta IV. Their new Vulcan Centaur rocket continues this legacy with a multi-stage design to place payloads into various orbits.
Designs and manufactures the Electron rocket, a two-stage orbital launch vehicle. Rocket Lab has developed and implemented a complex stage separation system and is actively working on recovering and reusing the first stage, which involves post-separation maneuvers.
Developing the New Glenn orbital-class, heavy-lift launch vehicle, which features a reusable first stage designed for multiple flights. The successful execution of stage separation and the subsequent landing of the booster is central to their architecture.
As the prime contractor for the European Ariane family of rockets, ArianeGroup is responsible for the entire launch system, including the critical staging mechanisms. Both the Ariane 5 and the new Ariane 6 are multi-stage vehicles using solid and liquid propellant stages that separate during ascent.
Manufactures large solid rocket boosters (SRBs) used by launch vehicles like NASA's Space Launch System (SLS). These boosters function as a parallel first stage ('Stage 0') and their separation from the core stage is a critical, pyrotechnic-driven staging event.
Develops the Alpha launch vehicle, a two-stage rocket designed for the small satellite market. The company has successfully demonstrated the functionality of its staging system, which separates the first and second stages to allow the upper stage to deliver payloads to orbit.
Focuses on 3D-printing entire launch vehicles, including their multi-stage Terran R rocket. The design and integration of reliable staging systems into their unique additive manufacturing process is a key area of their technology development.