NASAfacts

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) aims to 

connect NASA and NASA-sponsored payloads with 

commercial rockets. LSP’s principal objectives are to 

provide safe, reliable, cost-effective, and on-schedule launch services. 

NASA’s policy is to have a fleet of rockets that use 

both existing and emerging domestic launch capabilities to assure access to space for the agency’s science and robotic missions. The program works with 

commercial providers to ensure science and robotic 

missions have integration services, payload processing facilities, and appropriate launch manifesting. 

Rocket Technical Oversight

The NASA Flight Planning Board is responsible for 

ensuring the Launch Services Program procures 

launch services that align with the spacecraft’s risk 

tolerance. LSP works to match missions with appropriate rockets. 

Additionally, LSP performs technical oversight of 

launch services provided by commercial launch service providers, remaining accountable for the success 

of NASA missions. Some areas of oversight include:

• Rocket engineering and manufacturing

• Launch operations and countdown management

• Providing added quality and mission assurance

NASA’s technical oversight approach identifies 

technical issues and assesses the competency and 

adequacy of the technical work performed by the 

commercial launch service providers. For more information, see NASA Policy Directive (NPD) 8610.23C.

Rocket Risk Classification

To classify rockets designed to launch robotics missions into Earth orbit and beyond, NASA uses three 

categories based on risk associated with the rocket. 

To certify a rocket into one of these three categories, NASA uses a set of requirements that examines 

various aspects of the rockets including management systems, flight experience, design and analysis, 

testing, and risk management strategies. The three 

categories are:

Category 1: High Risk – New, common rocket 

configuration with little or no prior demonstrated 

flight history.

Category 2: Medium Risk – Rockets that have a 

limited history of successful flights representing 

an 89% demonstrated reliability. 

Category 3: Low Risk – Rockets that have a more 

robust flight history representing a 95% demonstrated reliability. 

NPD 8610.7D addresses launch vehicle risk classification in addition to the assessment areas required for each level and provides more details about 

NASA’s launch services risk mitigations.

NASA Launch Services Risk

Classification Fact Sheet

(Left) A team prepares NASA’s Psyche spacecraft for launch 

inside the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s 

Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 8, 2022. Photo credit: 

NASA/Ben Smegelsky
NASA Launch Services RiskClassification Fact Sheet 2 NASA Facts

Payload Risk Classification

NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance establishes 

criteria for risk classification for NASA payloads in NASA Procedural Requirements (NPR) 8705.4A. This publication defines 

“risk” as “the potential for shortfalls with respect to achieving 

explicitly established and stated objectives.” 

As applied to payloads, the stated objectives are translated 

into performance requirements, which may be related to safety, mission success, cost, schedule, or institutional support for 

mission execution. Mission directorates define risk tolerance 

classes for payloads within these criteria, considering the relative importance of the related objectives and aligning risk tolerance with risk appetite, or the amount and type of risk they are 

willing to pursue or retain.

NASA has four distinct risk tolerance levels, or classes, corresponding to the acceptable risk and degree of uncertainty 

assigned to a payload: 

Class A: The lowest risk tolerance missions, normally representing a very high priority mission with very high complexity. 

Class A payloads will be launched on Risk Category 3 rockets 

with a more robust flight history, which matches the payloads 

with the lowest risk tolerance to the rockets with the lowest 

risk. Example missions for Class A payloads include the James 

Webb Space Telescope, Europa Clipper, and the Nancy Grace 

Roman Space Telescope.

Class B: Low risk tolerance missions, normally representing a 

high priority mission with high complexity, depending on the 

case. Class B payloads may be launched on Risk Category 

3 rockets or Risk Category 2 rockets. Example missions for 

Class B payloads are the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the 

Mars Science Laboratory, Psyche and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R).

Class C: Moderate risk tolerance missions, normally representing a medium priority mission with medium complexity. 

Class C payloads may be launched on Risk Category 3 rockets 

or Risk Category 2 rockets. Example missions for Class C payloads include TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), and 

SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, 

Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer).

Class D: High risk tolerance missions, normally representing a lower priority mission with a medium to low complexity.

Class D payloads may be launched on Risk Category 1 rockets or rockets that NASA has not certified. Other high-risk 

payload launch service options may be pursued through the 

NASA Flight Planning Board. Example missions for Class D 

payloads include CYGNSS (Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System), TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of 

Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats), and ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma 

Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers).

Differences Between Launch Contracts

To provide unique launch capabilities and opportunities for different payloads, LSP offers contracts that also carry different 

risk assessment requirements.

NASA Launch Services II contracts are for high priority, low and 

medium risk tolerant missions, with full NASA technical oversight and mission assurance, resulting in the highest practical 

probability of launch success. It is the primary method to acquire Category 2 and Category 3 commercial launch services. 

However, LSP can place a Class D ‘high risk tolerant’ payload 

on a low or medium risk launch vehicle, and many rideshares 

are higher risk missions. In those cases, they’re configured to 

do no harm, so they don’t interfere in any way with the primary 

payload.

VADR (Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) 

launch service contracts implement a modified technical oversight approach using a lower level of mission assurance and 

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket, carrying NASA’s Mars 

Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter, begins rollout from the Vertical 

Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape 

Canaveral Air Force Station on July 28, 2020. Photo credit: NASA/Ben 

Smegelsky
NASA Launch Services RiskClassification Fact Sheet 3 NASA Facts

more commercial practices to achieve lower launch costs. Use 

of VADR is only available to higher risk tolerant missions, which 

includes Class D mission or missions that do not receive a formal spacecraft risk designation but have been approved for 

use of VADR.

Through Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) licensed launches, VADR helps foster a growing U.S. commercial launch market. Through Venture-Class missions, NASA’s CubeSat Launch 

Initiative provides launch opportunities to CubeSats with a 

higher risk tolerance, helping demonstrate and mitigate risks 

associated with the use of new rockets and providing access 

to space for future small spacecraft and missions.

VCLS (Venture-Class Launch Services) demonstration contracts, a precursor to VADR, were fixed price contracts for 

demonstration launches. These contracts were created to understand new emerging rockets prior to having a first flight. 

The 2015 Venture-Class Launch Services (VCLS) demonstraTechnicians prepare NASA’s Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation 

structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) 

CubeSats for encapsulation in Rocket Lab’s Electron payload fairing in a 

processing facility near Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand. Photo 

credit: Rocket Labs

A wet dress rehearsal is underway for Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket at 

Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand on April 28, 2023. NASA’s TimeResolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a 

Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) CubeSats are secured in the payload 

fairing atop the rocket. Photo credit: Rocket Labs

In this view looking up, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairings 

are being secured around NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental 

Satellite-T (GOES-T) inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida, on Feb. 7, 2022. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

John F. Kennedy Space Center

Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899

www.nasa.gov

FS-2023-07-734-KSC

tion contracts studied the risks of selecting new rockets before 

they had flown and determined that these new rockets could 

deliver NASA payloads at a fixed price. The 2021 VCLS Demo 

2 contracts continued this journey to better understand the 

new U.S. launch suppliers.

NASA’s Launch Services Program is based at the agency’s 

Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Through careful analysis and 

evaluation – along with prudent risk – NASA can make sure 

that science payloads find the appropriate rockets to meet all 

the mission requirements, reduce costs while supporting new 

launch providers, and send a wide variety of payloads to space 

that benefit people on Earth.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Surface Water and Ocean Topography 

(SWOT) spacecraft onboard is seen as preparations for launch continue, 

Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022, at Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg 

Space Force Base in California. Photo credit: NASA/Keegan Barber

The standard CubeSat size uses a “one unit” or “1U” measuring 10x10x10 

centimeters and is extendable to larger sizes; 1.5, 2, 3, 6, and even 12U. A 

CubeSat typically weighs less than 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) per unit.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket begins its demonstration flight with liftoff 

February 6, 2018 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space 

Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett