SpaceflightMemes

It seems weird to compare successful launch systems with ones that never flew, as if they were somehow equivalent:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N1_(rocket)

However, each of the four attempts to launch an N1 failed in flight, with the second attempt resulting in the vehicle crashing back onto its launch pad shortly after liftoff.

Energia flew successfully in both attempts, but died with the collapse of the USSR:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energia_(rocket)

SLS has only launched once and will probably get cut before anything more than Block 1 flies:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Launch_System

The first (and so far only) SLS launch was the uncrewed Artemis I, which took place on 16 November 2022.

Starship has had several successful launches of Block 1 but none of Block 2 yet:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Starship

Long March 9 and 10 are both still in development and have not seen any test launches, though theoretically CZ-10A will fly next year:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_March_9
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_March_10

The first planned launch of NGLV (the base model, not the super heavy) is still 6 years away:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_Generation_Launch_Vehicle

And Yenesei probably only exists on paper:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yenisei_(rocket)

The final design for the rocket was expected to be complete by autumn 2021, but the program appears to have been paused or stopped just before this expected completion date.

In 2024, it was announced that the project will resume in 2025.

The first launch was expected to happen in 2033 from the Vostochny cosmodrome.

I'm guessing graft has eaten most of this project's funding.

The only thing in this image that is actually operational is the Falcon Heavy:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_Heavy

Everything else is either history, or aspirational.