1. Small Rockets (Suborbital): Small rockets used for suborbital flights, such as sounding rockets or commercial space tourism vehicles, typically require a few hundred kilograms to a few tons of propellant. These rockets are designed to reach altitudes of a few hundred kilometers or less and return to Earth without achieving orbit.
2. Medium-Lift Rockets (Orbital): Rockets capable of reaching orbit, known as medium-lift vehicles, typically require several hundred tons of propellant. For example, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which is used to launch satellites and cargo to low Earth orbit (LEO), has a liftoff mass of around 550 tons, of which approximately 390 tons is propellant (a mixture of liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene).
3. Heavy-Lift Rockets (Orbital): Heavy-lift rockets, designed to carry large payloads or send spacecraft to distant destinations, require significantly more propellant. Rockets such as the SpaceX Falcon Heavy, NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), or the upcoming Blue Origin New Glenn can have liftoff masses exceeding several thousand tons, with the majority of that mass being propellant. The SLS, for instance, has a liftoff mass of around 2,700 tons, with approximately 2,000 tons of propellant.
4. Interplanetary Missions: Rockets intended for interplanetary missions, such as those used to send spacecraft to Mars or beyond, require even larger amounts of propellant. These missions often involve multiple stages and complex trajectories, necessitating several burns and significant changes in velocity. The propellant requirements for such missions can be several hundred tons or even thousands of tons, depending on the specific mission and spacecraft design.
It's important to note that these are very rough estimates, and actual fuel consumption can vary based on factors like the efficiency of the rocket engines, the desired trajectory, and the specific mission objectives.
