Philippine Modular Launch Vehicle (PMLV):
The PMLV was developed by Philippine Aerospace Corporation (PAC) for the Philippine Space Agency in the late 1990's as a family of launch vehicles encompassing low earth orbit payload capacities ranging from 1500 kg to 25000 kg. After a joint development for a solid-fueled launch vehicle with Israel, which lead to a Shavit derivative (similar to the South African RSA-3) which was used to launch the Philippines' first satellite in 1990, it was decided that a newer liquid-fueled launch vehicle was needed to lift future payloads, including a (then proposed) manned spacecraft. With input the Yuzhnoye design bureau, PAC developed the PMLV to use liquid oxygen and RP-1 for propulsion and developed a series of rocket engines for the launch vehicle. It was decided to use modular design as used by the Atlas V and Delta IV rockets, as these launch vehicles were being designed at around the same time for similar requirements.
The PMLV has several variants (from left to right in the picture above), the PMLV 200, PMLV 400, PMLV 520, PMLV 540, PMLV 600/Heavy and PMLV 400M. All PMLV variants use a common lower stage engine, a vacuum version of which is used on the second stages of all PMLV variants except for the PMLV 200. The PMLV 400, 500 and 600 series vehicles use a Common Modular Core with 5 engines, with the PMLV 200 first stage (with 1 engine) adapted as the strap-on boosters on the PMLV 500-series and the Common Modular Core as the strap-ons on the PMLV 600. The PMLV 400M is a man-rated version of the PMLV 400 used to launch the Philippine Crew Transport Vehicle (PCTV) to low earth orbit.
All PMLV variants are launched from the Mati Space Center near Mati City in Mindanao. The space center has one launch pad for the PMLV 200 and two launch pads for the PMLV 400, 500 and 600 series vehicles, with one of the pads equipped with a crew access tower for manned launches of the PMLV 400M. Vehicle processing of all PMLV variants involves both horizontal and vertical integration. The first two stages are mated at a horizontal integration facility, then loaded to a transporter cradle to be sent to the launch pads on a self-propelled modular transporter. Once on the pad, the stack are pivoted to vertical position and the service structure is rolled to the rocket to allow mating the payload and connecting umbilicals. The service structure is then rolled back before launch.