In fact, missile technology diverged from launch vehicle technology quite early on. With missiles, you want a storable propellant so that you can launch-on-dem

In fact, missile technology diverged from launch vehicle technology quite early on. With missiles, you want a storable propellant so that you can launch-on-demand -- not launch-after-fueling. Thus, hypergolics and solid propellants. As warheads became miniaturized, the payload capacity actually went down. When the Russians started selling their decommissioned missiles for satellite launches (e.g., Rokot), the only things they could launch with it were small LEO satellites. It's actually military satellite launchers that drove the commercial market. Spy satellites kept getting heavier, so the launchers got beefier, which meant that communications satellites could also get bigger.