Pick up to 4 launch vehicles to compare side-by-side. State lives in the URL — share the link and the comparison loads exactly as you left it.
The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Khrunichev / Roscosmos | CASC / CALT | ULA |
| Country | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇨🇳 China | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Active | Active | Retired |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Heavy | Medium |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX (RD-191, all 5 modules) | UDMH/N₂O₄ (stages 1–2) + LH₂/LOX (stage 3 YF-75) | RP-1 / LOX (RD-180); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur III) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| First flight | 2014 | 1996 | 2002 – 2024 |
| Payload to LEO | 24,500 kgas of [1]With KVTK cryogenic upper stage (planned); Briz-M gives ~5,400 kg GTO ↑ Best | 11,200 kgas of [1] | 18,850 kgas of [1]401 configuration. Maximum 401/551 stretch to 20,520 kg. 551 max 29,420 kg (5-solid boosters). |
| Payload to GTO | 5,400 kgas of [1]Briz-M upper stage. KVTK would raise this to ~7,500 kg. | 5,500 kgas of [1]With 4 strap-on liquid boosters (CZ-3B/E enhanced variant) | 8,900 kgas of [1]551 configuration (maximum performance) ↑ Best |
| Height | 64 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 54.84 mas of [1] | 58.3 mas of [1]401 configuration |
| Liftoff mass | 773 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 426 tas of [1]Enhanced variant with 4 liquid strap-on boosters | 334 tas of [1]401 configuration without strap-ons |
| Success rate | 100%as of [2]4/4 mission successes: Dec 2014, Dec 2020, Mar 2023, Apr 2024 ↑ Best | ~95%as of [2]~6 failures/partial failures out of ~105+ flights; gradually being superseded by Long March 5 for GTO | 100%as of [2]99/99 mission successes from Aug 2002 through Apr 2024 (final Kuiper flight). Only launch vehicle with 100% success across 99 missions. ↑ Best |
| Total flights | 4as of [2] | ~105as of [2] ↑ Best | 99as of [2]Retired after KA-01 (Amazon Kuiper satellite testbed, Apr 9, 2024) |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | — |
| Summary | Russia's new-generation heavy-lift rocket built entirely of Russian-manufactured components — a political priority after Proton-M's dependence on Ukrainian components. Five URM-1 universal rocket modules share the same propellant (RP-1/LOX), unlike Proton-M's toxic hypergolics. Flight rate remains very low. | China's primary geostationary transfer vehicle for over 25 years. Launched communications, meteorology, and navigation satellites including Beidou-3 (GEO/IGSO nodes). Being phased out in favour of Long March 5 for heavier GTO payloads as newer domestic communications satellites grow in mass. | ULA's workhorse from 2002–2024. Launched Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity), OSIRIS-REx, Solar Orbiter, Lucy, New Horizons, and the Boeing Starliner. Its Russian RD-180 first-stage engine became a political liability after 2022; last flight was the Amazon Kuiper testbed on Apr 9, 2024. |
28 launch vehicles across 10 countries — active, retired, and in development — with primary-source citations from manufacturer user guides and agency press kits. Pure URL state: bookmark or share the link and the comparison reproduces exactly.