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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Arianespace / ArianeGroup | Firefly Aerospace | Blue Origin |
| Country | 🇪🇺 Europe | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Retired | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Small | Heavy |
| Propellant | LH₂ / LOX (Vulcain 2) + solid HTPB boosters | RP-1 / LOX | LNG / LOX (BE-4); LH₂ / LOX (BE-3U second stage) |
| Reusable | No | No | Yes |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 1996 – 2023 | 2021 | 2025 |
| Payload to LEO | 21,000 kgas of [1]Ariane 5 ECA configuration | 1,030 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~630 kg | 45,000 kgas of [1]Reusable first stage; expendable ~45,000 kg. GTO (reusable) ~13,000 kg. ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | 10,865 kgas of [1]ECA configuration. Ariane 5 ES (ATV) variant: 21,000 kg LEO | — | 13,000 kgas of [1]Reusable first stage configuration ↑ Best |
| Height | 54 mas of [1] | 29 mas of [1] | 98 mas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 777 tas of [1] | 54 tas of [1] | 1,016 tas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Success rate | 97.5%as of [2]113/117 successes. Failures: V501 (Jun 1996, first flight), V63 (Dec 2002, off-course but payload recovered). 2 partial successes. ↑ Best | 43%as of [2]3/7 full successes (FLTA003 Jul 2023, FLTA005 Dec 2024, FLTA007 Mar 2026) + 2 partial successes + 2 failures through FLTA007 | 67%as of [2]NG-1 (Jan 2025) full mission success, booster lost; NG-2 (Nov 2025) success + first Jacklyn booster landing; NG-3 (Apr 2026) partial — payload in wrong orbit, FAA grounded |
| Total flights | 117as of [2]VA261 (Jul 5, 2023) was the final Ariane 5 flight. Launched the James Webb Space Telescope (Dec 2021). ↑ Best | 7as of [2] | 3as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | ~$14,500/kgas of [1]Based on ~$15M list price / 1,030 kg LEO | ~$1,500/kgas of [1]Estimated from ~$67M commercial pricing / 45,000 kg payload capacity ↓ Cheapest |
| Summary | Europe's dominant heavy-lift rocket for 27 years. Its most famous payload: the James Webb Space Telescope (Dec 25, 2021). Retired Jul 5, 2023 to make way for Ariane 6. Responsible for launching over 250 commercial and scientific payloads including XMM-Newton, Rosetta, and BepiColombo. | Firefly Aerospace's two-stage small-lift rocket powered by four Reaver engines at sea level and one Lightning engine in vacuum. Also provides launch services for NASA's CLPS programme (Blue Ghost lander launched on Falcon 9). FLTA007 'Stairway to Seven' succeeded Mar 11, 2026. | Blue Origin's first orbital rocket. The 7-meter payload fairing is the widest of any current production rocket. NG-2 (Nov 2025) achieved the company's first booster landing on drone ship Jacklyn. |
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.