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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Arianespace / ArianeGroup | JAXA / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | Rocket Lab |
| Country | 🇪🇺 Europe | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Retired | Retired | In Development |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Medium | Medium |
| Propellant | LH₂ / LOX (Vulcain 2) + solid HTPB boosters | LH₂ / LOX (LE-7A first stage + LE-5B second stage) | CH₄ / LOX |
| Reusable | No | No | Yes |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 1996 – 2023 | 2001 – 2025 | 2026 |
| Payload to LEO | 21,000 kgas of [1]Ariane 5 ECA configuration ↑ Best | 10,000 kgas of [1]202 configuration (2 SRB-A3 solid strap-ons) | 13,000 kgas of [1]Expendable; ~8,000 kg reusable with first-stage return |
| Payload to GTO | 10,865 kgas of [1]ECA configuration. Ariane 5 ES (ATV) variant: 21,000 kg LEO ↑ Best | 4,100 kgas of [1]202 configuration | — |
| Height | 54 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 53 mas of [1] | ~40 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 777 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 285 tas of [1]202 configuration | ~481 tas of [1] |
| 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. | 98%as of [2]49/50 successes. Only failure: F6 (Nov 2003, MTSAT-1R lost due to SRB separation anomaly). Retired after Flight 50 (GOSAT-GW, Jun 28, 2025). ↑ Best | — |
| Total flights | 117as of [2]VA261 (Jul 5, 2023) was the final Ariane 5 flight. Launched the James Webb Space Telescope (Dec 2021). ↑ Best | 50as of [2]50 flights from 2001–2025. H3 replaces it from 2024 onward. | — |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | — |
| 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. | Japan's flagship medium-lift rocket for 24 years, retiring after an exceptional 49/50 mission success record. Launched the SELENE lunar orbiter (2007), Akatsuki Venus probe (2010), Hayabusa2 (2014), SLIM lunar lander (2023), and the ALOS series Earth observation satellites. | Rocket Lab's medium-lift reusable rocket targeting the $100B constellation replenishment market. Uses a 'hungry hippo' fairings design that opens at the top rather than traditional clamshell separation. First flight delayed to Q4 2026 after a Jan 2026 propellant tank test anomaly. |
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.