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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | SSLV (Small Satellite Launch Vehicle) 🇮🇳 India Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-07-26Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Arianespace / ArianeGroup | ISRO / Hindustan Aeronautics Limited | PLD Space |
| Country | 🇪🇺 Europe | 🇮🇳 India | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| Status | Retired | Active | In Development |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Small | Small |
| Propellant | LH₂ / LOX (Vulcain 2) + solid HTPB boosters | Solid (HTPB, stages 1–3) / MMH-MON3 liquid (velocity trimming module) | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | No | No | Yes |
| Stages | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| First flight | 1996 – 2023 | 2022 | 2026 |
| Payload to LEO | 21,000 kgas of [1]Ariane 5 ECA configuration ↑ Best | 500 kgas of [1]500 km altitude, 35–55° inclination. 300 kg to 500 km SSO. | 1,080 kgas of [1]540 kg to SSO. First flight is a stated plan (targeted Q1 2026 as of this research; not yet confirmed flown) — treat as a target, not a fact. |
| Payload to GTO | 10,865 kgas of [1]ECA configuration. Ariane 5 ES (ATV) variant: 21,000 kg LEO ↑ Best | — | — |
| Height | 54 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 34 mas of [1] | 35.7 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 777 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 120 tas of [1] | 69 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. | 2/3 (67%)as of [1]First flight (Aug 2022) partial failure — satellites reached a lower-than-planned orbit. Second and third flights successful. ↑ 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 | 3as of [1] | — |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | ₹30–35 crore per launch (~$3.1M–$3.6M)as of [1]Total launch price, not a per-kg figure. ↓ 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. | ISRO's small-satellite launcher, designed for quick-turnaround dedicated smallsat missions. Full manufacturing, marketing and launch rights were transferred to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in June 2025 under a technology-transfer agreement. | PLD Space's orbital small launcher with a recoverable first stage (engine thrust + parachutes), developed with ESA Future Launchers Preparatory Programme support; primary launch site is the Guiana Space Centre. |
48 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.