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 | Arianespace / ArianeGroup | Northrop Grumman | NASA / Boeing |
| Country | 🇪🇺 Europe | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Active | Retired | Active |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Medium | Super Heavy |
| Propellant | LH₂ / LOX (Vulcain 2.1 + Vinci) | RP-1 / LOX (RD-181 first stage) | LH₂ / LOX (RS-25); solid HTPB (SRBs) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2024 | 2013 – 2023 | 2022 |
| Payload to LEO | 21,650 kgas of [1]Ariane 62 (2 boosters) / Ariane 64 (4 boosters); 64 offers higher GTO capacity | 8,000 kgas of [1]Antares 230+ configuration; primarily used for ~3,500–3,800 kg Cygnus cargo | 95,000 kgas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | 11,500 kgas of [1]Ariane 64 configuration. Ariane 62 delivers ~4,500 kg to GTO. | — | 27,000 kgas of [1]Trans-lunar injection (TLI) payload; GTO not a primary design goal ↑ Best |
| Height | 56–63 mas of [1]56 m (Ariane 62) / 63 m (Ariane 64 with 4 solid boosters) ↑ Best | 41 mas of [1] | 98.1 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 530–860 tas of [1]530 t (A62) / 860 t (A64) ↑ Best | 298 tas of [1] | 2,608 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | 100%as of [2]7/7 missions through VA268 Amazon Leo (Apr 30, 2026); Ariane 64 debut Feb 12, 2026 ↑ Best | 91.7%as of [2]11/12 successes; Orb-3 (CRS-3) exploded at liftoff Oct 2014 | 100%as of [2]2/2: Artemis I uncrewed (Nov 16, 2022) + Artemis II crewed lunar flyby (Apr 1–10, 2026) ↑ Best |
| Total flights | 7as of [2] | 12as of [2]Final Antares flight was NG-19 (Aug 1, 2023). NG-20+ moved to Falcon 9 due to Antares RD-181 engine supply disruption (Russia sanctions). ↑ Best | 2as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$7,500/kgas of [1]Estimate based on ~$115M A62 / ~$165M A64 list prices ↓ Cheapest | — | ~$40,000+/kgas of [3]NASA OIG (2023) estimated $4.1B per Artemis SLS/Orion flight; total program $23B+ development cost |
| Summary | Europe's flagship launcher replacing Ariane 5. The Vinci re-ignitable upper stage enables multi-orbit missions and controlled deorbit. Primary customers: Amazon Kuiper, European government payloads, and ESA science missions. | Primary launch vehicle for Cygnus ISS cargo missions from 2013–2023. Its Ukrainian-built Zenit-derived first stage and Russian RD-181 engines became untenable after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Northrop switched NG-20 onward to Falcon 9 while Antares 330 (with Firefly Miranda engines) is in development. | NASA's human deep space launch vehicle for the Artemis programme. Uses heritage RS-25 shuttle main engines (4 per flight, expended). Block 1B with Exploration Upper Stage cancelled Feb 2026; Block 1 will fly through Artemis IV at minimum. |
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.