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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Arianespace / ArianeGroup | Arianespace / ArianeGroup | SpaceX |
| Country | 🇪🇺 Europe | 🇪🇺 Europe | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Active | Retired | In Development |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Heavy | Super Heavy |
| Propellant | LH₂ / LOX (Vulcain 2.1 + Vinci) | LH₂ / LOX (Vulcain 2) + solid HTPB boosters | CH₄ / LOX |
| Reusable | No | No | Yes |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2024 | 1996 – 2023 | 2023 |
| Payload to LEO | 21,650 kgas of [1]Ariane 62 (2 boosters) / Ariane 64 (4 boosters); 64 offers higher GTO capacity | 21,000 kgas of [1]Ariane 5 ECA configuration | ~150,000 kgas of [1]SpaceX projected max payload in fully expendable mode; ~100,000 kg reusable ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | 11,500 kgas of [1]Ariane 64 configuration. Ariane 62 delivers ~4,500 kg to GTO. | 10,865 kgas of [1]ECA configuration. Ariane 5 ES (ATV) variant: 21,000 kg LEO | ~21,000 kgas of [1]Reusable configuration estimate ↑ Best |
| Height | 56–63 mas of [1]56 m (Ariane 62) / 63 m (Ariane 64 with 4 solid boosters) ↑ Best | 54 mas of [1] | 121 mas of [1]Version 2 (V2) full stack Ship + Super Heavy |
| Liftoff mass | 530–860 tas of [1]530 t (A62) / 860 t (A64) ↑ Best | 777 tas of [1] | ~5,000 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 | 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. | ~55%as of [2]IFT-1 through IFT-11; ~6 complete mission successes, remainder partial or vehicle lost. No orbital payload deployment yet. |
| Total flights | 7as of [2] | 117as of [2]VA261 (Jul 5, 2023) was the final Ariane 5 flight. Launched the James Webb Space Telescope (Dec 2021). ↑ Best | 11as of [2]IFT-1 (Apr 2023) through IFT-11 (May 2026 target). IFT-10 (Aug 2025) achieved full mission: booster caught + Ship splash-down. |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$7,500/kgas of [1]Estimate based on ~$115M A62 / ~$165M A64 list prices | — | ~$600/kgas of [1]SpaceX target figure; not yet achieved in operational configuration ↓ Cheapest |
| 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. | 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. | Largest and most powerful rocket ever flown. Super Heavy booster uses 33 Raptor engines. V3 Ship introduced Aug 2025. Mechazilla caught the booster on IFT-5 (Oct 2024) and IFT-10 (Aug 2025). Primary vehicle for Artemis HLS lunar landing (Artemis III planned 2026). |
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.