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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Arianespace / ArianeGroup | Galactic Energy | Firefly Aerospace |
| Country | 🇪🇺 Europe | 🇨🇳 China | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Active | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Small | Small |
| Propellant | LH₂ / LOX (Vulcain 2.1 + Vinci) | Solid (stages 1–3) + hydrazine liquid upper stage | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| First flight | 2024 | 2020 | 2021 |
| Payload to LEO | 21,650 kgas of [1]Ariane 62 (2 boosters) / Ariane 64 (4 boosters); 64 offers higher GTO capacity ↑ Best | 400 kgas of [1]300 kg to SSO. | 1,030 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~630 kg |
| Payload to GTO | 11,500 kgas of [1]Ariane 64 configuration. Ariane 62 delivers ~4,500 kg to GTO. ↑ Best | — | — |
| Height | 56–63 mas of [1]56 m (Ariane 62) / 63 m (Ariane 64 with 4 solid boosters) ↑ Best | 20 mas of [1] | 29 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 530–860 tas of [1]530 t (A62) / 860 t (A64) ↑ Best | 33 tas of [1] | 54 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | 100%as of [2]8/8 missions through VA269 Amazon Leo (Jun 17, 2026, 36 sats on upgraded P160C boosters); Ariane 64 debut Feb 12, 2026 ↑ Best | 91.3% (21/23)as of [1] | 43%as of [2]3/7 full successes (FLTA003 Jul 2023, FLTA005 Dec 2024, FLTA007 Mar 2026) + 2 partial successes + 2 failures through FLTA007 |
| Total flights | 8as of [2] | 23as of [1] ↑ Best | 7as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$7,500/kgas of [1]Estimate based on ~$115M A62 / ~$165M A64 list prices | ~$4.5M per launchas of [1]Total launch price, not a per-kg figure. ↓ Cheapest | ~$14,500/kgas of [1]Based on ~$15M list price / 1,030 kg LEO |
| 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. | Galactic Energy's workhorse small-lift solid rocket — one of the most-flown Chinese commercial launchers — with a sea-launch variant (Ceres-1S, debuted Sep 2023) and a larger Ceres-2 in development. | 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. |
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.