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 | ULA | Khrunichev / Roscosmos | Arianespace / ArianeGroup |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇪🇺 Europe |
| Status | Retired | Active | Retired |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Heavy | Heavy |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX (RD-180); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur III) | RP-1 / LOX (RD-191, all 5 modules) | LH₂ / LOX (Vulcain 2) + solid HTPB boosters |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2002 – 2024 | 2014 | 1996 – 2023 |
| Payload to LEO | 18,850 kgas of [1]401 configuration. Maximum 401/551 stretch to 20,520 kg. 551 max 29,420 kg (5-solid boosters). | 24,500 kgas of [1]With KVTK cryogenic upper stage (planned); Briz-M gives ~5,400 kg GTO ↑ Best | 21,000 kgas of [1]Ariane 5 ECA configuration |
| Payload to GTO | 8,900 kgas of [1]551 configuration (maximum performance) | 5,400 kgas of [1]Briz-M upper stage. KVTK would raise this to ~7,500 kg. | 10,865 kgas of [1]ECA configuration. Ariane 5 ES (ATV) variant: 21,000 kg LEO ↑ Best |
| Height | 58.3 mas of [1]401 configuration | 64 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 54 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 334 tas of [1]401 configuration without strap-ons | 773 tas of [1] | 777 tas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Success rate | 100%as of [2]99/99 mission successes from Aug 2002 through Apr 2024 (final Kuiper flight). Only launch vehicle with 100% success across 99 missions. ↑ Best | 100%as of [2]4/4 mission successes: Dec 2014, Dec 2020, Mar 2023, Apr 2024 ↑ 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. |
| Total flights | 99as of [2]Retired after KA-01 (Amazon Kuiper satellite testbed, Apr 9, 2024) | 4as of [2] | 117as of [2]VA261 (Jul 5, 2023) was the final Ariane 5 flight. Launched the James Webb Space Telescope (Dec 2021). ↑ Best |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | — |
| Summary | ULA's workhorse from 2002–2024. Launched Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity), OSIRIS-REx, Solar Orbiter, Lucy, New Horizons, and the Boeing Starliner. Its Russian RD-180 first-stage engine became a political liability after 2022; last flight was the Amazon Kuiper testbed on Apr 9, 2024. | Russia's new-generation heavy-lift rocket built entirely of Russian-manufactured components — a political priority after Proton-M's dependence on Ukrainian components. Five URM-1 universal rocket modules share the same propellant (RP-1/LOX), unlike Proton-M's toxic hypergolics. Flight rate remains very low. | 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. |
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.