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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | ULA | Arianespace / ArianeGroup | Galactic Energy |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇪🇺 Europe | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | Active | Retired | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Heavy | Small |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX (RD-180); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur III) | LH₂ / LOX (Vulcain 2) + solid HTPB boosters | Solid (stages 1–3) + hydrazine liquid upper stage |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| First flight | 2002 | 1996 – 2023 | 2020 |
| 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). | 21,000 kgas of [1]Ariane 5 ECA configuration ↑ Best | 400 kgas of [1]300 kg to SSO. |
| Payload to GTO | 8,900 kgas of [1]551 configuration (maximum performance) | 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 ↑ Best | 54 mas of [1] | 20 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 334 tas of [1]401 configuration without strap-ons | 777 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 33 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | 99.1%as of [2]108 full successes + 1 partial failure (NROL-30, Jun 2007 — payload still reached usable orbit) across 109 launches ↑ 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. | 91.3% (21/23)as of [1] |
| Total flights | 109as of [2]No longer sold but still flying its backlog: ~8 launches remained as of Apr 2026 (6 Starliner + 2 Amazon Leo); most recent flight Amazon Leo LA-07 (May 29, 2026), ~7 remain | 117as of [2]VA261 (Jul 5, 2023) was the final Ariane 5 flight. Launched the James Webb Space Telescope (Dec 2021). ↑ Best | 23as of [1] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | ~$4.5M per launchas of [1]Total launch price, not a per-kg figure. ↓ Cheapest |
| Summary | ULA's workhorse since 2002 and the longest-serving active US rocket. Launched Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity), OSIRIS-REx, Solar Orbiter, Lucy, New Horizons, and the Boeing Starliner. Production ended in 2024 and ULA no longer sells the vehicle, but it continues flying a sold-out backlog of Starliner and Amazon Leo missions into the late 2020s. | 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. | 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. |
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.