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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | ULA | JAXA / IHI Aerospace | JAXA / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Status | Retired | Retired | Retired |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Small | Medium |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX (RD-180); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur III) | Solid (HTPB — all stages) | LH₂ / LOX (LE-7A first stage + LE-5B second stage) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| First flight | 2002 – 2024 | 2013 – 2022 | 2001 – 2025 |
| 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). ↑ Best | 590 kgas of [1]500 kg to SSO. Enhanced Epsilon (from E-4) added 700 kg LEO via PBS liquid kick stage. | 10,000 kgas of [1]202 configuration (2 SRB-A3 solid strap-ons) |
| Payload to GTO | 8,900 kgas of [1]551 configuration (maximum performance) ↑ Best | — | 4,100 kgas of [1]202 configuration |
| Height | 58.3 mas of [1]401 configuration ↑ Best | 26 mas of [1] | 53 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 334 tas of [1]401 configuration without strap-ons ↑ Best | 96 tas of [1] | 285 tas of [1]202 configuration |
| 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 | 83.3%as of [2]5/6 successes. E-6 (Oct 12, 2022) PBS upper stage failed to ignite, eight satellites lost. Epsilon S (next-generation) ground test anomaly Jan 2023 effectively ended the programme. | 98%as of [2]49/50 successes. Only failure: F6 (Nov 2003, MTSAT-1R lost due to SRB separation anomaly). Retired after Flight 50 (GOSAT-GW, Jun 28, 2025). |
| Total flights | 99as of [2]Retired after KA-01 (Amazon Kuiper satellite testbed, Apr 9, 2024) ↑ Best | 6as of [2] | 50as of [2]50 flights from 2001–2025. H3 replaces it from 2024 onward. |
| 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. | JAXA's small solid-fuel rocket derived from the M-V rocket heritage. Designed for highly autonomous operations — launch preparations could be managed by just 8 people. The sixth and final E-6 mission (Oct 2022) failed when the PBS kick stage didn't ignite; a ground explosion during Epsilon S testing (Jan 2023) ended the programme. | Japan's flagship medium-lift rocket for 24 years, retiring after an exceptional 49/50 mission success record. Launched the SELENE lunar orbiter (2007), Akatsuki Venus probe (2010), Hayabusa2 (2014), SLIM lunar lander (2023), and the ALOS series Earth observation satellites. |
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.