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 | CASC / CALT | CASC / SAST |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇨🇳 China | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | Retired | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Heavy | Medium |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX (RD-180); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur III) | LH₂ / LOX (YF-77 core) + RP-1/LOX (YF-100 boosters) | UDMH / N₂O₄ (hypergolic all stages) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2002 – 2024 | 2016 | 1992 |
| 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). | 25,000 kgas of [1]CZ-5B variant (no upper stage) delivers 25,000 kg LEO for Tiangong station modules ↑ Best | 3,500 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~1,300 kg; standard LEO 3,500 kg |
| Payload to GTO | 8,900 kgas of [1]551 configuration (maximum performance) | 14,000 kgas of [1]CZ-5 variant (with YF-75D upper stage) ↑ Best | — |
| Height | 58.3 mas of [1]401 configuration ↑ Best | 56.97 mas of [1] | 41.06 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 334 tas of [1]401 configuration without strap-ons | 869 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 232 tas of [1] |
| 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 | 94.1%as of [2]16/17 successes (10 CZ-5 + 7 CZ-5B). Failure: CZ-5 Y2 (Jul 2017, engine anomaly); loss of Shijian-18 satellite. | 98.7%as of [2]~77/78 successes; one known failure (CZ-2D Y7, Mar 1995 upper-stage anomaly) |
| Total flights | 99as of [2]Retired after KA-01 (Amazon Kuiper satellite testbed, Apr 9, 2024) ↑ Best | 17as of [2] | ~78as of [2] |
| 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. | China's most powerful operational rocket and the backbone of its flagship space programs. Launched Tianwen-1 to Mars, Chang'e 5 sample return, Chang'e 6 far-side sample return, all Tiangong core and lab modules, and the Xuntian space telescope. The CZ-5B variant delivers entire station modules in a single flight. | China's most-used sun-synchronous and polar orbit workhorse for small-to-medium military and commercial Earth observation satellites. Launched from Jiuquan and Taiyuan. Uses storable hypergolic propellants for high launch-readiness but produces toxic exhaust. |
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.