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 | Rocket Lab | Roscosmos / Progress Rocket Space Centre |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇷🇺 Russia |
| Status | Retired | In Development | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX (RD-180); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur III) | CH₄ / LOX | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | No | Yes | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| First flight | 2002 – 2024 | 2026 | 2004 |
| 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 | 13,000 kgas of [1]Expendable; ~8,000 kg reusable with first-stage return | 8,200 kgas of [1]Soyuz-2.1b with Fregat upper stage; 2.1a variant ~7,020 kg LEO |
| Payload to GTO | 8,900 kgas of [1]551 configuration (maximum performance) ↑ Best | — | 3,250 kgas of [1]With Fregat-M upper stage |
| Height | 58.3 mas of [1]401 configuration ↑ Best | ~40 mas of [1] | 46.3 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 334 tas of [1]401 configuration without strap-ons | ~481 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 312 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 | — | 97%as of [2]~160/165 mission successes since 2004 per aggregated launch logs |
| Total flights | 99as of [2]Retired after KA-01 (Amazon Kuiper satellite testbed, Apr 9, 2024) | — | ~165as of [2] ↑ 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. | Rocket Lab's medium-lift reusable rocket targeting the $100B constellation replenishment market. Uses a 'hungry hippo' fairings design that opens at the top rather than traditional clamshell separation. First flight delayed to Q4 2026 after a Jan 2026 propellant tank test anomaly. | Russia's primary medium-lift workhorse, descended from the Soyuz family that has flown since 1966. Carries both crewed Soyuz spacecraft and Cygnus-class cargo. Fregat upper stage significantly expands mission flexibility. Production continues at Samara (now TsSKB-Progress). |
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.