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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | Nuri (KSLV-II) 🇰🇷 South Korea Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Remove × | GSLV Mk III (LVM3) 🇮🇳 India Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Remove × | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | ULA | KARI / Hanwha Aerospace | ISRO |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 🇮🇳 India |
| Status | Retired | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Medium | Heavy |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX (RD-180); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur III) | RP-1 / LOX (KRE-075 engines all stages) | Solid (S200 boosters) + UDMH/N₂O₄ (L110) + LH₂/LOX (C25) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| First flight | 2002 – 2024 | 2021 | 2017 |
| 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 | 2,600 kgas of [1]600 km SSO target orbit | 10,000 kgas of [1] |
| Payload to GTO | 8,900 kgas of [1]551 configuration (maximum performance) ↑ Best | — | 4,000 kgas of [1] |
| Height | 58.3 mas of [1]401 configuration ↑ Best | 47.2 mas of [1] | 43.43 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 334 tas of [1]401 configuration without strap-ons | 200 tas of [1] | 643 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 | 75%as of [2]3/4 full successes: TF1 (Oct 2021) partial, TF2 (Jun 2022) success, TF3 (May 2023) success, TF4 (Nov 27, 2025 — first Hanwha-led production launch) success | 100%as of [2]10/10 missions since development flight 2014 (D1). Production flights since 2017. ↑ Best |
| Total flights | 99as of [2]Retired after KA-01 (Amazon Kuiper satellite testbed, Apr 9, 2024) ↑ Best | 4as of [2] | 10as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | ~$4,500/kgas of [1]Estimated from OneWeb commercial contract ~$450M for 36 satellites (~5 tonne batch to GTO) ↓ Cheapest |
| 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. | South Korea's first domestically developed and produced launch vehicle, designed entirely without foreign engine technology. Nuri TF4 (Nov 2025) was the first launch managed by Hanwha Aerospace rather than KARI — marking the transition to commercial operation. KASA (Korea Aerospace Administration) took over programme oversight in 2024. | India's most powerful rocket. Launched Chandrayaan-3 (Moon lander) in Jul 2023 and OneWeb internet satellites commercially. Renamed LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark 3) in 2022. The CE-20 cryogenic engine was entirely ISRO-developed — previously India depended on Russian technology for the GSLV Mk II. |
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.