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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | ULA | Khrunichev / Roscosmos | Blue Origin |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Active | Retired | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Heavy | Heavy |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX (RD-180); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur III) | UDMH / N₂O₄ (hypergolic — all stages) | LNG / LOX (BE-4); LH₂ / LOX (BE-3U second stage) |
| Reusable | No | No | Yes |
| Stages | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| First flight | 2002 | 2001 – 2023 | 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). | 22,400 kgas of [1] | 45,000 kgas of [1]Reusable first stage; expendable ~45,000 kg. GTO (reusable) ~13,000 kg. ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | 8,900 kgas of [1]551 configuration (maximum performance) | 6,290 kgas of [1]With Briz-M upper stage | 13,000 kgas of [1]Reusable first stage configuration ↑ Best |
| Height | 58.3 mas of [1]401 configuration | 58.2 mas of [1] | 98 mas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 334 tas of [1]401 configuration without strap-ons | 712 tas of [1] | 1,016 tas of [1] ↑ Best |
| 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 | ~91%as of [2]~13 mission failures out of ~115 flights in Proton-M variant; highly toxic propellant complicated recovery operations | 67%as of [2]NG-1 (Jan 2025) full mission success, booster lost; NG-2 (Nov 2025) success + first Jacklyn booster landing; NG-3 (Apr 2026) partial — payload in wrong orbit, FAA grounded |
| 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 | ~115as of [2]Effectively retired ~2023 with Russian government replacing it with Angara A5 ↑ Best | 3as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | ~$1,500/kgas of [1]Estimated from ~$67M commercial pricing / 45,000 kg payload capacity ↓ 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. | Russia's dominant heavy-lift rocket for GEO comsats and planetary missions from 1965 (Proton family) through 2023 (Proton-M). Notorious for its hypergolic propellant — a highly toxic UDMH/N₂O₄ combination that caused environmental concerns at Baikonur. Replaced by Angara A5. | Blue Origin's first orbital rocket. The 7-meter payload fairing is the widest of any current production rocket. NG-2 (Nov 2025) achieved the company's first booster landing on drone ship Jacklyn. On May 28, 2026 a vehicle was destroyed in a prelaunch static-fire explosion at LC-36. Damage proved less severe than first feared — Blue Origin (CEO Dave Limp) reported the propellant tanks and water tower were undamaged, the launch tower repairable rather than replaced, and stored first/second stages intact, with LC-36 debris cleared within ~9 days. The company has started reconstruction and now targets a return to flight before the end of 2026 (a timeline some observers call aggressive). |
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.