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 | United Launch Alliance | PLD Space | CASC / CALT |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇪🇸 Spain | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | Retired | In Development | Active |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Small | Medium |
| Propellant | LH2 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX (YF-100 + YF-115) |
| Reusable | No | Yes | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2004 – 2024 | 2026 | 2016 |
| Payload to LEO | 28,370 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | 1,080 kgas of [1]540 kg to SSO. First flight is a stated plan (targeted Q1 2026 as of this research; not yet confirmed flown) — treat as a target, not a fact. | 13,500 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~5,500 kg |
| Payload to GTO | — | — | — |
| Height | 70.7 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 35.7 mas of [1] | 53.1 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 733 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 69 tas of [1] | 597 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | 93.75% (15/16 full success, 1 partial failure)as of [1] | — | 100%as of [2]12/12 missions, all Tianzhou ISS resupply or CZ-7 tech demo flights ↑ Best |
| Total flights | 16as of [1] ↑ Best | — | 12as of [2]Most recently Tianzhou-10 cargo to Tiangong (May 11, 2026) |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | — |
| Summary | ULA's triple-common-booster-core heavy-lift launcher, retired 2024-04-09 after its final flight; superseded by Vulcan Centaur, which ULA states offers similar heavy-lift capability at lower cost. | PLD Space's orbital small launcher with a recoverable first stage (engine thrust + parachutes), developed with ESA Future Launchers Preparatory Programme support; primary launch site is the Guiana Space Centre. | China's workhorse medium-lift rocket, used exclusively for Tianzhou automated cargo missions to the Tiangong space station. Designed to replace the Long March 2F for high-cadence LEO/cargo missions. Uses the same YF-100 engines as Long March 5's boosters. |
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.