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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | United Launch Alliance | LandSpace | LandSpace |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇨🇳 China | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | Retired | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Medium | Medium |
| Propellant | LH2 / LOX | CH₄ / LOX (Tianque-12 + Tianque-15 upper stage) | CH₄ / LOX (9× TQ-12B first stage; TQ-15B vacuum upper stage) |
| Reusable | No | No | Yes |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2004 – 2024 | 2022 | 2025 |
| Payload to LEO | 28,370 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | 6,000 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~4,000 kg | 21,000 kgas of [1]Expendable; ~18,300 kg with first-stage recovery |
| Payload to GTO | — | — | — |
| Height | 70.7 mas of [1] | 49.5 mas of [1] | 76.2 mas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 733 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 219 tas of [1] | ~660 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | 93.75% (15/16 full success, 1 partial failure)as of [1] | 75%as of [2]3/4 full successes; ZQ-2 Y1 (Dec 2022) reached orbit on stage 1 but 2nd stage failed; ZQ-2 Y2 (Jul 2023) SUCCESS — world's first methane-fueled rocket to reach orbit | 100%as of [2]1/1 orbital successes (Y1, Dec 3, 2025). First-stage recovery failed — abnormal combustion during the landing burn crashed the booster near the landing zone. ↑ Best |
| Total flights | 16as of [1] ↑ Best | 4as of [2] | 1as of [3]Second orbital launch and recovery attempt targeted Q2 2026 per LandSpace |
| 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| Summary | ULA's triple-common-booster-core heavy-lift launcher, retired 2024-04-09 after its final flight; superseded by Vulcan Centaur, which ULA states offers similar heavy-lift capability at lower cost. | The world's first methane-fueled rocket to achieve orbit (July 12, 2023), beating SpaceX Starship to that milestone. A commercial Chinese rocket built by LandSpace with vertically-integrated methane propulsion — the same propellant strategy as Starship, Neutron, and Terran R. | LandSpace's stainless-steel, reusable methalox rocket — China's closest analogue to Falcon 9. The Y1 debut (Dec 3, 2025) reached orbit on the first attempt but lost the booster during its landing attempt; a second flight with another recovery attempt is targeted for Q2 2026. |
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.