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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | Electron 🇳🇿 New Zealand / USA Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Rocket Lab | JAXA / IHI Aerospace | Avio / Arianespace |
| Country | 🇳🇿 New Zealand / USA | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇪🇺 Europe |
| Status | Active | Retired | Active |
| Vehicle class | Small | Small | Small |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | Solid (HTPB — all stages) | Solid (HTPB + ammonium perchlorate all four stages) |
| Reusable | Yes | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| First flight | 2017 | 2013 – 2022 | 2022 |
| Payload to LEO | 300 kgas of [1]~200 kg reusable mode (lower due to propellant reserved for re-entry burn) | 590 kgas of [1]500 kg to SSO. Enhanced Epsilon (from E-4) added 700 kg LEO via PBS liquid kick stage. | 2,300 kgas of [1]SSO: ~1,700 kg ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | — | — | — |
| Height | 18 mas of [1] | 26 mas of [1] | 35 mas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 13 tas of [1] | 96 tas of [1] | 210 tas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Success rate | 95.4%as of [2]83/87 orbital successes; 21/21 success rate in 2025 calendar year per Rocket Lab investor release ↑ Best | 83.3%as of [2]5/6 successes. E-6 (Oct 12, 2022) PBS upper stage failed to ignite, eight satellites lost. Epsilon S (next-generation) ground test anomaly Jan 2023 effectively ended the programme. | 75%as of [2]6/8 successes; VV22 (Dec 2022) Zefiro-40 failure destroyed Pléiades Neo 5&6; returned to flight VV25 (Dec 2024). 3 successes in 2025. |
| Total flights | 87as of [2] ↑ Best | 6as of [2] | 8as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$25,000/kgas of [1]Based on ~$7.5M list price / 300 kg payload | — | ~$16,500/kgas of [1]Based on ~$38M list price / 2,300 kg ↓ Cheapest |
| Summary | The world's most commercially active small launch vehicle, designed and built in-house at Rocket Lab. Rutherford engines are the first flight-proven engines made with additive manufacturing (metal 3D printing). Booster recovery via parachute and helicopter catch (later transitioned to ocean recovery). | JAXA's small solid-fuel rocket derived from the M-V rocket heritage. Designed for highly autonomous operations — launch preparations could be managed by just 8 people. The sixth and final E-6 mission (Oct 2022) failed when the PBS kick stage didn't ignite; a ground explosion during Epsilon S testing (Jan 2023) ended the programme. | Europe's primary small satellite launcher derived from Vega. The P120C first-stage motor is shared with Ariane 6's solid strap-on boosters. Avio took over programme management from Arianespace in Dec 2025. |
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.