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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | JAXA / IHI Aerospace | JAXA / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | Arianespace / ArianeGroup |
| Country | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇪🇺 Europe |
| Status | Retired | Retired | Active |
| Vehicle class | Small | Medium | Heavy |
| Propellant | Solid (HTPB — all stages) | LH₂ / LOX (LE-7A first stage + LE-5B second stage) | LH₂ / LOX (Vulcain 2.1 + Vinci) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2013 – 2022 | 2001 – 2025 | 2024 |
| Payload to LEO | 590 kgas of [1]500 kg to SSO. Enhanced Epsilon (from E-4) added 700 kg LEO via PBS liquid kick stage. | 10,000 kgas of [1]202 configuration (2 SRB-A3 solid strap-ons) | 21,650 kgas of [1]Ariane 62 (2 boosters) / Ariane 64 (4 boosters); 64 offers higher GTO capacity ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | — | 4,100 kgas of [1]202 configuration | 11,500 kgas of [1]Ariane 64 configuration. Ariane 62 delivers ~4,500 kg to GTO. ↑ Best |
| Height | 26 mas of [1] | 53 mas of [1] | 56–63 mas of [1]56 m (Ariane 62) / 63 m (Ariane 64 with 4 solid boosters) ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 96 tas of [1] | 285 tas of [1]202 configuration | 530–860 tas of [1]530 t (A62) / 860 t (A64) ↑ Best |
| Success rate | 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. | 98%as of [2]49/50 successes. Only failure: F6 (Nov 2003, MTSAT-1R lost due to SRB separation anomaly). Retired after Flight 50 (GOSAT-GW, Jun 28, 2025). | 100%as of [2]7/7 missions through VA268 Amazon Leo (Apr 30, 2026); Ariane 64 debut Feb 12, 2026 ↑ Best |
| Total flights | 6as of [2] | 50as of [2]50 flights from 2001–2025. H3 replaces it from 2024 onward. ↑ Best | 7as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | ~$7,500/kgas of [1]Estimate based on ~$115M A62 / ~$165M A64 list prices ↓ Cheapest |
| Summary | 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. | Japan's flagship medium-lift rocket for 24 years, retiring after an exceptional 49/50 mission success record. Launched the SELENE lunar orbiter (2007), Akatsuki Venus probe (2010), Hayabusa2 (2014), SLIM lunar lander (2023), and the ALOS series Earth observation satellites. | Europe's flagship launcher replacing Ariane 5. The Vinci re-ignitable upper stage enables multi-orbit missions and controlled deorbit. Primary customers: Amazon Kuiper, European government payloads, and ESA science missions. |
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.