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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Gilmour Space Technologies | CASC / CALT | Avio / Arianespace |
| Country | 🇦🇺 Australia | 🇨🇳 China | 🇪🇺 Europe |
| Status | In Development | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Small | Heavy | Small |
| Propellant | Hybrid (Sirius motors, stages 1–2) / liquid (Phoenix engine, stage 3) | UDMH/N₂O₄ (stages 1–2) + LH₂/LOX (stage 3 YF-75) | Solid (HTPB + ammonium perchlorate all four stages) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| First flight | 2025 | 1996 | 2022 |
| Payload to LEO | 300 kgas of [1] | 11,200 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | 2,300 kgas of [1]SSO: ~1,700 kg |
| Payload to GTO | — | 5,500 kgas of [1]With 4 strap-on liquid boosters (CZ-3B/E enhanced variant) ↑ Best | — |
| Height | 25 mas of [1] | 54.84 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 35 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | — | 426 tas of [1]Enhanced variant with 4 liquid strap-on boosters ↑ Best | 210 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | 0/1as of [1]Maiden flight 2025-07-30 crashed 14 seconds after launch (insufficient thrust), from Bowen Orbital Spaceport, Queensland — Australia's first domestic orbital launch attempt. Preceded by two scrubs (2025-05-15 electrical issue, 2025-05-16 fairing anomaly). A second test flight was slated for early 2026. Block 2 (1,000 kg payload) and Eris Heavy (4,000 kg payload) variants are planned. | ~95%as of [2]~6 failures/partial failures out of ~105+ flights; gradually being superseded by Long March 5 for GTO ↑ Best | 75%as of [2]6/8 successes; VV22 (Dec 2022) Zefiro-40 failure destroyed Pléiades Neo 5&6; returned to flight VV25 (Dec 2024). 3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 | 1as of [1] | ~105as of [2] ↑ Best | 8as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | ~$16,500/kgas of [1]Based on ~$38M list price / 2,300 kg ↓ Cheapest |
| Summary | Australia's first domestically developed orbital launch vehicle attempt, using a hybrid-propellant first and second stage; the maiden flight failed 14 seconds after liftoff in July 2025. | China's primary geostationary transfer vehicle for over 25 years. Launched communications, meteorology, and navigation satellites including Beidou-3 (GEO/IGSO nodes). Being phased out in favour of Long March 5 for heavier GTO payloads as newer domestic communications satellites grow in mass. | 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. |
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.