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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Gilmour Space Technologies | ULA | Firefly Aerospace |
| Country | 🇦🇺 Australia | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | In Development | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Small | Heavy | Small |
| Propellant | Hybrid (Sirius motors, stages 1–2) / liquid (Phoenix engine, stage 3) | LNG / LOX (BE-4); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur V) | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2025 | 2024 | 2021 |
| Payload to LEO | 300 kgas of [1] | 27,200 kgas of [1]VC2S configuration (2 solid strap-on boosters) ↑ Best | 1,030 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~630 kg |
| Payload to GTO | — | 14,400 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | — |
| Height | 25 mas of [1] | 61.6 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 29 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | — | 591 tas of [1]VC2S configuration ↑ Best | 54 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. | 100%as of [2]4/4 payloads delivered: Cert-1 (Jan 2024), Cert-2 (Oct 2024, SRB nozzle anomaly), USSF-106 (Aug 13, 2025 — flight 3, first NSSL mission), USSF-87 (Feb 12, 2026 — flight 4, second SRB nozzle anomaly; Space Force paused Vulcan launches, RTF ~late 2026) ↑ Best | 43%as of [2]3/7 full successes (FLTA003 Jul 2023, FLTA005 Dec 2024, FLTA007 Mar 2026) + 2 partial successes + 2 failures through FLTA007 |
| Total flights | 1as of [1] | 4as of [2] | 7as of [2] ↑ Best |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | ~$5,500/kgas of [1]Estimated; list pricing not public. Priced below Atlas V, above Ariane 6. ↓ Cheapest | ~$14,500/kgas of [1]Based on ~$15M list price / 1,030 kg LEO |
| 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. | ULA's next-generation medium-heavy rocket replacing Atlas V. Powered by two BE-4 engines on the first stage and a cryogenic Centaur V upper stage. NSSL-certified March 2025; first NSSL mission USSF-106 flew Aug 13, 2025. Paused by the Space Force after the USSF-87 SRB nozzle anomaly (Feb 12, 2026), with return to flight expected ~late 2026. | Firefly Aerospace's two-stage small-lift rocket powered by four Reaver engines at sea level and one Lightning engine in vacuum. Also provides launch services for NASA's CLPS programme (Blue Ghost lander launched on Falcon 9). FLTA007 'Stairway to Seven' succeeded Mar 11, 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.