Pick up to 4 launch vehicles to compare side-by-side. State lives in the URL — share the link and the comparison loads exactly as you left it.
The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | SpaceX | ULA | CASC / CALT |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | Active | Retired | Active |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Medium | Heavy |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX (RD-180); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur III) | UDMH/N₂O₄ (stages 1–2) + LH₂/LOX (stage 3 YF-75) |
| Reusable | Yes | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| First flight | 2018 | 2002 – 2024 | 1996 |
| Payload to LEO | 63,800 kgas of [1]Expended side boosters. Fully reusable ~27,500 kg LEO. ↑ Best | 18,850 kgas of [1]401 configuration. Maximum 401/551 stretch to 20,520 kg. 551 max 29,420 kg (5-solid boosters). | 11,200 kgas of [1] |
| Payload to GTO | 26,700 kgas of [1]Expendable configuration; reusable ~8,000 kg ↑ Best | 8,900 kgas of [1]551 configuration (maximum performance) | 5,500 kgas of [1]With 4 strap-on liquid boosters (CZ-3B/E enhanced variant) |
| Height | 70 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 58.3 mas of [1]401 configuration | 54.84 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 1,421 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 334 tas of [1]401 configuration without strap-ons | 426 tas of [1]Enhanced variant with 4 liquid strap-on boosters |
| Success rate | 100%as of [2]12/12 mission successes through Falcon Heavy ViaSat-3 F3 (Apr 29, 2026) ↑ Best | 100%as of [2]99/99 mission successes from Aug 2002 through Apr 2024 (final Kuiper flight). Only launch vehicle with 100% success across 99 missions. ↑ Best | ~95%as of [2]~6 failures/partial failures out of ~105+ flights; gradually being superseded by Long March 5 for GTO |
| Total flights | 12as of [2] | 99as of [2]Retired after KA-01 (Amazon Kuiper satellite testbed, Apr 9, 2024) | ~105as of [2] ↑ Best |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$1,400/kgas of [1]Based on ~$97M list price / 63,800 kg (expendable configuration) ↓ Cheapest | — | — |
| Summary | Currently the most powerful operational rocket in the world. Three Falcon 9 cores sharing propellant cross-feed produce 5.1 MN of sea-level thrust. Primary mission profile: DoD/NRO GEO payloads and planetary science. | ULA's workhorse from 2002–2024. Launched Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity), OSIRIS-REx, Solar Orbiter, Lucy, New Horizons, and the Boeing Starliner. Its Russian RD-180 first-stage engine became a political liability after 2022; last flight was the Amazon Kuiper testbed on Apr 9, 2024. | 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. |
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.