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 | Electron 🇳🇿 New Zealand / USA Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | SpaceX | JAXA / IHI Aerospace | Rocket Lab |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇳🇿 New Zealand / USA |
| Status | Active | Retired | Active |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Small | Small |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | Solid (HTPB — all stages) | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | Yes | No | Yes |
| Stages | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| First flight | 2018 | 2013 – 2022 | 2017 |
| Payload to LEO | 63,800 kgas of [1]Expended side boosters. Fully reusable ~27,500 kg LEO. ↑ Best | 590 kgas of [1]500 kg to SSO. Enhanced Epsilon (from E-4) added 700 kg LEO via PBS liquid kick stage. | 300 kgas of [1]~200 kg reusable mode (lower due to propellant reserved for re-entry burn) |
| Payload to GTO | 26,700 kgas of [1]Expendable configuration; reusable ~8,000 kg ↑ Best | — | — |
| Height | 70 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 26 mas of [1] | 18 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 1,421 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 96 tas of [1] | 13 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | 100%as of [2]12/12 mission successes through Falcon Heavy ViaSat-3 F3 (Apr 29, 2026) ↑ 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. | 95.4%as of [2]83/87 orbital successes; 21/21 success rate in 2025 calendar year per Rocket Lab investor release |
| Total flights | 12as of [2] | 6as of [2] | 87as of [2] ↑ Best |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$1,400/kgas of [1]Based on ~$97M list price / 63,800 kg (expendable configuration) ↓ Cheapest | — | ~$25,000/kgas of [1]Based on ~$7.5M list price / 300 kg payload |
| 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. | 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. | 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). |
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.