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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | SSLV (Small Satellite Launch Vehicle) 🇮🇳 India Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-07-26Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Firefly Aerospace | ExPace (CASIC subsidiary) | ISRO / Hindustan Aeronautics Limited |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇨🇳 China | 🇮🇳 India |
| Status | Active | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Small | Small | Small |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | Solid (3 stages) + liquid upper stage | Solid (HTPB, stages 1–3) / MMH-MON3 liquid (velocity trimming module) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| First flight | 2021 | 2020 | 2022 |
| Payload to LEO | 1,030 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~630 kg | 1,500 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | 500 kgas of [1]500 km altitude, 35–55° inclination. 300 kg to 500 km SSO. |
| Payload to GTO | — | — | — |
| Height | 29 mas of [1] | — | 34 mas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 54 tas of [1] | 78 tas of [1]Transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) capable. | 120 tas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Success rate | 43%as of [2]3/7 full successes (FLTA003 Jul 2023, FLTA005 Dec 2024, FLTA007 Mar 2026) + 2 partial successes + 2 failures through FLTA007 | 80% (4/5)as of [1]Debut flight (2020-07-10) failed; returned to flight 2022-12-07 successfully. ↑ Best | 2/3 (67%)as of [1]First flight (Aug 2022) partial failure — satellites reached a lower-than-planned orbit. Second and third flights successful. |
| Total flights | 7as of [2] ↑ Best | 5as of [1] | 3as of [1] |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$14,500/kgas of [1]Based on ~$15M list price / 1,030 kg LEO ↓ Cheapest | — | ₹30–35 crore per launch (~$3.1M–$3.6M)as of [1]Total launch price, not a per-kg figure. |
| Summary | 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. | The larger sibling of Kuaizhou-1A, roughly 3.75x the payload class, road-mobile and solid-fueled, recovering commercial cadence after a 2020 debut failure. | ISRO's small-satellite launcher, designed for quick-turnaround dedicated smallsat missions. Full manufacturing, marketing and launch rights were transferred to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in June 2025 under a technology-transfer agreement. |
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.