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 | Nuri (KSLV-II) 🇰🇷 South Korea Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Firefly Aerospace | KARI / Hanwha Aerospace | CASC / CALT |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | Active | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Small | Medium | Heavy |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX (KRE-075 engines all stages) | UDMH/N₂O₄ (stages 1–2) + LH₂/LOX (stage 3 YF-75) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| First flight | 2021 | 2021 | 1996 |
| Payload to LEO | 1,030 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~630 kg | 2,600 kgas of [1]600 km SSO target orbit | 11,200 kgas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | — | — | 5,500 kgas of [1]With 4 strap-on liquid boosters (CZ-3B/E enhanced variant) ↑ Best |
| Height | 29 mas of [1] | 47.2 mas of [1] | 54.84 mas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 54 tas of [1] | 200 tas of [1] | 426 tas of [1]Enhanced variant with 4 liquid strap-on boosters ↑ 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 | 75%as of [2]3/4 full successes: TF1 (Oct 2021) partial, TF2 (Jun 2022) success, TF3 (May 2023) success, TF4 (Nov 27, 2025 — first Hanwha-led production launch) success | ~95%as of [2]~6 failures/partial failures out of ~105+ flights; gradually being superseded by Long March 5 for GTO ↑ Best |
| Total flights | 7as of [2] | 4as of [2] | ~105as of [2] ↑ Best |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$14,500/kgas of [1]Based on ~$15M list price / 1,030 kg LEO ↓ Cheapest | — | — |
| 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. | South Korea's first domestically developed and produced launch vehicle, designed entirely without foreign engine technology. Nuri TF4 (Nov 2025) was the first launch managed by Hanwha Aerospace rather than KARI — marking the transition to commercial operation. KASA (Korea Aerospace Administration) took over programme oversight in 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.