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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Firefly Aerospace | RKTs Progress | ExPace (CASIC subsidiary) |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | Active | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Small | Medium | Small |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX | Solid (3 stages) + liquid-fueled 4th stage |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| First flight | 2021 | 2026 | 2017 |
| Payload to LEO | 1,030 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~630 kg | 18,000 kgas of [1]Uncrewed configuration. ↑ Best | 400 kgas of [1] |
| Payload to GTO | — | — | — |
| Height | 29 mas of [1] | 61.9 m (uncrewed) / 65.9 m (crewed variant)as of [1] ↑ Best | 19.4 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 54 tas of [1] | 530 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 30 tas of [1]Transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) capable — road-mobile solid launcher. |
| 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 | — | ~85% (23 successes, 3 failures, 1 partial failure of 27)as of [1] ↑ Best |
| Total flights | 7as of [2] | 1 (suborbital test)as of [1]First flight 2026-04-30 was a suborbital test, not yet a full orbital mission per this source. | 27as of [1] ↑ 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. | Russia's replacement for the Ukrainian-built Zenit, restoring medium-lift capability lost after 2014. Uses the RD-171MV — described as the most powerful liquid-fuel rocket engine in the world — on its first stage, launching from Baikonur. | CASIC's road-mobile, quick-response small solid launcher, operated commercially by ExPace since 2017 — one of the higher-cadence Chinese small-lift vehicles. |
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.