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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Firefly Aerospace | ULA | LandSpace |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | Active | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Small | Heavy | Medium |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | LNG / LOX (BE-4); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur V) | Methalox (LOX / liquid methane) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2021 | 2024 | 2024 |
| Payload to LEO | 1,030 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~630 kg | 27,200 kgas of [1]VC2S configuration (2 solid strap-on boosters) ↑ Best | 6,000 kgas of [1]4,000 kg to 500 km SSO. Enhanced variant of the base Zhuque-2 with a common-bulkhead tank, TQ-15 thrust-vectoring engine on stage 2, and a niobium-alloy nozzle extension. A further-improved Block 2 first flew 2026-05-14 with subcooled propellant loading and a 3-ignition second stage. |
| Payload to GTO | — | 14,400 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | — |
| Height | 29 mas of [1] | 61.6 mas of [1] ↑ Best | — |
| Liftoff mass | 54 tas of [1] | 591 tas of [1]VC2S configuration ↑ 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 | 100%as of [2]4/4 payloads delivered: Cert-1 (Jan 2024), Cert-2 (Oct 2024, SRB nozzle anomaly), USSF-106 (Aug 13, 2025 — flight 3, first NSSL mission), USSF-87 (Feb 12, 2026 — flight 4, second SRB nozzle anomaly; Space Force paused Vulcan launches, RTF ~late 2026) | 100% since 2024-11-27 debutas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Total flights | 7as of [2] | 4as of [2] | 2+ (2E variant)as of [1] ↑ Best |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$14,500/kgas of [1]Based on ~$15M list price / 1,030 kg LEO | ~$5,500/kgas of [1]Estimated; list pricing not public. Priced below Atlas V, above Ariane 6. ↓ 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. | ULA's next-generation medium-heavy rocket replacing Atlas V. Powered by two BE-4 engines on the first stage and a cryogenic Centaur V upper stage. NSSL-certified March 2025; first NSSL mission USSF-106 flew Aug 13, 2025. Paused by the Space Force after the USSF-87 SRB nozzle anomaly (Feb 12, 2026), with return to flight expected ~late 2026. | LandSpace's enhanced methalox launcher, the higher-performance successor to the original Zhuque-2 (the first methalox rocket ever to reach orbit, in 2023) — see slug 'zhuque-2' for the original vehicle already in our database. |
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.