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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | GSLV Mk III (LVM3) 🇮🇳 India Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | ISRO | ULA | United Launch Alliance |
| Country | 🇮🇳 India | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Active | Active | Retired |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Medium | Heavy |
| Propellant | Solid (S200 boosters) + UDMH/N₂O₄ (L110) + LH₂/LOX (C25) | RP-1 / LOX (RD-180); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur III) | LH2 / LOX |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2017 | 2002 | 2004 – 2024 |
| Payload to LEO | 10,000 kgas of [1] | 18,850 kgas of [1]401 configuration. Maximum 401/551 stretch to 20,520 kg. 551 max 29,420 kg (5-solid boosters). | 28,370 kgas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | 4,000 kgas of [1] | 8,900 kgas of [1]551 configuration (maximum performance) ↑ Best | — |
| Height | 43.43 mas of [1] | 58.3 mas of [1]401 configuration | 70.7 mas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 643 tas of [1] | 334 tas of [1]401 configuration without strap-ons | 733 tas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Success rate | 100%as of [2]10/10 missions since development flight 2014 (D1). Production flights since 2017. ↑ Best | 99.1%as of [2]108 full successes + 1 partial failure (NROL-30, Jun 2007 — payload still reached usable orbit) across 109 launches | 93.75% (15/16 full success, 1 partial failure)as of [1] |
| Total flights | 10as of [2] | 109as of [2]No longer sold but still flying its backlog: ~8 launches remained as of Apr 2026 (6 Starliner + 2 Amazon Leo); most recent flight Amazon Leo LA-07 (May 29, 2026), ~7 remain ↑ Best | 16as of [1] |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$4,500/kgas of [1]Estimated from OneWeb commercial contract ~$450M for 36 satellites (~5 tonne batch to GTO) ↓ Cheapest | — | — |
| Summary | India's most powerful rocket. Launched Chandrayaan-3 (Moon lander) in Jul 2023 and OneWeb internet satellites commercially. Renamed LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark 3) in 2022. The CE-20 cryogenic engine was entirely ISRO-developed — previously India depended on Russian technology for the GSLV Mk II. | ULA's workhorse since 2002 and the longest-serving active US rocket. Launched Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity), OSIRIS-REx, Solar Orbiter, Lucy, New Horizons, and the Boeing Starliner. Production ended in 2024 and ULA no longer sells the vehicle, but it continues flying a sold-out backlog of Starliner and Amazon Leo missions into the late 2020s. | ULA's triple-common-booster-core heavy-lift launcher, retired 2024-04-09 after its final flight; superseded by Vulcan Centaur, which ULA states offers similar heavy-lift capability at lower cost. |
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.