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| Attribute | GSLV Mk III (LVM3) 🇮🇳 India Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | ISRO | Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) / CASC | ULA |
| Country | 🇮🇳 India | 🇨🇳 China | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Active | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Medium | Medium |
| Propellant | Solid (S200 boosters) + UDMH/N₂O₄ (L110) + LH₂/LOX (C25) | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX (RD-180); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur III) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2017 | 2024 | 2002 |
| Payload to LEO | 10,000 kgas of [1] | 12,000 kgas of [1]At 200 km altitude; 10,000 kg at 300 km. | 18,850 kgas of [1]401 configuration. Maximum 401/551 stretch to 20,520 kg. 551 max 29,420 kg (5-solid boosters). ↑ 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] | 62 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 58.3 mas of [1]401 configuration |
| Liftoff mass | 643 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 433 tas of [1] | 334 tas of [1]401 configuration without strap-ons |
| Success rate | 100%as of [2]10/10 missions since development flight 2014 (D1). Production flights since 2017. | 100% (6/6)as of [1] ↑ Best | 99.1%as of [2]108 full successes + 1 partial failure (NROL-30, Jun 2007 — payload still reached usable orbit) across 109 launches |
| Total flights | 10as of [2] | 6as of [1]All six flights deployed Guowang (China SatNet) internet-constellation satellites, exclusively from Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site. | 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 |
| 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. | A medium-lift, kerosene/LOX launcher built specifically to deploy China's Guowang mega-constellation at high cadence from Wenchang's new commercial pads. | 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. |
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.