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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | JAXA / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | Arianespace / ArianeGroup | ExPace (CASIC subsidiary) |
| Country | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇪🇺 Europe | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | Retired | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Heavy | Small |
| Propellant | LH₂ / LOX (LE-7A first stage + LE-5B second stage) | LH₂ / LOX (Vulcain 2.1 + Vinci) | Solid (3 stages) + liquid-fueled 4th stage |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| First flight | 2001 – 2025 | 2024 | 2017 |
| Payload to LEO | 10,000 kgas of [1]202 configuration (2 SRB-A3 solid strap-ons) | 21,650 kgas of [1]Ariane 62 (2 boosters) / Ariane 64 (4 boosters); 64 offers higher GTO capacity ↑ Best | 400 kgas of [1] |
| Payload to GTO | 4,100 kgas of [1]202 configuration | 11,500 kgas of [1]Ariane 64 configuration. Ariane 62 delivers ~4,500 kg to GTO. ↑ Best | — |
| Height | 53 mas of [1] | 56–63 mas of [1]56 m (Ariane 62) / 63 m (Ariane 64 with 4 solid boosters) ↑ Best | 19.4 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 285 tas of [1]202 configuration | 530–860 tas of [1]530 t (A62) / 860 t (A64) ↑ Best | 30 tas of [1]Transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) capable — road-mobile solid launcher. |
| Success rate | 98%as of [2]49/50 successes. Only failure: F6 (Nov 2003, MTSAT-1R lost due to SRB separation anomaly). Retired after Flight 50 (GOSAT-GW, Jun 28, 2025). | 100%as of [2]8/8 missions through VA269 Amazon Leo (Jun 17, 2026, 36 sats on upgraded P160C boosters); Ariane 64 debut Feb 12, 2026 | ~85% (23 successes, 3 failures, 1 partial failure of 27)as of [1] ↑ Best |
| Total flights | 50as of [2]50 flights from 2001–2025. H3 replaces it from 2024 onward. ↑ Best | 8as of [2] | 27as of [1] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | ~$7,500/kgas of [1]Estimate based on ~$115M A62 / ~$165M A64 list prices ↓ Cheapest | — |
| Summary | Japan's flagship medium-lift rocket for 24 years, retiring after an exceptional 49/50 mission success record. Launched the SELENE lunar orbiter (2007), Akatsuki Venus probe (2010), Hayabusa2 (2014), SLIM lunar lander (2023), and the ALOS series Earth observation satellites. | Europe's flagship launcher replacing Ariane 5. The Vinci re-ignitable upper stage enables multi-orbit missions and controlled deorbit. Primary customers: Amazon Kuiper, European government payloads, and ESA science missions. | 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.