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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | JAXA / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | ExPace (CASIC subsidiary) | ULA |
| Country | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇨🇳 China | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Retired | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Small | Medium |
| Propellant | LH₂ / LOX (LE-7A first stage + LE-5B second stage) | Solid (3 stages) + liquid-fueled 4th stage | RP-1 / LOX (RD-180); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur III) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| First flight | 2001 – 2025 | 2017 | 2002 |
| Payload to LEO | 10,000 kgas of [1]202 configuration (2 SRB-A3 solid strap-ons) | 400 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). ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | 4,100 kgas of [1]202 configuration | — | 8,900 kgas of [1]551 configuration (maximum performance) ↑ Best |
| Height | 53 mas of [1] | 19.4 mas of [1] | 58.3 mas of [1]401 configuration ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 285 tas of [1]202 configuration | 30 tas of [1]Transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) capable — road-mobile solid launcher. | 334 tas of [1]401 configuration without strap-ons ↑ Best |
| 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). | ~85% (23 successes, 3 failures, 1 partial failure of 27)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 | 50as of [2]50 flights from 2001–2025. H3 replaces it from 2024 onward. | 27as of [1] | 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 | — | — | — |
| 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. | CASIC's road-mobile, quick-response small solid launcher, operated commercially by ExPace since 2017 — one of the higher-cadence Chinese small-lift vehicles. | 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.