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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | Nuri (KSLV-II) 🇰🇷 South Korea Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | JAXA / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | KARI / Hanwha Aerospace | JAXA / IHI Aerospace |
| Country | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Status | Retired | Active | Retired |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Medium | Small |
| Propellant | LH₂ / LOX (LE-7A first stage + LE-5B second stage) | RP-1 / LOX (KRE-075 engines all stages) | Solid (HTPB — all stages) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| First flight | 2001 – 2025 | 2021 | 2013 – 2022 |
| Payload to LEO | 10,000 kgas of [1]202 configuration (2 SRB-A3 solid strap-ons) ↑ Best | 2,600 kgas of [1]600 km SSO target orbit | 590 kgas of [1]500 kg to SSO. Enhanced Epsilon (from E-4) added 700 kg LEO via PBS liquid kick stage. |
| Payload to GTO | 4,100 kgas of [1]202 configuration ↑ Best | — | — |
| Height | 53 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 47.2 mas of [1] | 26 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 285 tas of [1]202 configuration ↑ Best | 200 tas of [1] | 96 tas of [1] |
| 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). ↑ Best | 75%as of [2]3/4 full successes: TF1 (Oct 2021) partial, TF2 (Jun 2022) success, TF3 (May 2023) success, TF4 (Nov 27, 2025 — first Hanwha-led production launch) success | 83.3%as of [2]5/6 successes. E-6 (Oct 12, 2022) PBS upper stage failed to ignite, eight satellites lost. Epsilon S (next-generation) ground test anomaly Jan 2023 effectively ended the programme. |
| Total flights | 50as of [2]50 flights from 2001–2025. H3 replaces it from 2024 onward. ↑ Best | 4as of [2] | 6as of [2] |
| 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. | South Korea's first domestically developed and produced launch vehicle, designed entirely without foreign engine technology. Nuri TF4 (Nov 2025) was the first launch managed by Hanwha Aerospace rather than KARI — marking the transition to commercial operation. KASA (Korea Aerospace Administration) took over programme oversight in 2024. | JAXA's small solid-fuel rocket derived from the M-V rocket heritage. Designed for highly autonomous operations — launch preparations could be managed by just 8 people. The sixth and final E-6 mission (Oct 2022) failed when the PBS kick stage didn't ignite; a ground explosion during Epsilon S testing (Jan 2023) ended the programme. |
28 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.