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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | JAXA / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | Roscosmos / Progress Rocket Space Centre | Firefly Aerospace |
| Country | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Retired | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Medium | Small |
| Propellant | LH₂ / LOX (LE-7A first stage + LE-5B second stage) | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| First flight | 2001 – 2025 | 2004 | 2021 |
| Payload to LEO | 10,000 kgas of [1]202 configuration (2 SRB-A3 solid strap-ons) ↑ Best | 8,200 kgas of [1]Soyuz-2.1b with Fregat upper stage; 2.1a variant ~7,020 kg LEO | 1,030 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~630 kg |
| Payload to GTO | 4,100 kgas of [1]202 configuration ↑ Best | 3,250 kgas of [1]With Fregat-M upper stage | — |
| Height | 53 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 46.3 mas of [1] | 29 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 285 tas of [1]202 configuration | 312 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 54 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 | 97%as of [2]~160/165 mission successes since 2004 per aggregated launch logs | 43%as of [2]3/7 full successes (FLTA003 Jul 2023, FLTA005 Dec 2024, FLTA007 Mar 2026) + 2 partial successes + 2 failures through FLTA007 |
| Total flights | 50as of [2]50 flights from 2001–2025. H3 replaces it from 2024 onward. | ~165as of [2] ↑ Best | 7as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | ~$14,500/kgas of [1]Based on ~$15M list price / 1,030 kg LEO ↓ 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. | Russia's primary medium-lift workhorse, descended from the Soyuz family that has flown since 1966. Carries both crewed Soyuz spacecraft and Cygnus-class cargo. Fregat upper stage significantly expands mission flexibility. Production continues at Samara (now TsSKB-Progress). | Firefly Aerospace's two-stage small-lift rocket powered by four Reaver engines at sea level and one Lightning engine in vacuum. Also provides launch services for NASA's CLPS programme (Blue Ghost lander launched on Falcon 9). FLTA007 'Stairway to Seven' succeeded Mar 11, 2026. |
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.