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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | JAXA / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | Avio | SpaceX |
| Country | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇪🇺 Europe | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Retired | In Development | In Development |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Small | Super Heavy |
| Propellant | LH₂ / LOX (LE-7A first stage + LE-5B second stage) | Solid (P160C first stage) / LOX-methane (cryogenic upper stage) | CH₄ / LOX |
| Reusable | No | No | Yes |
| Stages | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| First flight | 2001 – 2025 | 2027 | 2023 |
| Payload to LEO | 10,000 kgas of [1]202 configuration (2 SRB-A3 solid strap-ons) | — | ~150,000 kgas of [1]SpaceX projected max payload in fully expendable mode; ~100,000 kg reusable ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | 4,100 kgas of [1]202 configuration | — | ~21,000 kgas of [1]Reusable configuration estimate ↑ Best |
| Height | 53 mas of [1] | — | 121 mas of [1]Version 2 (V2) full stack Ship + Super Heavy ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 285 tas of [1]202 configuration | — | ~5,000 tas of [1] ↑ 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). ↑ Best | — | ~50%as of [2]Flights 1-12; ~6 complete mission successes (incl. Flights 10 and 11), remainder partial or vehicle lost. First payload deploy on Flight 10 (Aug 2025); Flight 12 (V3 debut) lost during descent. |
| Total flights | 50as of [2]50 flights from 2001–2025. H3 replaces it from 2024 onward. ↑ Best | — | 12as of [2]Flight 1 (Apr 2023) through Flight 12 (May 22, 2026 — V3 debut from Pad 2). Flight 11 (Oct 13, 2025) closed out Block 2. |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | ~$600/kgas of [1]SpaceX target figure; not yet achieved in operational configuration ↓ 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. | The next evolution of ESA's Vega line: replaces the Zefiro-9 and AVUM+ stages with a single cryogenic LOX/methane upper stage powered by the new M10 engine, adding multi-orbit deployment flexibility. First flight is a stated target (2027), not yet flown. | Largest and most powerful rocket ever flown. Super Heavy booster uses 33 Raptor engines. V3 Ship debuted on Flight 12 (May 22, 2026) from Starbase Pad 2 — it reached space but broke up at the ocean surface, and the vehicle is grounded pending an FAA mishap review. Mechazilla booster catches demonstrated from Flight 5 (Oct 2024) onward; first payload deploy on Flight 10 (Aug 2025). Primary vehicle for the Artemis HLS lunar lander (Artemis III LEO docking demo 2027, first landing on Artemis IV). |
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.