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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | JAXA / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | ULA | Khrunichev / Roscosmos |
| Country | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇷🇺 Russia |
| Status | Retired | Active | Retired |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Heavy | Heavy |
| Propellant | LH₂ / LOX (LE-7A first stage + LE-5B second stage) | LNG / LOX (BE-4); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur V) | UDMH / N₂O₄ (hypergolic — all stages) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| First flight | 2001 – 2025 | 2024 | 2001 – 2023 |
| Payload to LEO | 10,000 kgas of [1]202 configuration (2 SRB-A3 solid strap-ons) | 27,200 kgas of [1]VC2S configuration (2 solid strap-on boosters) ↑ Best | 22,400 kgas of [1] |
| Payload to GTO | 4,100 kgas of [1]202 configuration | 14,400 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | 6,290 kgas of [1]With Briz-M upper stage |
| Height | 53 mas of [1] | 61.6 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 58.2 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 285 tas of [1]202 configuration | 591 tas of [1]VC2S configuration | 712 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). | 100%as of [2]4/4 mission successes: VC2 Cert-1 (Jan 2024), VC2 Cert-2 (Oct 2024), VC4 USSF-87 (Feb 2026), VC2 USSF-106 (Mar 2026) ↑ Best | ~91%as of [2]~13 mission failures out of ~115 flights in Proton-M variant; highly toxic propellant complicated recovery operations |
| Total flights | 50as of [2]50 flights from 2001–2025. H3 replaces it from 2024 onward. | 4as of [2] | ~115as of [2]Effectively retired ~2023 with Russian government replacing it with Angara A5 ↑ Best |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | ~$5,500/kgas of [1]Estimated; list pricing not public. Priced below Atlas V, above Ariane 6. ↓ 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. | ULA's next-generation medium-heavy rocket replacing Atlas V. Powered by two BE-4 engines on the first stage and a cryogenic Centaur V upper stage. Primary customer is USSF under NSSL Phase 2. | Russia's dominant heavy-lift rocket for GEO comsats and planetary missions from 1965 (Proton family) through 2023 (Proton-M). Notorious for its hypergolic propellant — a highly toxic UDMH/N₂O₄ combination that caused environmental concerns at Baikonur. Replaced by Angara A5. |
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.