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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | Long March 8 (incl. 8A) 🇨🇳 China Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-07-26Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | JAXA / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) / CASC | RKTs Progress |
| Country | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇨🇳 China | 🇷🇺 Russia |
| Status | Active | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Medium | Medium |
| Propellant | LH₂ / LOX (LE-9 first stage + LE-5B-3 second stage) | RP-1 / LOX (stage 1); LH2/LOX (stage 2) | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| First flight | 2023 | 2020 | 2026 |
| Payload to LEO | 16,500 kgas of [1]H3-24 (2 SRB-3 + 4 LE-9 engines) configuration. H3-30 baseline: 16,500 kg. | 8,100 kgas of [1]5,000 kg to 700 km SSO (base); the enlarged-second-stage 8A variant (first flew 2025-02-11) lifts 7,000 kg to the same SSO reference orbit. | 18,000 kgas of [1]Uncrewed configuration. ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | 6,500 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | — | — |
| Height | 57 mas of [1] | 50.3 mas of [1] | 61.9 m (uncrewed) / 65.9 m (crewed variant)as of [1] ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 574 tas of [1]H3-24S configuration | 356 t (base); 371 t (8A)as of [1] ↑ Best | 530 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | 78%as of [2]~7/9 successes. TF1 (Mar 7, 2023) first flight failure (2nd-stage ignition, DAICHI-3 lost). F8 (Dec 23, 2025) QZS-5 lost to 2nd-stage relight anomaly. H3-30 maiden flight (Jun 12, 2026) successful. | 100% (16/16 combined base + 8A)as of [1] ↑ Best | — |
| Total flights | 9as of [3]Includes the H3-30 (three LE-9 engines, no SRBs) maiden flight on Jun 12, 2026 | 16 (base + 8A combined)as of [1] ↑ Best | 1 (suborbital test)as of [1]First flight 2026-04-30 was a suborbital test, not yet a full orbital mission per this source. |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$5,500/kgas of [1]Target unit price ¥5B (~$35M at ¥145/$); roughly half H-IIA's per-launch cost ↓ Cheapest | — | — |
| Summary | Japan's next-generation flagship rocket designed to halve H-IIA costs. Uses LE-9 engines burning liquid hydrogen — the highest-performing expander-cycle engines in the world. First flight TF1 (Mar 7, 2023) failed; first success was TF2 (Feb 17, 2024). HTV-X1 cargo mission to ISS (Oct 2025) demonstrated operational readiness, and the solid-booster-free H3-30 variant debuted Jun 12, 2026. | A two-stage medium-lift launcher originally designed with a reusable combined-booster-recovery concept in mind, though currently operational vehicles fly expendable. Exclusively from Wenchang. | Russia's replacement for the Ukrainian-built Zenit, restoring medium-lift capability lost after 2014. Uses the RD-171MV — described as the most powerful liquid-fuel rocket engine in the world — on its first stage, launching from Baikonur. |
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.