Pick up to 4 launch vehicles to compare side-by-side. State lives in the URL — share the link and the comparison loads exactly as you left it.
The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | JAXA / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | Avio / Arianespace | Firefly Aerospace |
| Country | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇪🇺 Europe | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Active | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Small | Small |
| Propellant | LH₂ / LOX (LE-9 first stage + LE-5B-3 second stage) | Solid (HTPB + ammonium perchlorate all four stages) | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| First flight | 2024 | 2022 | 2021 |
| Payload to LEO | 16,500 kgas of [1]H3-24 (2 SRB-3 + 4 LE-9 engines) configuration. H3-30 baseline: 16,500 kg. ↑ Best | 2,300 kgas of [1]SSO: ~1,700 kg | 1,030 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~630 kg |
| Payload to GTO | 6,500 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | — | — |
| Height | 57 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 35 mas of [1] | 29 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 574 tas of [1]H3-24S configuration ↑ Best | 210 tas of [1] | 54 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | 75%as of [2]~6/8 successes. TF1 (Feb 2023) first flight failure (LE-9 ignition issue, DAICHI-3 lost). F8 (Dec 23, 2025) QZS-5 lost to 2nd-stage relight anomaly. ↑ Best | 75%as of [2]6/8 successes; VV22 (Dec 2022) Zefiro-40 failure destroyed Pléiades Neo 5&6; returned to flight VV25 (Dec 2024). 3 successes in 2025. ↑ Best | 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 | 8as of [2] ↑ Best | 8as of [2] ↑ Best | 7as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$5,500/kgas of [1]Target unit price ¥5B (~$35M at ¥145/$); roughly half H-IIA's per-launch cost ↓ Cheapest | ~$16,500/kgas of [1]Based on ~$38M list price / 2,300 kg | ~$14,500/kgas of [1]Based on ~$15M list price / 1,030 kg LEO |
| Summary | Japan's next-generation flagship rocket designed to halve H-IIA costs. Uses three LE-9 engines burning liquid hydrogen — the highest-performing expander-cycle engines in the world. First successful flight was TF2 (Feb 17, 2024). HTV-X1 cargo mission to ISS (Oct 2025) demonstrated operational readiness. | Europe's primary small satellite launcher derived from Vega. The P120C first-stage motor is shared with Ariane 6's solid strap-on boosters. Avio took over programme management from Arianespace in Dec 2025. | 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.