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 | ExPace (CASIC subsidiary) | SpaceX | PLD Space |
| Country | 🇨🇳 China | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| Status | Active | Active | In Development |
| Vehicle class | Small | Heavy | Small |
| Propellant | Solid (3 stages) + liquid-fueled 4th stage | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | No | Yes | Yes |
| Stages | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2017 | 2018 | 2026 |
| Payload to LEO | 400 kgas of [1] | 63,800 kgas of [1]Expended side boosters. Fully reusable ~27,500 kg LEO. ↑ Best | 1,080 kgas of [1]540 kg to SSO. First flight is a stated plan (targeted Q1 2026 as of this research; not yet confirmed flown) — treat as a target, not a fact. |
| Payload to GTO | — | 26,700 kgas of [1]Expendable configuration; reusable ~8,000 kg ↑ Best | — |
| Height | 19.4 mas of [1] | 70 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 35.7 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 30 tas of [1]Transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) capable — road-mobile solid launcher. | 1,421 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 69 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | ~85% (23 successes, 3 failures, 1 partial failure of 27)as of [1] ↑ Best | 100%as of [2]12/12 mission successes through Falcon Heavy ViaSat-3 F3 (Apr 29, 2026) | — |
| Total flights | 27as of [1] ↑ Best | 12as of [2] | — |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | ~$1,400/kgas of [1]Based on ~$97M list price / 63,800 kg (expendable configuration) ↓ Cheapest | — |
| Summary | CASIC's road-mobile, quick-response small solid launcher, operated commercially by ExPace since 2017 — one of the higher-cadence Chinese small-lift vehicles. | Currently the most powerful operational rocket in the world. Three Falcon 9 cores sharing propellant cross-feed produce 5.1 MN of sea-level thrust. Primary mission profile: DoD/NRO GEO payloads and planetary science. | PLD Space's orbital small launcher with a recoverable first stage (engine thrust + parachutes), developed with ESA Future Launchers Preparatory Programme support; primary launch site is the Guiana Space Centre. |
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.