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 | Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) / CASC | Space One | CASC / CALT |
| Country | 🇨🇳 China | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | Active | In Development | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Small | Heavy |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | Solid | UDMH/N₂O₄ (stages 1–2) + LH₂/LOX (stage 3 YF-75) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| First flight | 2024 | 2024 | 1996 |
| Payload to LEO | 12,000 kgas of [1]At 200 km altitude; 10,000 kg at 300 km. ↑ Best | — | 11,200 kgas of [1] |
| Payload to GTO | — | — | 5,500 kgas of [1]With 4 strap-on liquid boosters (CZ-3B/E enhanced variant) ↑ Best |
| Height | 62 mas of [1] ↑ Best | — | 54.84 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 433 tas of [1] ↑ Best | — | 426 tas of [1]Enhanced variant with 4 liquid strap-on boosters |
| Success rate | 100% (6/6)as of [1] ↑ Best | 0/3 — three consecutive failuresas of [1]2024-03-13: disintegrated shortly after liftoff. 2024-12-18: began tumbling during 1st-stage burn, flight terminated. 2026-03-04: flight termination activated ~70 seconds after liftoff. All three launches flew from Spaceport Kii, Wakayama — Japan's first private-sector spaceport. Program grounded as of this research; precise payload/height/mass specs not confirmed from a primary source. | ~95%as of [2]~6 failures/partial failures out of ~105+ flights; gradually being superseded by Long March 5 for GTO |
| Total flights | 6as of [1]All six flights deployed Guowang (China SatNet) internet-constellation satellites, exclusively from Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site. | 3as of [1] | ~105as of [2] ↑ Best |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | — |
| Summary | A medium-lift, kerosene/LOX launcher built specifically to deploy China's Guowang mega-constellation at high cadence from Wenchang's new commercial pads. | A Japanese commercial solid-fuel small launcher that has failed on all three flight attempts through March 2026, putting its commercial viability in serious question. | China's primary geostationary transfer vehicle for over 25 years. Launched communications, meteorology, and navigation satellites including Beidou-3 (GEO/IGSO nodes). Being phased out in favour of Long March 5 for heavier GTO payloads as newer domestic communications satellites grow in mass. |
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.