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 | Electron 🇳🇿 New Zealand / USA Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | CASC / SAST | ULA | Rocket Lab |
| Country | 🇨🇳 China | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇳🇿 New Zealand / USA |
| Status | Active | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Heavy | Small |
| Propellant | UDMH / N₂O₄ (hypergolic all stages) | LNG / LOX (BE-4); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur V) | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | No | No | Yes |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 1992 | 2024 | 2017 |
| Payload to LEO | 3,500 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~1,300 kg; standard LEO 3,500 kg | 27,200 kgas of [1]VC2S configuration (2 solid strap-on boosters) ↑ Best | 300 kgas of [1]~200 kg reusable mode (lower due to propellant reserved for re-entry burn) |
| Payload to GTO | — | 14,400 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | — |
| Height | 41.06 mas of [1] | 61.6 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 18 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 232 tas of [1] | 591 tas of [1]VC2S configuration ↑ Best | 13 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | 98.7%as of [2]~77/78 successes; one known failure (CZ-2D Y7, Mar 1995 upper-stage anomaly) | 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 | 95.4%as of [2]83/87 orbital successes; 21/21 success rate in 2025 calendar year per Rocket Lab investor release |
| Total flights | ~78as of [2] | 4as of [2] | 87as of [2] ↑ Best |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | ~$5,500/kgas of [1]Estimated; list pricing not public. Priced below Atlas V, above Ariane 6. ↓ Cheapest | ~$25,000/kgas of [1]Based on ~$7.5M list price / 300 kg payload |
| Summary | China's most-used sun-synchronous and polar orbit workhorse for small-to-medium military and commercial Earth observation satellites. Launched from Jiuquan and Taiyuan. Uses storable hypergolic propellants for high launch-readiness but produces toxic exhaust. | 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. | The world's most commercially active small launch vehicle, designed and built in-house at Rocket Lab. Rutherford engines are the first flight-proven engines made with additive manufacturing (metal 3D printing). Booster recovery via parachute and helicopter catch (later transitioned to ocean recovery). |
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.