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 | CASC / CALT | Avio / Arianespace | CASC / CALT |
| Country | 🇨🇳 China | 🇪🇺 Europe | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | Active | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Small | Medium |
| Propellant | UDMH/N₂O₄ (stages 1–2) + LH₂/LOX (stage 3 YF-75) | Solid (HTPB + ammonium perchlorate all four stages) | RP-1 / LOX (YF-100 + YF-115) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| First flight | 1996 | 2022 | 2016 |
| Payload to LEO | 11,200 kgas of [1] | 2,300 kgas of [1]SSO: ~1,700 kg | 13,500 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~5,500 kg ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | 5,500 kgas of [1]With 4 strap-on liquid boosters (CZ-3B/E enhanced variant) ↑ Best | — | — |
| Height | 54.84 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 35 mas of [1] | 53.1 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 426 tas of [1]Enhanced variant with 4 liquid strap-on boosters | 210 tas of [1] | 597 tas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Success rate | ~95%as of [2]~6 failures/partial failures out of ~105+ flights; gradually being superseded by Long March 5 for GTO | 75%as of [2]6/8 successes; VV22 (Dec 2022) Zefiro-40 failure destroyed Pléiades Neo 5&6; returned to flight VV25 (Dec 2024). 3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. | 100%as of [2]12/12 missions, all Tianzhou ISS resupply or CZ-7 tech demo flights ↑ Best |
| Total flights | ~105as of [2] ↑ Best | 8as of [2] | 12as of [2]Most recently Tianzhou-10 cargo to Tiangong (May 11, 2026) |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | ~$16,500/kgas of [1]Based on ~$38M list price / 2,300 kg ↓ Cheapest | — |
| Summary | 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. | 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. | China's workhorse medium-lift rocket, used exclusively for Tianzhou automated cargo missions to the Tiangong space station. Designed to replace the Long March 2F for high-cadence LEO/cargo missions. Uses the same YF-100 engines as Long March 5's boosters. |
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.