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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | CASC / CALT | SpaceX | Northrop Grumman |
| Country | 🇨🇳 China | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Active | In Development | Retired |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Super Heavy | Medium |
| Propellant | LH₂ / LOX (YF-77 core) + RP-1/LOX (YF-100 boosters) | CH₄ / LOX | RP-1 / LOX (RD-181 first stage) |
| Reusable | No | Yes | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2016 | 2023 | 2013 – 2023 |
| Payload to LEO | 25,000 kgas of [1]CZ-5B variant (no upper stage) delivers 25,000 kg LEO for Tiangong station modules | ~150,000 kgas of [1]SpaceX projected max payload in fully expendable mode; ~100,000 kg reusable ↑ Best | 8,000 kgas of [1]Antares 230+ configuration; primarily used for ~3,500–3,800 kg Cygnus cargo |
| Payload to GTO | 14,000 kgas of [1]CZ-5 variant (with YF-75D upper stage) | ~21,000 kgas of [1]Reusable configuration estimate ↑ Best | — |
| Height | 56.97 mas of [1] | 121 mas of [1]Version 2 (V2) full stack Ship + Super Heavy ↑ Best | 41 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 869 tas of [1] | ~5,000 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 298 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | 94.1%as of [2]16/17 successes (10 CZ-5 + 7 CZ-5B). Failure: CZ-5 Y2 (Jul 2017, engine anomaly); loss of Shijian-18 satellite. ↑ Best | ~50%as of [2]Flights 1-12; ~6 complete mission successes (incl. Flights 10 and 11), remainder partial or vehicle lost. First payload deploy on Flight 10 (Aug 2025); Flight 12 (V3 debut) lost during descent. | 91.7%as of [2]11/12 successes; Orb-3 (CRS-3) exploded at liftoff Oct 2014 |
| Total flights | 17as of [2] ↑ Best | 12as of [2]Flight 1 (Apr 2023) through Flight 12 (May 22, 2026 — V3 debut from Pad 2). Flight 11 (Oct 13, 2025) closed out Block 2. | 12as of [2]Final Antares flight was NG-19 (Aug 1, 2023). NG-20+ moved to Falcon 9 due to Antares RD-181 engine supply disruption (Russia sanctions). |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | ~$600/kgas of [1]SpaceX target figure; not yet achieved in operational configuration ↓ Cheapest | — |
| Summary | China's most powerful operational rocket and the backbone of its flagship space programs. Launched Tianwen-1 to Mars, Chang'e 5 sample return, Chang'e 6 far-side sample return, all Tiangong core and lab modules, and the Xuntian space telescope. The CZ-5B variant delivers entire station modules in a single flight. | Largest and most powerful rocket ever flown. Super Heavy booster uses 33 Raptor engines. V3 Ship debuted on Flight 12 (May 22, 2026) from Starbase Pad 2 — it reached space but broke up at the ocean surface, and the vehicle is grounded pending an FAA mishap review. Mechazilla booster catches demonstrated from Flight 5 (Oct 2024) onward; first payload deploy on Flight 10 (Aug 2025). Primary vehicle for the Artemis HLS lunar lander (Artemis III LEO docking demo 2027, first landing on Artemis IV). | Primary launch vehicle for Cygnus ISS cargo missions from 2013–2023. Its Ukrainian-built Zenit-derived first stage and Russian RD-181 engines became untenable after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Northrop switched NG-20 onward to Falcon 9 while Antares 330 (with Firefly Miranda engines) is in development. |
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.