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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | CASC / CALT | JAXA / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | SpaceX |
| Country | 🇨🇳 China | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Active | Retired | In Development |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Medium | Super Heavy |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX (YF-100 + YF-115) | LH₂ / LOX (LE-7A first stage + LE-5B second stage) | CH₄ / LOX |
| Reusable | No | No | Yes |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2016 | 2001 – 2025 | 2023 |
| Payload to LEO | 13,500 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~5,500 kg | 10,000 kgas of [1]202 configuration (2 SRB-A3 solid strap-ons) | ~150,000 kgas of [1]SpaceX projected max payload in fully expendable mode; ~100,000 kg reusable ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | — | 4,100 kgas of [1]202 configuration | ~21,000 kgas of [1]Reusable configuration estimate ↑ Best |
| Height | 53.1 mas of [1] | 53 mas of [1] | 121 mas of [1]Version 2 (V2) full stack Ship + Super Heavy ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 597 tas of [1] | 285 tas of [1]202 configuration | ~5,000 tas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Success rate | 100%as of [2]12/12 missions, all Tianzhou ISS resupply or CZ-7 tech demo flights ↑ Best | 98%as of [2]49/50 successes. Only failure: F6 (Nov 2003, MTSAT-1R lost due to SRB separation anomaly). Retired after Flight 50 (GOSAT-GW, Jun 28, 2025). | ~55%as of [2]IFT-1 through IFT-11; ~6 complete mission successes, remainder partial or vehicle lost. No orbital payload deployment yet. |
| Total flights | 12as of [2]Most recently Tianzhou-10 cargo to Tiangong (May 11, 2026) | 50as of [2]50 flights from 2001–2025. H3 replaces it from 2024 onward. ↑ Best | 11as of [2]IFT-1 (Apr 2023) through IFT-11 (May 2026 target). IFT-10 (Aug 2025) achieved full mission: booster caught + Ship splash-down. |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | ~$600/kgas of [1]SpaceX target figure; not yet achieved in operational configuration ↓ Cheapest |
| Summary | 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. | Japan's flagship medium-lift rocket for 24 years, retiring after an exceptional 49/50 mission success record. Launched the SELENE lunar orbiter (2007), Akatsuki Venus probe (2010), Hayabusa2 (2014), SLIM lunar lander (2023), and the ALOS series Earth observation satellites. | Largest and most powerful rocket ever flown. Super Heavy booster uses 33 Raptor engines. V3 Ship introduced Aug 2025. Mechazilla caught the booster on IFT-5 (Oct 2024) and IFT-10 (Aug 2025). Primary vehicle for Artemis HLS lunar landing (Artemis III planned 2026). |
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.