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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 / CALT | Rocket Lab | Rocket Lab |
| Country | 🇨🇳 China | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇳🇿 New Zealand / USA |
| Status | Active | In Development | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Medium | Small |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX (YF-100 + YF-115) | CH₄ / LOX | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | No | Yes | Yes |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2016 | 2026 | 2017 |
| Payload to LEO | 13,500 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~5,500 kg ↑ Best | 13,000 kgas of [1]Expendable; ~8,000 kg reusable with first-stage return | 300 kgas of [1]~200 kg reusable mode (lower due to propellant reserved for re-entry burn) |
| Payload to GTO | — | — | — |
| Height | 53.1 mas of [1] ↑ Best | ~40 mas of [1] | 18 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 597 tas of [1] ↑ Best | ~481 tas of [1] | 13 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | 100%as of [2]12/12 missions, all Tianzhou ISS resupply or CZ-7 tech demo flights ↑ 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 | 12as of [2]Most recently Tianzhou-10 cargo to Tiangong (May 11, 2026) | — | 87as of [2] ↑ Best |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | ~$25,000/kgas of [1]Based on ~$7.5M list price / 300 kg payload ↓ 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. | Rocket Lab's medium-lift reusable rocket targeting the $100B constellation replenishment market. Uses a 'hungry hippo' fairings design that opens at the top rather than traditional clamshell separation. First flight delayed to Q4 2026 after a Jan 2026 propellant tank test anomaly. | 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.