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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | CASC / CALT | Roscosmos / Progress Rocket Space Centre | Arianespace / ArianeGroup |
| Country | 🇨🇳 China | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇪🇺 Europe |
| Status | Active | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Medium | Heavy |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX (YF-100 + YF-115) | RP-1 / LOX | LH₂ / LOX (Vulcain 2.1 + Vinci) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| First flight | 2016 | 2004 | 2024 |
| Payload to LEO | 13,500 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~5,500 kg | 8,200 kgas of [1]Soyuz-2.1b with Fregat upper stage; 2.1a variant ~7,020 kg LEO | 21,650 kgas of [1]Ariane 62 (2 boosters) / Ariane 64 (4 boosters); 64 offers higher GTO capacity ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | — | 3,250 kgas of [1]With Fregat-M upper stage | 11,500 kgas of [1]Ariane 64 configuration. Ariane 62 delivers ~4,500 kg to GTO. ↑ Best |
| Height | 53.1 mas of [1] | 46.3 mas of [1] | 56–63 mas of [1]56 m (Ariane 62) / 63 m (Ariane 64 with 4 solid boosters) ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 597 tas of [1] | 312 tas of [1] | 530–860 tas of [1]530 t (A62) / 860 t (A64) ↑ Best |
| Success rate | 100%as of [2]12/12 missions, all Tianzhou ISS resupply or CZ-7 tech demo flights ↑ Best | 97%as of [2]~160/165 mission successes since 2004 per aggregated launch logs | 100%as of [2]7/7 missions through VA268 Amazon Leo (Apr 30, 2026); Ariane 64 debut Feb 12, 2026 ↑ Best |
| Total flights | 12as of [2]Most recently Tianzhou-10 cargo to Tiangong (May 11, 2026) | ~165as of [2] ↑ Best | 7as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | ~$7,500/kgas of [1]Estimate based on ~$115M A62 / ~$165M A64 list prices ↓ 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. | Russia's primary medium-lift workhorse, descended from the Soyuz family that has flown since 1966. Carries both crewed Soyuz spacecraft and Cygnus-class cargo. Fregat upper stage significantly expands mission flexibility. Production continues at Samara (now TsSKB-Progress). | Europe's flagship launcher replacing Ariane 5. The Vinci re-ignitable upper stage enables multi-orbit missions and controlled deorbit. Primary customers: Amazon Kuiper, European government payloads, and ESA science missions. |
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.