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 | Nuri (KSLV-II) 🇰🇷 South Korea Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | CASC / CALT | ULA | KARI / Hanwha Aerospace |
| Country | 🇨🇳 China | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
| Status | Active | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Heavy | Medium |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX (YF-100 + YF-115) | LNG / LOX (BE-4); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur V) | RP-1 / LOX (KRE-075 engines all stages) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| First flight | 2016 | 2024 | 2021 |
| Payload to LEO | 13,500 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~5,500 kg | 27,200 kgas of [1]VC2S configuration (2 solid strap-on boosters) ↑ Best | 2,600 kgas of [1]600 km SSO target orbit |
| Payload to GTO | — | 14,400 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | — |
| Height | 53.1 mas of [1] | 61.6 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 47.2 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 597 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 591 tas of [1]VC2S configuration | 200 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | 100%as of [2]12/12 missions, all Tianzhou ISS resupply or CZ-7 tech demo flights ↑ Best | 100%as of [2]4/4 mission successes: VC2 Cert-1 (Jan 2024), VC2 Cert-2 (Oct 2024), VC4 USSF-87 (Feb 2026), VC2 USSF-106 (Mar 2026) ↑ Best | 75%as of [2]3/4 full successes: TF1 (Oct 2021) partial, TF2 (Jun 2022) success, TF3 (May 2023) success, TF4 (Nov 27, 2025 — first Hanwha-led production launch) success |
| Total flights | 12as of [2]Most recently Tianzhou-10 cargo to Tiangong (May 11, 2026) ↑ Best | 4as of [2] | 4as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | ~$5,500/kgas of [1]Estimated; list pricing not public. Priced below Atlas V, above Ariane 6. ↓ 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. | ULA's next-generation medium-heavy rocket replacing Atlas V. Powered by two BE-4 engines on the first stage and a cryogenic Centaur V upper stage. Primary customer is USSF under NSSL Phase 2. | South Korea's first domestically developed and produced launch vehicle, designed entirely without foreign engine technology. Nuri TF4 (Nov 2025) was the first launch managed by Hanwha Aerospace rather than KARI — marking the transition to commercial operation. KASA (Korea Aerospace Administration) took over programme oversight in 2024. |
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.