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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | PLD Space | SpaceX | Arianespace / ArianeGroup |
| Country | 🇪🇸 Spain | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇪🇺 Europe |
| Status | In Development | Active | Retired |
| Vehicle class | Small | Medium | Heavy |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX | LH₂ / LOX (Vulcain 2) + solid HTPB boosters |
| Reusable | Yes | Yes | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2026 | 2010 | 1996 – 2023 |
| Payload to LEO | 1,080 kgas of [1]540 kg to SSO. First flight is a stated plan (targeted Q1 2026 as of this research; not yet confirmed flown) — treat as a target, not a fact. | 22,800 kgas of [1]Reusable first stage (expended gives 22,800 kg; reused gives ~15,600 kg) ↑ Best | 21,000 kgas of [1]Ariane 5 ECA configuration |
| Payload to GTO | — | 8,300 kgas of [1]Expendable configuration. Reusable GTO capacity ~5,500 kg. | 10,865 kgas of [1]ECA configuration. Ariane 5 ES (ATV) variant: 21,000 kg LEO ↑ Best |
| Height | 35.7 mas of [1] | 70 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 54 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 69 tas of [1] | 549 tas of [1] | 777 tas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Success rate | — | 99.5%as of [2]~665/668 full successes (Falcon family incl. Falcon Heavy); 500th landing Sep 2025 ↑ Best | 97.5%as of [2]113/117 successes. Failures: V501 (Jun 1996, first flight), V63 (Dec 2002, off-course but payload recovered). 2 partial successes. |
| Total flights | — | ~668as of [2]Falcon family total (Falcon 9 + Falcon Heavy) per launch log; 75 in 2026 (74 F9 + 1 FH) as of Jun 25, 2026 ↑ Best | 117as of [2]VA261 (Jul 5, 2023) was the final Ariane 5 flight. Launched the James Webb Space Telescope (Dec 2021). |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | ~$2,720/kgas of [1]Based on $67M list price / 22,800 kg LEO (expendable) ↓ Cheapest | — |
| Summary | PLD Space's orbital small launcher with a recoverable first stage (engine thrust + parachutes), developed with ESA Future Launchers Preparatory Programme support; primary launch site is the Guiana Space Centre. | The world's most frequently flown orbital rocket. Block 5 first stages have landed over 280 times and reflown up to 23 times. Backbone of Starlink and commercial crewed launches. | Europe's dominant heavy-lift rocket for 27 years. Its most famous payload: the James Webb Space Telescope (Dec 25, 2021). Retired Jul 5, 2023 to make way for Ariane 6. Responsible for launching over 250 commercial and scientific payloads including XMM-Newton, Rosetta, and BepiColombo. |
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.