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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | PLD Space | JAXA / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | CASC / CALT |
| Country | 🇪🇸 Spain | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | In Development | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Small | Heavy | Medium |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | LH₂ / LOX (LE-9 first stage + LE-5B-3 second stage) | RP-1 / LOX (YF-100 + YF-115) |
| Reusable | Yes | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2026 | 2023 | 2016 |
| 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. | 16,500 kgas of [1]H3-24 (2 SRB-3 + 4 LE-9 engines) configuration. H3-30 baseline: 16,500 kg. ↑ Best | 13,500 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~5,500 kg |
| Payload to GTO | — | 6,500 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | — |
| Height | 35.7 mas of [1] | 57 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 53.1 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 69 tas of [1] | 574 tas of [1]H3-24S configuration | 597 tas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Success rate | — | 78%as of [2]~7/9 successes. TF1 (Mar 7, 2023) first flight failure (2nd-stage ignition, DAICHI-3 lost). F8 (Dec 23, 2025) QZS-5 lost to 2nd-stage relight anomaly. H3-30 maiden flight (Jun 12, 2026) successful. | 100%as of [2]12/12 missions, all Tianzhou ISS resupply or CZ-7 tech demo flights ↑ Best |
| Total flights | — | 9as of [3]Includes the H3-30 (three LE-9 engines, no SRBs) maiden flight on Jun 12, 2026 | 12as of [2]Most recently Tianzhou-10 cargo to Tiangong (May 11, 2026) ↑ Best |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | ~$5,500/kgas of [1]Target unit price ¥5B (~$35M at ¥145/$); roughly half H-IIA's per-launch cost ↓ 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. | Japan's next-generation flagship rocket designed to halve H-IIA costs. Uses LE-9 engines burning liquid hydrogen — the highest-performing expander-cycle engines in the world. First flight TF1 (Mar 7, 2023) failed; first success was TF2 (Feb 17, 2024). HTV-X1 cargo mission to ISS (Oct 2025) demonstrated operational readiness, and the solid-booster-free H3-30 variant debuted Jun 12, 2026. | 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. |
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.