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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | PLD Space | ExPace (CASIC subsidiary) | Roscosmos / Progress Rocket Space Centre |
| Country | 🇪🇸 Spain | 🇨🇳 China | 🇷🇺 Russia |
| Status | In Development | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Small | Small | Medium |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | Solid (3 stages) + liquid upper stage | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | Yes | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| First flight | 2026 | 2020 | 2004 |
| 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. | 1,500 kgas of [1] | 8,200 kgas of [1]Soyuz-2.1b with Fregat upper stage; 2.1a variant ~7,020 kg LEO ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | — | — | 3,250 kgas of [1]With Fregat-M upper stage ↑ Best |
| Height | 35.7 mas of [1] | — | 46.3 mas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 69 tas of [1] | 78 tas of [1]Transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) capable. | 312 tas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Success rate | — | 80% (4/5)as of [1]Debut flight (2020-07-10) failed; returned to flight 2022-12-07 successfully. ↑ Best | 97%as of [2]~160/165 mission successes since 2004 per aggregated launch logs |
| Total flights | — | 5as of [1] | ~165as of [2] ↑ Best |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | — |
| 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 larger sibling of Kuaizhou-1A, roughly 3.75x the payload class, road-mobile and solid-fueled, recovering commercial cadence after a 2020 debut failure. | 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). |
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.