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 | Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) / CASC | Blue Origin |
| Country | 🇪🇸 Spain | 🇨🇳 China | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | In Development | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Small | Medium | Heavy |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX | LNG / LOX (BE-4); LH₂ / LOX (BE-3U second stage) |
| Reusable | Yes | No | Yes |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2026 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 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. | 12,000 kgas of [1]At 200 km altitude; 10,000 kg at 300 km. | 45,000 kgas of [1]Reusable first stage; expendable ~45,000 kg. GTO (reusable) ~13,000 kg. ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | — | — | 13,000 kgas of [1]Reusable first stage configuration ↑ Best |
| Height | 35.7 mas of [1] | 62 mas of [1] | 98 mas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 69 tas of [1] | 433 tas of [1] | 1,016 tas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Success rate | — | 100% (6/6)as of [1] ↑ Best | 67%as of [2]NG-1 (Jan 2025) full mission success, booster lost; NG-2 (Nov 2025) success + first Jacklyn booster landing; NG-3 (Apr 2026) partial — payload in wrong orbit, FAA grounded |
| Total flights | — | 6as of [1]All six flights deployed Guowang (China SatNet) internet-constellation satellites, exclusively from Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site. ↑ Best | 3as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | ~$1,500/kgas of [1]Estimated from ~$67M commercial pricing / 45,000 kg payload capacity ↓ 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. | A medium-lift, kerosene/LOX launcher built specifically to deploy China's Guowang mega-constellation at high cadence from Wenchang's new commercial pads. | Blue Origin's first orbital rocket. The 7-meter payload fairing is the widest of any current production rocket. NG-2 (Nov 2025) achieved the company's first booster landing on drone ship Jacklyn. On May 28, 2026 a vehicle was destroyed in a prelaunch static-fire explosion at LC-36. Damage proved less severe than first feared — Blue Origin (CEO Dave Limp) reported the propellant tanks and water tower were undamaged, the launch tower repairable rather than replaced, and stored first/second stages intact, with LC-36 debris cleared within ~9 days. The company has started reconstruction and now targets a return to flight before the end of 2026 (a timeline some observers call aggressive). |
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.