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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | PLD Space | Khrunichev / Roscosmos | Rocket Lab |
| Country | 🇪🇸 Spain | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | In Development | Retired | In Development |
| Vehicle class | Small | Heavy | Medium |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | UDMH / N₂O₄ (hypergolic — all stages) | CH₄ / LOX |
| Reusable | Yes | No | Yes |
| Stages | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| First flight | 2026 | 2001 – 2023 | 2026 |
| 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. | 22,400 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | 13,000 kgas of [1]Reusable configuration with downrange barge landing — this is the single payload figure Rocket Lab publishes. ~15,000 kg expendable. |
| Payload to GTO | — | 6,290 kgas of [1]With Briz-M upper stage ↑ Best | — |
| Height | 35.7 mas of [1] | 58.2 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 43 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 69 tas of [1] | 712 tas of [1] ↑ Best | ~481 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | — | ~91%as of [2]~13 mission failures out of ~115 flights in Proton-M variant; highly toxic propellant complicated recovery operations ↑ Best | — |
| Total flights | — | ~115as of [2]Effectively retired ~2023 with Russian government replacing it with Angara A5 ↑ 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. | Russia's dominant heavy-lift rocket for GEO comsats and planetary missions from 1965 (Proton family) through 2023 (Proton-M). Notorious for its hypergolic propellant — a highly toxic UDMH/N₂O₄ combination that caused environmental concerns at Baikonur. Replaced by Angara A5. | Rocket Lab's medium-lift reusable rocket targeting the $100B constellation replenishment market. Uses a 'hungry hippo' fairings design that opens at the top rather than traditional clamshell separation. First flight delayed to Q4 2026 after a Jan 2026 propellant tank test anomaly. |
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.