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 | LandSpace | CASC / CALT |
| Country | 🇪🇸 Spain | 🇨🇳 China | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | In Development | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Small | Medium | Heavy |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | CH₄ / LOX (Tianque-12 + Tianque-15 upper stage) | UDMH/N₂O₄ (stages 1–2) + LH₂/LOX (stage 3 YF-75) |
| Reusable | Yes | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| First flight | 2026 | 2022 | 1996 |
| 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. | 6,000 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~4,000 kg | 11,200 kgas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | — | — | 5,500 kgas of [1]With 4 strap-on liquid boosters (CZ-3B/E enhanced variant) ↑ Best |
| Height | 35.7 mas of [1] | 49.5 mas of [1] | 54.84 mas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 69 tas of [1] | 219 tas of [1] | 426 tas of [1]Enhanced variant with 4 liquid strap-on boosters ↑ Best |
| Success rate | — | 75%as of [2]3/4 full successes; ZQ-2 Y1 (Dec 2022) reached orbit on stage 1 but 2nd stage failed; ZQ-2 Y2 (Jul 2023) SUCCESS — world's first methane-fueled rocket to reach orbit | ~95%as of [2]~6 failures/partial failures out of ~105+ flights; gradually being superseded by Long March 5 for GTO ↑ Best |
| Total flights | — | 4as of [2] | ~105as 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 world's first methane-fueled rocket to achieve orbit (July 12, 2023), beating SpaceX Starship to that milestone. A commercial Chinese rocket built by LandSpace with vertically-integrated methane propulsion — the same propellant strategy as Starship, Neutron, and Terran R. | China's primary geostationary transfer vehicle for over 25 years. Launched communications, meteorology, and navigation satellites including Beidou-3 (GEO/IGSO nodes). Being phased out in favour of Long March 5 for heavier GTO payloads as newer domestic communications satellites grow in mass. |
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.