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 | Rocket Lab | ULA | JAXA / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Status | In Development | Retired | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Medium | Heavy |
| Propellant | CH₄ / LOX | RP-1 / LOX (RD-180); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur III) | LH₂ / LOX (LE-9 first stage + LE-5B-3 second stage) |
| Reusable | Yes | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2026 | 2002 – 2024 | 2024 |
| Payload to LEO | 13,000 kgas of [1]Expendable; ~8,000 kg reusable with first-stage return | 18,850 kgas of [1]401 configuration. Maximum 401/551 stretch to 20,520 kg. 551 max 29,420 kg (5-solid boosters). ↑ Best | 16,500 kgas of [1]H3-24 (2 SRB-3 + 4 LE-9 engines) configuration. H3-30 baseline: 16,500 kg. |
| Payload to GTO | — | 8,900 kgas of [1]551 configuration (maximum performance) ↑ Best | 6,500 kgas of [1] |
| Height | ~40 mas of [1] | 58.3 mas of [1]401 configuration ↑ Best | 57 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | ~481 tas of [1] | 334 tas of [1]401 configuration without strap-ons | 574 tas of [1]H3-24S configuration ↑ Best |
| Success rate | — | 100%as of [2]99/99 mission successes from Aug 2002 through Apr 2024 (final Kuiper flight). Only launch vehicle with 100% success across 99 missions. ↑ Best | 75%as of [2]~6/8 successes. TF1 (Feb 2023) first flight failure (LE-9 ignition issue, DAICHI-3 lost). F8 (Dec 23, 2025) QZS-5 lost to 2nd-stage relight anomaly. |
| Total flights | — | 99as of [2]Retired after KA-01 (Amazon Kuiper satellite testbed, Apr 9, 2024) ↑ Best | 8as of [2] |
| 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 | 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. | ULA's workhorse from 2002–2024. Launched Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity), OSIRIS-REx, Solar Orbiter, Lucy, New Horizons, and the Boeing Starliner. Its Russian RD-180 first-stage engine became a political liability after 2022; last flight was the Amazon Kuiper testbed on Apr 9, 2024. | Japan's next-generation flagship rocket designed to halve H-IIA costs. Uses three LE-9 engines burning liquid hydrogen — the highest-performing expander-cycle engines in the world. First successful flight was TF2 (Feb 17, 2024). HTV-X1 cargo mission to ISS (Oct 2025) demonstrated operational readiness. |
28 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.