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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | SSLV (Small Satellite Launch Vehicle) 🇮🇳 India Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-07-26Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Rocket Lab | ISRO / Hindustan Aeronautics Limited | NASA / Boeing |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇮🇳 India | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | In Development | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Small | Super Heavy |
| Propellant | CH₄ / LOX | Solid (HTPB, stages 1–3) / MMH-MON3 liquid (velocity trimming module) | LH₂ / LOX (RS-25); solid HTPB (SRBs) |
| Reusable | Yes | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| First flight | 2026 | 2022 | 2022 |
| Payload to LEO | 13,000 kgas of [1]Reusable configuration with downrange barge landing — this is the single payload figure Rocket Lab publishes. ~15,000 kg expendable. | 500 kgas of [1]500 km altitude, 35–55° inclination. 300 kg to 500 km SSO. | 95,000 kgas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | — | — | 27,000 kgas of [1]Trans-lunar injection (TLI) payload; GTO not a primary design goal ↑ Best |
| Height | 43 mas of [1] | 34 mas of [1] | 98.1 mas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | ~481 tas of [1] | 120 tas of [1] | 2,608 tas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Success rate | — | 2/3 (67%)as of [1]First flight (Aug 2022) partial failure — satellites reached a lower-than-planned orbit. Second and third flights successful. ↑ Best | 100%as of [2]2/2: Artemis I uncrewed (Nov 16, 2022) + Artemis II crewed lunar flyby (Apr 1–10, 2026) |
| Total flights | — | 3as of [1] ↑ Best | 2as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | ₹30–35 crore per launch (~$3.1M–$3.6M)as of [1]Total launch price, not a per-kg figure. ↓ Cheapest | ~$40,000+/kgas of [3]NASA OIG (2023) estimated $4.1B per Artemis SLS/Orion flight; total program $23B+ development cost |
| 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. | ISRO's small-satellite launcher, designed for quick-turnaround dedicated smallsat missions. Full manufacturing, marketing and launch rights were transferred to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in June 2025 under a technology-transfer agreement. | NASA's human deep space launch vehicle for the Artemis programme. Uses heritage RS-25 shuttle main engines (4 per flight, expended). Block 1B with Exploration Upper Stage cancelled Feb 2026; Block 1 will fly through Artemis IV at minimum. |
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.