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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | Electron 🇳🇿 New Zealand / USA Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Blue Origin | Khrunichev / Roscosmos | Rocket Lab |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇳🇿 New Zealand / USA |
| Status | Active | Retired | Active |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Heavy | Small |
| Propellant | LNG / LOX (BE-4); LH₂ / LOX (BE-3U second stage) | UDMH / N₂O₄ (hypergolic — all stages) | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | Yes | No | Yes |
| Stages | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| First flight | 2025 | 2001 – 2023 | 2017 |
| Payload to LEO | 45,000 kgas of [1]Reusable first stage; expendable ~45,000 kg. GTO (reusable) ~13,000 kg. ↑ Best | 22,400 kgas of [1] | 300 kgas of [1]~200 kg reusable mode (lower due to propellant reserved for re-entry burn) |
| Payload to GTO | 13,000 kgas of [1]Reusable first stage configuration ↑ Best | 6,290 kgas of [1]With Briz-M upper stage | — |
| Height | 98 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 58.2 mas of [1] | 18 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 1,016 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 712 tas of [1] | 13 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | 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 | ~91%as of [2]~13 mission failures out of ~115 flights in Proton-M variant; highly toxic propellant complicated recovery operations | 95.4%as of [2]83/87 orbital successes; 21/21 success rate in 2025 calendar year per Rocket Lab investor release ↑ Best |
| Total flights | 3as of [2] | ~115as of [2]Effectively retired ~2023 with Russian government replacing it with Angara A5 ↑ Best | 87as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$1,500/kgas of [1]Estimated from ~$67M commercial pricing / 45,000 kg payload capacity ↓ Cheapest | — | ~$25,000/kgas of [1]Based on ~$7.5M list price / 300 kg payload |
| Summary | 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. | 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. | The world's most commercially active small launch vehicle, designed and built in-house at Rocket Lab. Rutherford engines are the first flight-proven engines made with additive manufacturing (metal 3D printing). Booster recovery via parachute and helicopter catch (later transitioned to ocean recovery). |
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.