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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Khrunichev / Roscosmos | PLD Space | Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) / CASC |
| Country | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇪🇸 Spain | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | Retired | In Development | Active |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Small | Medium |
| Propellant | UDMH / N₂O₄ (hypergolic — all stages) | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | No | Yes | No |
| Stages | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2001 – 2023 | 2026 | 2024 |
| Payload to LEO | 22,400 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | 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. | 12,000 kgas of [1]At 200 km altitude; 10,000 kg at 300 km. |
| Payload to GTO | 6,290 kgas of [1]With Briz-M upper stage ↑ Best | — | — |
| Height | 58.2 mas of [1] | 35.7 mas of [1] | 62 mas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 712 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 69 tas of [1] | 433 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 | — | 100% (6/6)as of [1] ↑ Best |
| Total flights | ~115as of [2]Effectively retired ~2023 with Russian government replacing it with Angara A5 ↑ Best | — | 6as of [1]All six flights deployed Guowang (China SatNet) internet-constellation satellites, exclusively from Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site. |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | — |
| Summary | 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. | 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. | A medium-lift, kerosene/LOX launcher built specifically to deploy China's Guowang mega-constellation at high cadence from Wenchang's new commercial pads. |
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.