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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Khrunichev / Roscosmos | ISRO | CASC / CALT |
| Country | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇮🇳 India | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | Retired | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Medium | Heavy |
| Propellant | UDMH / N₂O₄ (hypergolic — all stages) | Solid (PS1/PS3) + UDMH/N₂O₄ (PS2/PS4) — 4 alternating stages | UDMH/N₂O₄ (stages 1–2) + LH₂/LOX (stage 3 YF-75) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| First flight | 2001 – 2023 | 1993 | 1996 |
| Payload to LEO | 22,400 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | 3,800 kgas of [1]PSLV-XL with 6 extended solid strap-ons. Standard PSLV-G: 3,250 kg LEO. SSO: ~1,750 kg | 11,200 kgas of [1] |
| Payload to GTO | 6,290 kgas of [1]With Briz-M upper stage ↑ Best | — | 5,500 kgas of [1]With 4 strap-on liquid boosters (CZ-3B/E enhanced variant) |
| Height | 58.2 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 44 mas of [1] | 54.84 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 712 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 320 tas of [1]PSLV-XL configuration | 426 tas of [1]Enhanced variant with 4 liquid strap-on boosters |
| Success rate | ~91%as of [2]~13 mission failures out of ~115 flights in Proton-M variant; highly toxic propellant complicated recovery operations | 93.7%as of [2]60/64 mission successes. Two consecutive recent failures: C61 (2024) and C62 (Jan 12, 2026, stage-3 anomaly, 16 satellites lost). | ~95%as of [2]~6 failures/partial failures out of ~105+ flights; gradually being superseded by Long March 5 for GTO ↑ Best |
| Total flights | ~115as of [2]Effectively retired ~2023 with Russian government replacing it with Angara A5 ↑ Best | 64as of [2] | ~105as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | ~$4,000/kgas of [1]Estimated from commercial launch contracts ↓ Cheapest | — |
| 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. | India's most reliable and frequently flown launch vehicle, operational since 1994. Set a world record in Feb 2017 by deploying 104 satellites in a single flight (Cartosat-2D + 103 microsats). Launched Chandrayaan-1 (2008), Mars Orbiter Mission (2013), and Aditya-L1 (2023). The dual C61/C62 failure streak raised concerns about aging solid motor design. | 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. |
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.