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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | ISRO | LandSpace | CASC / CALT |
| Country | 🇮🇳 India | 🇨🇳 China | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | Active | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Medium | Heavy |
| Propellant | Solid (PS1/PS3) + UDMH/N₂O₄ (PS2/PS4) — 4 alternating stages | CH₄ / LOX (Tianque-12 + Tianque-15 upper stage) | UDMH/N₂O₄ (stages 1–2) + LH₂/LOX (stage 3 YF-75) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| First flight | 1993 | 2022 | 1996 |
| Payload to LEO | 3,800 kgas of [1]PSLV-XL with 6 extended solid strap-ons. Standard PSLV-G: 3,250 kg LEO. SSO: ~1,750 kg | 6,000 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~4,000 kg | 11,200 kgas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | — | — | 5,500 kgas of [1]With 4 strap-on liquid boosters (CZ-3B/E enhanced variant) ↑ Best |
| Height | 44 mas of [1] | 49.5 mas of [1] | 54.84 mas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 320 tas of [1]PSLV-XL configuration | 219 tas of [1] | 426 tas of [1]Enhanced variant with 4 liquid strap-on boosters ↑ Best |
| Success rate | 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). | 75%as of [2]3/4 full successes; ZQ-2 Y1 (Dec 2022) reached orbit on stage 1 but 2nd stage failed; ZQ-2 Y2 (Jul 2023) SUCCESS — world's first methane-fueled rocket to reach orbit | ~95%as of [2]~6 failures/partial failures out of ~105+ flights; gradually being superseded by Long March 5 for GTO ↑ Best |
| Total flights | 64as of [2] | 4as of [2] | ~105as of [2] ↑ Best |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$4,000/kgas of [1]Estimated from commercial launch contracts ↓ Cheapest | — | — |
| Summary | 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. | The world's first methane-fueled rocket to achieve orbit (July 12, 2023), beating SpaceX Starship to that milestone. A commercial Chinese rocket built by LandSpace with vertically-integrated methane propulsion — the same propellant strategy as Starship, Neutron, and Terran R. | 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.