Pick up to 4 launch vehicles to compare side-by-side. State lives in the URL — share the link and the comparison loads exactly as you left it.
The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | NASA / Boeing | JAXA / IHI Aerospace | Arianespace / ArianeGroup |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇪🇺 Europe |
| Status | Active | Retired | Active |
| Vehicle class | Super Heavy | Small | Heavy |
| Propellant | LH₂ / LOX (RS-25); solid HTPB (SRBs) | Solid (HTPB — all stages) | LH₂ / LOX (Vulcain 2.1 + Vinci) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| First flight | 2022 | 2013 – 2022 | 2024 |
| Payload to LEO | 95,000 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | 590 kgas of [1]500 kg to SSO. Enhanced Epsilon (from E-4) added 700 kg LEO via PBS liquid kick stage. | 21,650 kgas of [1]Ariane 62 (2 boosters) / Ariane 64 (4 boosters); 64 offers higher GTO capacity |
| Payload to GTO | 27,000 kgas of [1]Trans-lunar injection (TLI) payload; GTO not a primary design goal ↑ Best | — | 11,500 kgas of [1]Ariane 64 configuration. Ariane 62 delivers ~4,500 kg to GTO. |
| Height | 98.1 mas of [1] | 26 mas of [1] | 56–63 mas of [1]56 m (Ariane 62) / 63 m (Ariane 64 with 4 solid boosters) ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 2,608 tas of [1] | 96 tas of [1] | 530–860 tas of [1]530 t (A62) / 860 t (A64) ↑ Best |
| Success rate | 100%as of [2]2/2: Artemis I uncrewed (Nov 16, 2022) + Artemis II crewed lunar flyby (Apr 1–10, 2026) ↑ Best | 83.3%as of [2]5/6 successes. E-6 (Oct 12, 2022) PBS upper stage failed to ignite, eight satellites lost. Epsilon S (next-generation) ground test anomaly Jan 2023 effectively ended the programme. | 100%as of [2]7/7 missions through VA268 Amazon Leo (Apr 30, 2026); Ariane 64 debut Feb 12, 2026 ↑ Best |
| Total flights | 2as of [2] | 6as of [2] | 7as of [2] ↑ Best |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$40,000+/kgas of [3]NASA OIG (2023) estimated $4.1B per Artemis SLS/Orion flight; total program $23B+ development cost | — | ~$7,500/kgas of [1]Estimate based on ~$115M A62 / ~$165M A64 list prices ↓ Cheapest |
| Summary | 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. | JAXA's small solid-fuel rocket derived from the M-V rocket heritage. Designed for highly autonomous operations — launch preparations could be managed by just 8 people. The sixth and final E-6 mission (Oct 2022) failed when the PBS kick stage didn't ignite; a ground explosion during Epsilon S testing (Jan 2023) ended the programme. | Europe's flagship launcher replacing Ariane 5. The Vinci re-ignitable upper stage enables multi-orbit missions and controlled deorbit. Primary customers: Amazon Kuiper, European government payloads, and ESA science missions. |
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.