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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Roscosmos / Progress Rocket Space Centre | JAXA / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | JAXA / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries |
| Country | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Status | Active | Retired | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Medium | Heavy |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | LH₂ / LOX (LE-7A first stage + LE-5B second stage) | LH₂ / LOX (LE-9 first stage + LE-5B-3 second stage) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2004 | 2001 – 2025 | 2024 |
| Payload to LEO | 8,200 kgas of [1]Soyuz-2.1b with Fregat upper stage; 2.1a variant ~7,020 kg LEO | 10,000 kgas of [1]202 configuration (2 SRB-A3 solid strap-ons) | 16,500 kgas of [1]H3-24 (2 SRB-3 + 4 LE-9 engines) configuration. H3-30 baseline: 16,500 kg. ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | 3,250 kgas of [1]With Fregat-M upper stage | 4,100 kgas of [1]202 configuration | 6,500 kgas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Height | 46.3 mas of [1] | 53 mas of [1] | 57 mas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 312 tas of [1] | 285 tas of [1]202 configuration | 574 tas of [1]H3-24S configuration ↑ Best |
| Success rate | 97%as of [2]~160/165 mission successes since 2004 per aggregated launch logs | 98%as of [2]49/50 successes. Only failure: F6 (Nov 2003, MTSAT-1R lost due to SRB separation anomaly). Retired after Flight 50 (GOSAT-GW, Jun 28, 2025). ↑ Best | 75%as of [2]~6/8 successes. TF1 (Feb 2023) first flight failure (LE-9 ignition issue, DAICHI-3 lost). F8 (Dec 23, 2025) QZS-5 lost to 2nd-stage relight anomaly. |
| Total flights | ~165as of [2] ↑ Best | 50as of [2]50 flights from 2001–2025. H3 replaces it from 2024 onward. | 8as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | ~$5,500/kgas of [1]Target unit price ¥5B (~$35M at ¥145/$); roughly half H-IIA's per-launch cost ↓ Cheapest |
| Summary | Russia's primary medium-lift workhorse, descended from the Soyuz family that has flown since 1966. Carries both crewed Soyuz spacecraft and Cygnus-class cargo. Fregat upper stage significantly expands mission flexibility. Production continues at Samara (now TsSKB-Progress). | Japan's flagship medium-lift rocket for 24 years, retiring after an exceptional 49/50 mission success record. Launched the SELENE lunar orbiter (2007), Akatsuki Venus probe (2010), Hayabusa2 (2014), SLIM lunar lander (2023), and the ALOS series Earth observation satellites. | Japan's next-generation flagship rocket designed to halve H-IIA costs. Uses three LE-9 engines burning liquid hydrogen — the highest-performing expander-cycle engines in the world. First successful flight was TF2 (Feb 17, 2024). HTV-X1 cargo mission to ISS (Oct 2025) demonstrated operational readiness. |
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.