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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 | RKTs Progress | Firefly Aerospace |
| Country | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Active | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Medium | Small |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| First flight | 2004 | 2026 | 2021 |
| Payload to LEO | 8,200 kgas of [1]Soyuz-2.1b with Fregat upper stage; 2.1a variant ~7,020 kg LEO | 18,000 kgas of [1]Uncrewed configuration. ↑ Best | 1,030 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~630 kg |
| Payload to GTO | 3,250 kgas of [1]With Fregat-M upper stage ↑ Best | — | — |
| Height | 46.3 mas of [1] | 61.9 m (uncrewed) / 65.9 m (crewed variant)as of [1] ↑ Best | 29 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 312 tas of [1] | 530 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 54 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | 97%as of [2]~160/165 mission successes since 2004 per aggregated launch logs ↑ Best | — | 43%as of [2]3/7 full successes (FLTA003 Jul 2023, FLTA005 Dec 2024, FLTA007 Mar 2026) + 2 partial successes + 2 failures through FLTA007 |
| Total flights | ~165as of [2] ↑ Best | 1 (suborbital test)as of [1]First flight 2026-04-30 was a suborbital test, not yet a full orbital mission per this source. | 7as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | ~$14,500/kgas of [1]Based on ~$15M list price / 1,030 kg LEO ↓ 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). | Russia's replacement for the Ukrainian-built Zenit, restoring medium-lift capability lost after 2014. Uses the RD-171MV — described as the most powerful liquid-fuel rocket engine in the world — on its first stage, launching from Baikonur. | Firefly Aerospace's two-stage small-lift rocket powered by four Reaver engines at sea level and one Lightning engine in vacuum. Also provides launch services for NASA's CLPS programme (Blue Ghost lander launched on Falcon 9). FLTA007 'Stairway to Seven' succeeded Mar 11, 2026. |
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.