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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | Electron 🇳🇿 New Zealand / USA Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-06-28Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | RKTs Progress | Rocket Lab | Firefly Aerospace |
| Country | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇳🇿 New Zealand / USA | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Active | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Small | Small |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | No | Yes | No |
| Stages | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2026 | 2017 | 2021 |
| Payload to LEO | 18,000 kgas of [1]Uncrewed configuration. ↑ Best | 300 kgas of [1]~200 kg reusable mode (lower due to propellant reserved for re-entry burn) | 1,030 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~630 kg |
| Payload to GTO | — | — | — |
| Height | 61.9 m (uncrewed) / 65.9 m (crewed variant)as of [1] ↑ Best | 18 mas of [1] | 29 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 530 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 13 tas of [1] | 54 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | — | 95.6%as of [3]87 successes / 91 Electron-family flights. Orbital Electron alone: 78/82 (95.1%). HASTE: 9/9. On a 50-flight success streak since December 2023; 21/21 in the 2025 calendar year. ↑ 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 | 1 (suborbital test)as of [1]First flight 2026-04-30 was a suborbital test, not yet a full orbital mission per this source. | 91as of [3]91 Electron-family flights: 82 orbital plus 9 suborbital HASTE. Reconciled against three 10-K cumulative checkpoints (38/54/75 successes through 2023/2024/2025). Rocket Lab counts HASTE inside its own 'Electron launched N times' figure. ↑ Best | 7as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | ~$25,000/kgas of [1]Based on ~$7.5M list price / 300 kg payload | ~$14,500/kgas of [1]Based on ~$15M list price / 1,030 kg LEO ↓ Cheapest |
| Summary | 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. | The world's most commercially active small launch vehicle, designed and built in-house at Rocket Lab. Rutherford engines are the first flight-proven engines made with additive manufacturing (metal 3D printing). Booster recovery via parachute and helicopter catch (later transitioned to ocean recovery). | 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.