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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | SpaceX | Northrop Grumman | SpaceX |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | In Development | Retired | Active |
| Vehicle class | Super Heavy | Medium | Heavy |
| Propellant | CH₄ / LOX | RP-1 / LOX (RD-181 first stage) | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | Yes | No | Yes |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2023 | 2013 – 2023 | 2018 |
| Payload to LEO | ~150,000 kgas of [1]SpaceX projected max payload in fully expendable mode; ~100,000 kg reusable ↑ Best | 8,000 kgas of [1]Antares 230+ configuration; primarily used for ~3,500–3,800 kg Cygnus cargo | 63,800 kgas of [1]Expended side boosters. Fully reusable ~27,500 kg LEO. |
| Payload to GTO | ~21,000 kgas of [1]Reusable configuration estimate | — | 26,700 kgas of [1]Expendable configuration; reusable ~8,000 kg ↑ Best |
| Height | 121 mas of [1]Version 2 (V2) full stack Ship + Super Heavy ↑ Best | 41 mas of [1] | 70 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | ~5,000 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 298 tas of [1] | 1,421 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | ~55%as of [2]IFT-1 through IFT-11; ~6 complete mission successes, remainder partial or vehicle lost. No orbital payload deployment yet. | 91.7%as of [2]11/12 successes; Orb-3 (CRS-3) exploded at liftoff Oct 2014 | 100%as of [2]12/12 mission successes through Falcon Heavy ViaSat-3 F3 (Apr 29, 2026) ↑ Best |
| Total flights | 11as of [2]IFT-1 (Apr 2023) through IFT-11 (May 2026 target). IFT-10 (Aug 2025) achieved full mission: booster caught + Ship splash-down. | 12as of [2]Final Antares flight was NG-19 (Aug 1, 2023). NG-20+ moved to Falcon 9 due to Antares RD-181 engine supply disruption (Russia sanctions). ↑ Best | 12as of [2] ↑ Best |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$600/kgas of [1]SpaceX target figure; not yet achieved in operational configuration ↓ Cheapest | — | ~$1,400/kgas of [1]Based on ~$97M list price / 63,800 kg (expendable configuration) |
| Summary | Largest and most powerful rocket ever flown. Super Heavy booster uses 33 Raptor engines. V3 Ship introduced Aug 2025. Mechazilla caught the booster on IFT-5 (Oct 2024) and IFT-10 (Aug 2025). Primary vehicle for Artemis HLS lunar landing (Artemis III planned 2026). | Primary launch vehicle for Cygnus ISS cargo missions from 2013–2023. Its Ukrainian-built Zenit-derived first stage and Russian RD-181 engines became untenable after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Northrop switched NG-20 onward to Falcon 9 while Antares 330 (with Firefly Miranda engines) is in development. | Currently the most powerful operational rocket in the world. Three Falcon 9 cores sharing propellant cross-feed produce 5.1 MN of sea-level thrust. Primary mission profile: DoD/NRO GEO payloads and planetary science. |
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.