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 | SpaceX | Northrop Grumman | Firefly Aerospace |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | In Development | Retired | Active |
| Vehicle class | Super Heavy | Medium | Small |
| Propellant | CH₄ / LOX | RP-1 / LOX (RD-181 first stage) | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | Yes | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2023 | 2013 – 2023 | 2021 |
| 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 | 1,030 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~630 kg |
| Payload to GTO | ~21,000 kgas of [1]Reusable configuration estimate ↑ Best | — | — |
| Height | 121 mas of [1]Version 2 (V2) full stack Ship + Super Heavy ↑ Best | 41 mas of [1] | 29 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | ~5,000 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 298 tas of [1] | 54 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | ~50%as of [2]Flights 1-12; ~6 complete mission successes (incl. Flights 10 and 11), remainder partial or vehicle lost. First payload deploy on Flight 10 (Aug 2025); Flight 12 (V3 debut) lost during descent. | 91.7%as of [2]11/12 successes; Orb-3 (CRS-3) exploded at liftoff Oct 2014 ↑ 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 | 12as of [2]Flight 1 (Apr 2023) through Flight 12 (May 22, 2026 — V3 debut from Pad 2). Flight 11 (Oct 13, 2025) closed out Block 2. ↑ Best | 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 | 7as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$600/kgas of [1]SpaceX target figure; not yet achieved in operational configuration ↓ Cheapest | — | ~$14,500/kgas of [1]Based on ~$15M list price / 1,030 kg LEO |
| Summary | Largest and most powerful rocket ever flown. Super Heavy booster uses 33 Raptor engines. V3 Ship debuted on Flight 12 (May 22, 2026) from Starbase Pad 2 — it reached space but broke up at the ocean surface, and the vehicle is grounded pending an FAA mishap review. Mechazilla booster catches demonstrated from Flight 5 (Oct 2024) onward; first payload deploy on Flight 10 (Aug 2025). Primary vehicle for the Artemis HLS lunar lander (Artemis III LEO docking demo 2027, first landing on Artemis IV). | 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. | 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.