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 | Arianespace / ArianeGroup | Firefly Aerospace |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇪🇺 Europe | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | In Development | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Super Heavy | Heavy | Small |
| Propellant | CH₄ / LOX | LH₂ / LOX (Vulcain 2.1 + Vinci) | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | Yes | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2023 | 2024 | 2021 |
| Payload to LEO | ~150,000 kgas of [1]SpaceX projected max payload in fully expendable mode; ~100,000 kg reusable ↑ Best | 21,650 kgas of [1]Ariane 62 (2 boosters) / Ariane 64 (4 boosters); 64 offers higher GTO capacity | 1,030 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~630 kg |
| Payload to GTO | ~21,000 kgas of [1]Reusable configuration estimate ↑ Best | 11,500 kgas of [1]Ariane 64 configuration. Ariane 62 delivers ~4,500 kg to GTO. | — |
| Height | 121 mas of [1]Version 2 (V2) full stack Ship + Super Heavy | 56–63 mas of [1]56 m (Ariane 62) / 63 m (Ariane 64 with 4 solid boosters) ↑ Best | 29 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | ~5,000 tas of [1] | 530–860 tas of [1]530 t (A62) / 860 t (A64) ↑ Best | 54 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. | 100%as of [2]7/7 missions through VA268 Amazon Leo (Apr 30, 2026); Ariane 64 debut Feb 12, 2026 ↑ 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 | 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. ↑ Best | 7as of [2] | 7as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$600/kgas of [1]SpaceX target figure; not yet achieved in operational configuration ↓ Cheapest | ~$7,500/kgas of [1]Estimate based on ~$115M A62 / ~$165M A64 list prices | ~$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 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). | Europe's flagship launcher replacing Ariane 5. The Vinci re-ignitable upper stage enables multi-orbit missions and controlled deorbit. Primary customers: Amazon Kuiper, European government payloads, and ESA science missions. | 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. |
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.