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| Attribute | Long March 8 (incl. 8A) 🇨🇳 China Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-07-26Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | SpaceX | JAXA / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) / CASC |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | In Development | Retired | Active |
| Vehicle class | Super Heavy | Medium | Medium |
| Propellant | CH₄ / LOX | LH₂ / LOX (LE-7A first stage + LE-5B second stage) | RP-1 / LOX (stage 1); LH2/LOX (stage 2) |
| Reusable | Yes | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2023 | 2001 – 2025 | 2020 |
| Payload to LEO | ~150,000 kgas of [1]SpaceX projected max payload in fully expendable mode; ~100,000 kg reusable ↑ Best | 10,000 kgas of [1]202 configuration (2 SRB-A3 solid strap-ons) | 8,100 kgas of [1]5,000 kg to 700 km SSO (base); the enlarged-second-stage 8A variant (first flew 2025-02-11) lifts 7,000 kg to the same SSO reference orbit. |
| Payload to GTO | ~21,000 kgas of [1]Reusable configuration estimate ↑ Best | 4,100 kgas of [1]202 configuration | — |
| Height | 121 mas of [1]Version 2 (V2) full stack Ship + Super Heavy ↑ Best | 53 mas of [1] | 50.3 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | ~5,000 tas of [1] | 285 tas of [1]202 configuration | 356 t (base); 371 t (8A)as of [1] ↑ Best |
| 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. | 98%as of [2]49/50 successes. Only failure: F6 (Nov 2003, MTSAT-1R lost due to SRB separation anomaly). Retired after Flight 50 (GOSAT-GW, Jun 28, 2025). | 100% (16/16 combined base + 8A)as of [1] ↑ Best |
| 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. | 50as of [2]50 flights from 2001–2025. H3 replaces it from 2024 onward. | 16 (base + 8A combined)as of [1] ↑ Best |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$600/kgas of [1]SpaceX target figure; not yet achieved in operational configuration ↓ Cheapest | — | — |
| 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). | Japan's flagship medium-lift rocket for 24 years, retiring after an exceptional 49/50 mission success record. Launched the SELENE lunar orbiter (2007), Akatsuki Venus probe (2010), Hayabusa2 (2014), SLIM lunar lander (2023), and the ALOS series Earth observation satellites. | A two-stage medium-lift launcher originally designed with a reusable combined-booster-recovery concept in mind, though currently operational vehicles fly expendable. Exclusively from Wenchang. |
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.