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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Relativity Space | JAXA / IHI Aerospace | ULA |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | In Development | Retired | Active |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Small | Heavy |
| Propellant | LOX / methane | Solid (HTPB — all stages) | LNG / LOX (BE-4); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur V) |
| Reusable | Yes | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| First flight | 2026 | 2013 – 2022 | 2024 |
| Payload to LEO | 33,500 kg expendable / 23,500 kg with a reusable first stageas of [1]First flight targeted 2026 (stated plan, not yet confirmed flown as of this research). ↑ Best | 590 kgas of [1]500 kg to SSO. Enhanced Epsilon (from E-4) added 700 kg LEO via PBS liquid kick stage. | 27,200 kgas of [1]VC2S configuration (2 solid strap-on boosters) |
| Payload to GTO | — | — | 14,400 kgas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Height | 87 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 26 mas of [1] | 61.6 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | — | 96 tas of [1] | 591 tas of [1]VC2S configuration ↑ Best |
| Success rate | — | 83.3%as of [2]5/6 successes. E-6 (Oct 12, 2022) PBS upper stage failed to ignite, eight satellites lost. Epsilon S (next-generation) ground test anomaly Jan 2023 effectively ended the programme. | 100%as of [2]4/4 payloads delivered: Cert-1 (Jan 2024), Cert-2 (Oct 2024, SRB nozzle anomaly), USSF-106 (Aug 13, 2025 — flight 3, first NSSL mission), USSF-87 (Feb 12, 2026 — flight 4, second SRB nozzle anomaly; Space Force paused Vulcan launches, RTF ~late 2026) ↑ Best |
| Total flights | — | 6as of [2] ↑ Best | 4as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$55M per launch (estimate)as of [1]Total launch price estimate, not a per-kg figure. ↓ Cheapest | — | ~$5,500/kgas of [1]Estimated; list pricing not public. Priced below Atlas V, above Ariane 6. |
| Summary | Relativity Space's Falcon-9-class successor to Terran 1, partially 3D-printed, with 13 Aeon R methalox engines on a reusable first stage; second stage and fairing expendable. | JAXA's small solid-fuel rocket derived from the M-V rocket heritage. Designed for highly autonomous operations — launch preparations could be managed by just 8 people. The sixth and final E-6 mission (Oct 2022) failed when the PBS kick stage didn't ignite; a ground explosion during Epsilon S testing (Jan 2023) ended the programme. | ULA's next-generation medium-heavy rocket replacing Atlas V. Powered by two BE-4 engines on the first stage and a cryogenic Centaur V upper stage. NSSL-certified March 2025; first NSSL mission USSF-106 flew Aug 13, 2025. Paused by the Space Force after the USSF-87 SRB nozzle anomaly (Feb 12, 2026), with return to flight expected ~late 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.