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 | Avio / Arianespace | ULA | Relativity Space |
| Country | 🇪🇺 Europe | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Active | Active | In Development |
| Vehicle class | Small | Medium | Heavy |
| Propellant | Solid (HTPB + ammonium perchlorate all four stages) | RP-1 / LOX (RD-180); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur III) | LOX / methane |
| Reusable | No | No | Yes |
| Stages | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2022 | 2002 | 2026 |
| Payload to LEO | 2,300 kgas of [1]SSO: ~1,700 kg | 18,850 kgas of [1]401 configuration. Maximum 401/551 stretch to 20,520 kg. 551 max 29,420 kg (5-solid boosters). | 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 |
| Payload to GTO | — | 8,900 kgas of [1]551 configuration (maximum performance) ↑ Best | — |
| Height | 35 mas of [1] | 58.3 mas of [1]401 configuration | 87 mas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 210 tas of [1] | 334 tas of [1]401 configuration without strap-ons ↑ Best | — |
| Success rate | 75%as of [2]6/8 successes; VV22 (Dec 2022) Zefiro-40 failure destroyed Pléiades Neo 5&6; returned to flight VV25 (Dec 2024). 3 successes in 2025. | 99.1%as of [2]108 full successes + 1 partial failure (NROL-30, Jun 2007 — payload still reached usable orbit) across 109 launches ↑ Best | — |
| Total flights | 8as of [2] | 109as of [2]No longer sold but still flying its backlog: ~8 launches remained as of Apr 2026 (6 Starliner + 2 Amazon Leo); most recent flight Amazon Leo LA-07 (May 29, 2026), ~7 remain ↑ Best | — |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$16,500/kgas of [1]Based on ~$38M list price / 2,300 kg | — | ~$55M per launch (estimate)as of [1]Total launch price estimate, not a per-kg figure. ↓ Cheapest |
| Summary | Europe's primary small satellite launcher derived from Vega. The P120C first-stage motor is shared with Ariane 6's solid strap-on boosters. Avio took over programme management from Arianespace in Dec 2025. | ULA's workhorse since 2002 and the longest-serving active US rocket. Launched Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity), OSIRIS-REx, Solar Orbiter, Lucy, New Horizons, and the Boeing Starliner. Production ended in 2024 and ULA no longer sells the vehicle, but it continues flying a sold-out backlog of Starliner and Amazon Leo missions into the late 2020s. | 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. |
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.