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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | Nuri (KSLV-II) 🇰🇷 South Korea Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Avio / Arianespace | JAXA / IHI Aerospace | KARI / Hanwha Aerospace |
| Country | 🇪🇺 Europe | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
| Status | Active | Retired | Active |
| Vehicle class | Small | Small | Medium |
| Propellant | Solid (HTPB + ammonium perchlorate all four stages) | Solid (HTPB — all stages) | RP-1 / LOX (KRE-075 engines all stages) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| First flight | 2022 | 2013 – 2022 | 2021 |
| Payload to LEO | 2,300 kgas of [1]SSO: ~1,700 kg | 590 kgas of [1]500 kg to SSO. Enhanced Epsilon (from E-4) added 700 kg LEO via PBS liquid kick stage. | 2,600 kgas of [1]600 km SSO target orbit ↑ Best |
| Payload to GTO | — | — | — |
| Height | 35 mas of [1] | 26 mas of [1] | 47.2 mas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 210 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 96 tas of [1] | 200 tas of [1] |
| 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. | 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. ↑ Best | 75%as of [2]3/4 full successes: TF1 (Oct 2021) partial, TF2 (Jun 2022) success, TF3 (May 2023) success, TF4 (Nov 27, 2025 — first Hanwha-led production launch) success |
| Total flights | 8as of [2] ↑ Best | 6as of [2] | 4as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$16,500/kgas of [1]Based on ~$38M list price / 2,300 kg ↓ 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. | 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. | South Korea's first domestically developed and produced launch vehicle, designed entirely without foreign engine technology. Nuri TF4 (Nov 2025) was the first launch managed by Hanwha Aerospace rather than KARI — marking the transition to commercial operation. KASA (Korea Aerospace Administration) took over programme oversight in 2024. |
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.