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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | ULA | Arianespace / ArianeGroup | Roscosmos / Progress Rocket Space Centre |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇪🇺 Europe | 🇷🇺 Russia |
| Status | Active | Retired | Active |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Heavy | Medium |
| Propellant | LNG / LOX (BE-4); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur V) | LH₂ / LOX (Vulcain 2) + solid HTPB boosters | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| First flight | 2024 | 1996 – 2023 | 2004 |
| Payload to LEO | 27,200 kgas of [1]VC2S configuration (2 solid strap-on boosters) ↑ Best | 21,000 kgas of [1]Ariane 5 ECA configuration | 8,200 kgas of [1]Soyuz-2.1b with Fregat upper stage; 2.1a variant ~7,020 kg LEO |
| Payload to GTO | 14,400 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | 10,865 kgas of [1]ECA configuration. Ariane 5 ES (ATV) variant: 21,000 kg LEO | 3,250 kgas of [1]With Fregat-M upper stage |
| Height | 61.6 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 54 mas of [1] | 46.3 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 591 tas of [1]VC2S configuration | 777 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 312 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | 100%as of [2]4/4 mission successes: VC2 Cert-1 (Jan 2024), VC2 Cert-2 (Oct 2024), VC4 USSF-87 (Feb 2026), VC2 USSF-106 (Mar 2026) ↑ Best | 97.5%as of [2]113/117 successes. Failures: V501 (Jun 1996, first flight), V63 (Dec 2002, off-course but payload recovered). 2 partial successes. | 97%as of [2]~160/165 mission successes since 2004 per aggregated launch logs |
| Total flights | 4as of [2] | 117as of [2]VA261 (Jul 5, 2023) was the final Ariane 5 flight. Launched the James Webb Space Telescope (Dec 2021). | ~165as of [2] ↑ Best |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$5,500/kgas of [1]Estimated; list pricing not public. Priced below Atlas V, above Ariane 6. ↓ Cheapest | — | — |
| Summary | 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. Primary customer is USSF under NSSL Phase 2. | Europe's dominant heavy-lift rocket for 27 years. Its most famous payload: the James Webb Space Telescope (Dec 25, 2021). Retired Jul 5, 2023 to make way for Ariane 6. Responsible for launching over 250 commercial and scientific payloads including XMM-Newton, Rosetta, and BepiColombo. | Russia's primary medium-lift workhorse, descended from the Soyuz family that has flown since 1966. Carries both crewed Soyuz spacecraft and Cygnus-class cargo. Fregat upper stage significantly expands mission flexibility. Production continues at Samara (now TsSKB-Progress). |
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.