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 | ULA | Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) / CASC | CASC / CALT |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇨🇳 China | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | Active | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Medium | Heavy |
| Propellant | LNG / LOX (BE-4); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur V) | RP-1 / LOX | UDMH/N₂O₄ (stages 1–2) + LH₂/LOX (stage 3 YF-75) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| First flight | 2024 | 2024 | 1996 |
| Payload to LEO | 27,200 kgas of [1]VC2S configuration (2 solid strap-on boosters) ↑ Best | 12,000 kgas of [1]At 200 km altitude; 10,000 kg at 300 km. | 11,200 kgas of [1] |
| Payload to GTO | 14,400 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | — | 5,500 kgas of [1]With 4 strap-on liquid boosters (CZ-3B/E enhanced variant) |
| Height | 61.6 mas of [1] | 62 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 54.84 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 591 tas of [1]VC2S configuration ↑ Best | 433 tas of [1] | 426 tas of [1]Enhanced variant with 4 liquid strap-on boosters |
| Success rate | 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2026) | 100% (6/6)as of [1] ↑ Best | ~95%as of [2]~6 failures/partial failures out of ~105+ flights; gradually being superseded by Long March 5 for GTO |
| Total flights | 4as of [2] | 6as of [1]All six flights deployed Guowang (China SatNet) internet-constellation satellites, exclusively from Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site. | ~105as 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. 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. | A medium-lift, kerosene/LOX launcher built specifically to deploy China's Guowang mega-constellation at high cadence from Wenchang's new commercial pads. | China's primary geostationary transfer vehicle for over 25 years. Launched communications, meteorology, and navigation satellites including Beidou-3 (GEO/IGSO nodes). Being phased out in favour of Long March 5 for heavier GTO payloads as newer domestic communications satellites grow in mass. |
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.