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 | Relativity Space |
| Country | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | Active | In Development |
| Vehicle class | Heavy | Heavy |
| Propellant | LNG / LOX (BE-4); LH₂ / LOX (Centaur V) | LOX / methane |
| Reusable | No | Yes |
| Stages | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2024 | 2026 |
| Payload to LEO | 27,200 kgas of [1]VC2S configuration (2 solid strap-on 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 | 14,400 kgas of [1] ↑ Best | — |
| Height | 61.6 mas of [1] | 87 mas of [1] ↑ Best |
| Liftoff mass | 591 tas of [1]VC2S configuration ↑ Best | — |
| 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) ↑ Best | — |
| Total flights | 4as of [2] ↑ Best | — |
| Cost / kg LEO | ~$5,500/kgas of [1]Estimated; list pricing not public. Priced below Atlas V, above Ariane 6. | ~$55M per launch (estimate)as of [1]Total launch price estimate, not a per-kg figure. ↓ 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. | 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.