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 | Interstellar Technologies | SpaceX | Firefly Aerospace |
| Country | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | In Development | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Small | Medium | Small |
| Propellant | Liquid biomethane (LBM) / LOX | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | No | Yes | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2027 | 2010 | 2021 |
| Payload to LEO | 250 kgas of [1]500 km SSO. No flight attempts as of this research — follows the company's successful suborbital MOMO sounding-rocket program. A larger orbital vehicle, DECA, was announced January 2023. | 22,800 kgas of [1]Reusable first stage (expended gives 22,800 kg; reused gives ~15,600 kg) ↑ Best | 1,030 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~630 kg |
| Payload to GTO | — | 8,300 kgas of [1]Expendable configuration. Reusable GTO capacity ~5,500 kg. ↑ Best | — |
| Height | — | 70 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 29 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | — | 549 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 54 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | — | 99.5%as of [2]~665/668 full successes (Falcon family incl. Falcon Heavy); 500th landing Sep 2025 ↑ Best | 43%as of [2]3/7 full successes (FLTA003 Jul 2023, FLTA005 Dec 2024, FLTA007 Mar 2026) + 2 partial successes + 2 failures through FLTA007 |
| Total flights | — | ~668as of [2]Falcon family total (Falcon 9 + Falcon Heavy) per launch log; 75 in 2026 (74 F9 + 1 FH) as of Jun 25, 2026 ↑ Best | 7as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | ~$2,720/kgas of [1]Based on $67M list price / 22,800 kg LEO (expendable) ↓ Cheapest | ~$14,500/kgas of [1]Based on ~$15M list price / 1,030 kg LEO |
| Summary | A liquid-biomethane orbital smallsat launcher from Interstellar Technologies, Japan's most established private rocket startup by suborbital flight heritage, though not yet flown to orbit. | The world's most frequently flown orbital rocket. Block 5 first stages have landed over 280 times and reflown up to 23 times. Backbone of Starlink and commercial crewed launches. | Firefly Aerospace's two-stage small-lift rocket powered by four Reaver engines at sea level and one Lightning engine in vacuum. Also provides launch services for NASA's CLPS programme (Blue Ghost lander launched on Falcon 9). FLTA007 'Stairway to Seven' succeeded Mar 11, 2026. |
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.