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 | Electron 🇳🇿 New Zealand / USA Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | LandSpace | SpaceX | Rocket Lab |
| Country | 🇨🇳 China | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇳🇿 New Zealand / USA |
| Status | Active | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Medium | Small |
| Propellant | CH₄ / LOX (Tianque-12 + Tianque-15 upper stage) | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX |
| Reusable | No | Yes | Yes |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2022 | 2010 | 2017 |
| Payload to LEO | 6,000 kgas of [1]SSO capacity ~4,000 kg | 22,800 kgas of [1]Reusable first stage (expended gives 22,800 kg; reused gives ~15,600 kg) ↑ Best | 300 kgas of [1]~200 kg reusable mode (lower due to propellant reserved for re-entry burn) |
| Payload to GTO | — | 8,300 kgas of [1]Expendable configuration. Reusable GTO capacity ~5,500 kg. ↑ Best | — |
| Height | 49.5 mas of [1] | 70 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 18 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 219 tas of [1] | 549 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 13 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | 75%as of [2]3/4 full successes; ZQ-2 Y1 (Dec 2022) reached orbit on stage 1 but 2nd stage failed; ZQ-2 Y2 (Jul 2023) SUCCESS — world's first methane-fueled rocket to reach orbit | 99.5%as of [2]634/637 full successes; Block 5 alone 580/581 = 99.8% ↑ Best | 95.4%as of [2]83/87 orbital successes; 21/21 success rate in 2025 calendar year per Rocket Lab investor release |
| Total flights | 4as of [2] | 637as of [2] ↑ Best | 87as of [2] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | ~$2,720/kgas of [1]Based on $67M list price / 22,800 kg LEO (expendable) ↓ Cheapest | ~$25,000/kgas of [1]Based on ~$7.5M list price / 300 kg payload |
| Summary | The world's first methane-fueled rocket to achieve orbit (July 12, 2023), beating SpaceX Starship to that milestone. A commercial Chinese rocket built by LandSpace with vertically-integrated methane propulsion — the same propellant strategy as Starship, Neutron, and Terran R. | 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. | The world's most commercially active small launch vehicle, designed and built in-house at Rocket Lab. Rutherford engines are the first flight-proven engines made with additive manufacturing (metal 3D printing). Booster recovery via parachute and helicopter catch (later transitioned to ocean recovery). |
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.