Detailed Specifications
| Statistic | Starship | New Glenn | Angara A5 | Ariane 6 | Falcon Heavy | Long March 5 | Vulcan Centaur | Falcon 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Information | ||||||||
| Classification | Super Heavy | Heavy | Heavy | Heavy | Super Heavy | Heavy | Heavy | Medium |
| Manufacturer | SpaceX | Blue Origin | Khrunichev | ArianeGroup | SpaceX | CALT | ULA | SpaceX |
| Country | United States 🇺🇸 | United States 🇺🇸 | Russia 🇷🇺 | Europe 🇪🇺 | United States 🇺🇸 | China 🇨🇳 | United States 🇺🇸 | United States 🇺🇸 |
| Reusable | Fully | 1st Stage | No | No | 1st Stage & Fairings | No | SMART Reuse (Future) | 1st Stage & Fairings |
| Physical Dimensions | ||||||||
| Height | 121.3 m (398 ft) | 98 m (322 ft) | 55.4 m (182 ft) | ~63 m (207 ft) | 70.0 m (229.6 ft) | 56.97 m (186.9 ft) | 61.6 m (202 ft) | 70 m (230 ft) |
| Diameter | 9 m (30 ft) | 7 m (23 ft) | 3.6 m (core) | 5.4 m (18 ft) | 3.7 m (each booster) | 5 m (16 ft) | 5.4 m (18 ft) | 3.7 m (12 ft) |
| Mass (Liftoff) | ~5.3M kg (11.7M lb) | N/A | 773k kg (1.7M lb) | ~860k kg (1.9M lb) | 1.42M kg (3.13M lb) | 643k kg (1.4M lb) | N/A | 549k kg (1.2M lb) |
| Propulsion & Thrust | ||||||||
| First Stage Engines | 33 Raptors | 7 BE-4 | 5 RD-191 (1 core + 4 boosters) | 4 Vulcain 2.1 + 2 Solid | 9 Merlin (cores) | 2 YF-77 (core) + 4 YF-100 (boosters) | 2 BE-4 | 9 Merlin |
| Sea Level Thrust (1st Stage) | ~76.7 MN (~17.2M lbf) | ~1,900 kN (~427k lbf) | ~2,090 kN (~470k lbf) | ~1,350 kN (core) + ~18,000 kN (boosters) | ~7,590 kN (3 cores) | ~6,280 kN (~1,410k lbf) | ~4,800 kN (~1,078k lbf) | ~690 kN (~155k lbf) |
| Payload Capacity | ||||||||
| Payload to LEO (best) | 150,000 kg (fully reusable) | 45,000 kg | 24,500 kg | 21,650 kg (A64) | 63,800 kg | 25,000 kg | 27,200 kg | 22,800 kg |
| Payload to GTO | ~53,000 kg (with in-orbit refueling) | 13,600 kg | 5,400 kg | 11,500 kg (A64) | 26,700 kg | 14,000 kg | 15,300 kg | 8,300 kg |
| Payload to Mars | 100,000 kg (potential) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 16,800 kg | N/A | N/A | 4,020 kg |
| Operational History | ||||||||
| Status | Test Flights | Active | Active | Active | Active | Active | Active | Active |
| First Flight | Apr 20, 2023 | Jan 16, 2025 | Dec 23, 2014 | Jul 9, 2024 | Feb 6, 2018 | Nov 3, 2016 | Jan 8, 2024 | Jun 4, 2010 |
Rocket Profiles
Starship
SpaceX (United States)
The most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, designed for Earth orbit, lunar, and Mars missions. Features full reusability for both stages.
New Glenn
Blue Origin (United States)
Blue Origin's heavy-lift competitor with a reusable first stage designed for minimum 25 flights. Part of Amazon's Project Kuiper infrastructure.
Falcon Heavy
SpaceX (United States)
Composite of three Falcon 9 first stages clustered together. The highest-capacity operational rocket with proven reusable booster landings.
Falcon 9
SpaceX (United States)
The most-launched American orbital rocket in history. Powers SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Cargo Dragon missions to the ISS.
Ariane 6
ArianeGroup (Europe)
Europe's next-generation heavy-lift rocket with variants (A62/A64). More flexible and cost-effective than Ariane 5.
Vulcan Centaur
ULA (United States)
ULA's next-generation heavy-lift rocket designed to replace Atlas V and Delta IV. Features advanced avionics and future reusability.
Angara A5
Khrunichev (Russia)
Part of Russia's modular Angara family. Designed to replace multiple legacy vehicles with a universal heavy-lift capability.
Long March 5
CALT (China)
China's primary heavy-lift vehicle for space exploration, including lunar missions and space station support. Central to Chinese space ambitions.