SpaceTRC / Space Age / Launchers
Beyond SpaceX: the world’s launchers.
In 2025 a single company flew about half of the world’s launches. Europe, China, Japan, India, other US companies and Türkiye are developing new rockets to win back share, and the race for reusable boosters is no longer SpaceX’s alone.
- Electron missions
- 98As of 23 October 2026
- Ariane 6 flights
- 98 successful
- Nations recovering boosters
- 2USA and China (2026)
- SpaceX’s 2025 share
- 50%BryceTech
01 / Overview
Major launchers and their 2026 status
| Rocket | Company / country | Class | 2026 status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electron | Rocket Lab · USA/New Zealand | Small | 98 missions (23 Oct 2026); all 21 missions in 2025 succeeded. |
| Neutron | Rocket Lab | Medium, reusable | A tank ruptured in testing in January 2026; first flight moved to 2027. |
| Vulcan Centaur | ULA · USA | Heavy | A second solid-booster nozzle failure in February 2026 grounded it for nine months; return to flight planned for 13 November with 40 Amazon Leo satellites. |
| Atlas V | ULA · USA | Medium-heavy | Amazon missions ended July 2026; six remaining rockets are reserved for Starliner. |
| Ariane 6 | Arianespace · Europe | Medium-heavy | 9 flights; the four-booster Ariane 64 debuted in February 2026. |
| Vega C | Avio · Europe | Small-medium | 8 flights; launched Smile and Sentinel-3C with FLEX in 2026. |
| H3 | JAXA/MHI · Japan | Medium-heavy | Three successful flights in 2026 after a December 2025 failure, including MMX. |
| PSLV / GSLV / LVM3 | ISRO · India | Small to heavy | PSLV failed twice in a row; GSLV flew successfully in September 2026. |
| Soyuz / Angara / Soyuz-5 | Roscosmos · Russia | Medium-heavy | Soyuz-5 made its suborbital debut in April 2026. |
| Alpha | Firefly · USA | Small | Back in orbit in March 2026; Block 2 debut in Q4 2026. |
| Terran R | Relativity · USA | Medium, reusable | Not yet flown; late-2026 target uncertain. |
02 / China
China’s reusable rocket race
Long March 10B
On its first flight the first stage was caught by a net-and-cable system on a ship at sea, the first orbital booster recovery outside the US.
Zhuque-3
On the second flight of the stainless-steel, methane-fuelled rocket the booster landed on its legs in Gansu before a fire toppled it, still counted as China’s first commercial booster landing.
Wins and losses
Galactic Energy’s Pallas-1 and CAS Space’s Kinetica-2 succeeded on their 2026 debuts, while Space Pioneer’s Tianlong-3 and Ceres-2 failed on theirs.
03 / Türkiye
Türkiye’s push for access to space
ŞİMŞEK-1 and ŞİMŞEK-2
Roketsan’s sounding rocket passed 100 km in 2020, reaching about 130 km. ŞİMŞEK-1, part of the Micro Satellite Launch System, aims to carry about 400 kg to around 500 km; the larger ŞİMŞEK-2 would lift about 1.5 t to 700 km for international customers. Türkiye has not yet launched to orbit on its own rocket.
Hybrid rockets
DeltaV’s two-stage hybrid rocket passed 200 km in June 2025, a record for hybrid rockets. The company is developing the domestic hybrid propulsion system for the AYAP-1 lunar spacecraft.
Somalia
Feasibility and design for a spaceport in Somalia, whose near-equatorial location saves fuel, are complete; first-phase construction began in December 2025.
Compare rockets in Rocket comparison · upcoming launches in the Launch schedule.