Concise original overview of commercial satellite constellations,
small satellite rocket launchers and NewSpace funding options.
Sister websites www.nanosats.eu and www.factoriesinspace.com
Organization | Launcher | Founded | Status | First Launch | Launches | Cost | Performance | Price per kg | Funding | Logo | Photo |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Northrop Grumman | Pegasus | 1994 | Retired? | 1990 | 44 | $56M | 443 kg | 126400 $/kg | - | ![]() |
|
Lockheed Martin | Athena | 1993 | Retired | 1995 | 7 | - | 794 kg | - | - | ||
Makeyev OKB | Shtil | 1947 | Retired | 1998 | 2 | - | 160 kg | - | - | ||
SpaceX | Falcon 1e | 2002 | Retired | 2008 | 5 | $11M | 1000 kg | 11000 $/kg | Yes | ||
Aerojet Rocketdyne | SPARK / Super Strypi | 1942 | Retired | 2015 | 1 | - | 300 kg | - | - | ![]() |
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CASIC / ExPace | Kuaizhou-1A (Fei Tian 1) | 1999 | Operational | 2017 | 10 | $6M | 300 kg | 20000 $/kg | Yes | ![]() |
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Rocket Lab | Electron | 2006 | Operational | 2017 | 17 | $7.5M | 300 kg | 25000 $/kg | $300M+ | ![]() |
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JAXA | SS-520-4 | 2003 | Operational | 2017 | 2 | - | 4 kg | - | Yes | ||
LandSpace | Zhuque-1 (ZQ-1) | 2015 | Operational | 2018 | 1 | - | 200 kg | - | $370M | ||
One Space | OS-M | 2015 | Operational | 2019 | 1 | - | 112 kg | - | $116M | ||
i-Space | Hyperbola-1 (Shian Quxian) | 2017 | Operational | 2019 | 1 | $5M | 300 kg | 16700 $/kg | $270M+ | ||
China Rocket | Smart Dragon-1 (Jielong-1) | 2016 | Operational | 2019 | 1 | - | 150 kg | - | - | ||
CASIC / ExPace | Kuaizhou-11 (KZ-11) | 2015 | Operational | 2020 | 1 | $10M | 1000 kg | 10000 $/kg | $370M | ||
Virgin Orbit | LauncherOne | 2016 | Operational | 2020 | 1 | $12M | 300 kg | 40000 $/kg | $700M | ![]() |
|
Astra Space | Rocket | 2016 | Operational | 2020 | 1 | $2.5M | 100 kg | 25000 $/kg | $104M+ | ||
Galactic Energy | Ceres-1 | 2018 | Operational | 2020 | 1 | - | 350 kg | - | $73M | ||
Relativity Space | Terran 1 | 2016 | Development | 2021 | 0 | $10M | 900 kg | 11100 $/kg | $685.7M | ||
Firefly | Alpha (α) | 2014 | Development | 2021 | 0 | $15M | 630 kg | 23800 $/kg | $31.6M+ | ![]() |
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ABL Space Systems | RS1 | 2017 | Development | 2021 | 0 | $12M | 1000 kg | 12000 $/kg | $49M+ | ||
Skyroot | Vikram 1 | 2018 | Development | 2021 | 0 | - | 225 kg | - | $4.3M | ![]() |
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Aevum | Ravn X | 2016 | Development | 2021 | 0 | - | - | - | $4.9M | ||
ISRO | SSLV (PSLV Light) | 1969 | Development | 2021 | 0 | - | 300 kg | - | Yes | ||
TiSPACE | Hapith V | 2016 | Development | 2021 | 0 | - | 350 kg | - | - | ||
Link Space | New Line 1 | 2014 | Development | 2021 | 0 | $4.5M | 200 kg | 22500 $/kg | - | ||
Interorbital Systems | NEPTUNE 2 | 1996 | Development | 2021 | 0 | $0.5M | 12 kg | 41700 $/kg | - | ![]() |
|
Isar Aerospace | Spectrum | 2018 | Development | 2021 | 0 | - | 700 kg | - | $118M+ | ||
Independence-X | DNLV | 2013 | Development | 2021 | 0 | $4.5M | 200 kg | 22500 $/kg | - | ||
Interstellar Technologies | Zero | 2003 | Development | 2021 | 0 | - | 100 kg | - | - | ||
Deep Blue Aerospace | Nebula-1 | 2017 | Development | 2021 | 0 | - | 500 kg | - | - | ||
Spaceryde | ? | 2018 | Development | 2021 | 0 | - | - | - | $0.65M+ | ||
Space Trek | Xingtu-1 (XT-1) | 2018 | Development | 2021 | 0 | - | 240 kg | - | Yes | ||
Space Mission Architects | SMA-2 | 2016 | Development | 2021 | 0 | - | 15 kg | - | - | ||
Earth to Sky | ? | 2008 | Development | 2021 | 0 | $12M | 850 kg | 14100 $/kg | - | ![]() |
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Deimos One | Vulcan | 2020 | Development | 2021 | 0 | - | 35 km | - | - | ||
Space One | ? | 2017 | Development | 2021 | 0 | - | 160 kg | - | - | ||
Orbex Space | ? | 2015 | Development | 2022 | 0 | - | 150 kg | - | $63.8M | ||
RFA (Rocket Factory) | RFA One | 2018 | Development | 2022 | 0 | - | 200 kg | - | - | ||
Phantom Space | Daytona-E | 2020 | Development | 2022 | 0 | ? | 450 kg | - | $0.9M+ | ||
HyImpulse | SL1 | 2018 | Development | 2022 | 0 | - | 500 kg | - | $4M+ | ![]() |
|
bluShift Aerospace | Red Dwarf | 2014 | Development | 2022 | 0 | $1.25M | 30 kg | 41700 $/kg | $0.3M | ||
Gilmour Space | Eris-S | 2012 | Development | 2022 | 0 | - | 215 kg | - | $17M | ![]() |
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Vector Space Systems | Vector-R | 2016 | Development | 2022 | 0 | - | 200 kg | - | $103M | ![]() |
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Equatorial Space Systems | Volans | 2017 | Development | 2022 | 0 | $4.5M | 150 kg | 30000 $/kg | - | ||
Acrux | Montenegro | 2008 | Development | 2022 | 0 | $0.6M | 40 kg | 15000 $/kg | $0.1M | ||
SpinLaunch | ? | 2014 | Development | 2022 | 0 | $0.5M | - | - | $80M | ||
Skyrora | Skyrora XL | 2017 | Development | 2022 | 0 | - | 315 kg | - | - | ||
Roketsan | UFS / MUFS | 1988 | Development | 2023 | 0 | - | 100 kg | - | - | ||
Smallspark Space Systems | Frost 1 | 2018 | Development | 2023 | 0 | - | 100 kg | - | $0.15M | ||
Orbital Exploration (OrbitX) | Haribon SLS | 2019 | Development | 2023 | 0 | $5M | 200 kg | 25000 $/kg | - | ||
Jarmyn Enterprise Space | HAWK Jnr | 2020 | Development | 2023 | 0 | - | 75 kg | - | - | ||
Bellatrix Aerospace | Chetak | 2015 | Development | 2024 | 0 | $2M | 150 kg | 13300 $/kg | $3M | ||
Laros | PH2 | 2019 | Development | 2024 | 0 | - | 200 kg | - | - | ||
STAR Orbitals | Phoenix | 2020 | Development | 2024 | 0 | - | 150 kg | - | - | ||
Venture Orbital Systems | Zephyr | 2019 | Development | 2024 | 0 | - | 70 kg | - | $0.9M+ | ||
LAUNCHER Space | Rocket-1 | 2016 | Development | 2025 | 0 | - | 400 kg | - | Yes | ||
LIA Aerospace | Procyon | 2014 | Development | 2026 | 0 | - | 150 kg | - | - | ||
CONAE | Space Launcher Vehicle (VLE) / Tronador II | 1991 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 250 kg | - | - | ||
CTA | VLM | 1953 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 150 kg | - | - | ||
Rocket Crafters | Intrepid-1 | 2010 | Development | ? | 0 | $5.4M | 376 kg | 14400 $/kg | $5.7M | ||
Zero 2 Infinity | Bloostar | 2009 | Development | ? | 0 | $4.0M | 75 kg | 53300 $/kg | $6.3M+ | ||
Reaction Dynamics | ? | 2017 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 150 kg | - | $1.5M | ||
PLD Space | Miura 5 (Arion 2) | 2011 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 300 kg | - | $32M+ | ||
Firehawk Aerospace | Firehawk-1 | 2018 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | $2M+ | ||
Dawn Aerospace | MK-3 (Mk-II) | 2016 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | $2.2M | ||
Pythom | Pythom | 2017 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 70 kg | - | $0.5M | ||
Space Transportation | Tian Xing-1 | 2018 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 100 kg | - | $4M | ![]() |
|
X-Bow Launch Systems | ? | 2016 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | $0.15M | ||
C6 Launch Systems | ? | 2019 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 30 kg | - | $0.07M | ||
Beyond Earth | ? | 2013 | Development | ? | 0 | $1M | 30 kg | 33300 $/kg | Seed | ||
Orbital Cargo Drone | ? | 2018 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 160 kg | - | ESA BIC | ||
B2Space | ? | 2016 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | Yes | ||
TLON Space | Aventura I | 2010 | Development | ? | 0 | $0.05M | 10 kg | 5000 $/kg | - | ||
VALT Enterprises | VALT | 2015 | Development | ? | 0 | $1.7M | 25 kg | 68000 $/kg | - | ||
Perigee | Blue Whale | 2014 | Development | ? | 0 | $2M | 50 kg | 40000 $/kg | - | ||
Black Arrow | Black Arrow 2 | 2014 | Development | ? | 0 | $6.3M | 300 kg | 21000 $/kg | - | ||
Bagaveev Corporation | Bagaveev | 2013 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 10 kg | - | $0.67M | ||
Agnikul | AgniBaan | 2017 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 100 kg | - | $3.5M | ||
Hypersonix Launch Systems | Delta-Velos Orbiter | 2018 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 50 kg | - | - | ||
Lin Industrial | Taymyr-1A | 2014 | Development | ? | 0 | $0.5M | 12 kg | 41700 $/kg | - | ||
Space Pioneer | ? | 2015 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
S-Motor | SCL-2 | 2017 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 160 kg | - | - | ||
Exos Aerospace | Jaguar | 2014 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 100 kg | - | - | ||
CloudIX (Nine) | ? | 2016 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 22 kg | - | - | ||
Pipeline2Space | ? | 2014 | Development | ? | 0 | $1M | 10 kg | 100000 $/kg | - | ||
0-GLaunch | ? | 2020 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
Exodus Space | ? | 2018 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
INNOSPACE | ? | 2017 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
LongShot | ? | 2020 | Development | ? | 0 | $0.2M | 500 kg | 400 $/kg | - | ||
POLARIS | ? | 2018 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 1000 kg | - | - | ||
SpaceHorizon | Launch Vehicle 1 | 2020 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 800 kg | - | - | ||
Tachyon Aerospace | TAV-1 | 2016 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ![]() |
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AvalonSpace | ? | 2019 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
Fenix Space | ? | 2019 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
Stratobooster | ? | 2018 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
New Ascent | ? | 2016 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
Hybrid Propulsion | Orbital Rocket / Mk1 | 2018 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 200 kg | - | - | ||
LEO Launcher & Logistics | ? | 2015 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ![]() |
|
STOKE Space Technologies | ? | 2019 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
VSAT | ? | 2015 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 500 kg | - | - | ||
Wagner Star Industries | Konshu | 2015 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
Advanced Rockets Corp | DELV | 2017 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
Eclipse Orbital | The Corona | 2017 | Development | ? | 0 | $7.7M | 1100 kg | 7000 $/kg | - | ||
Pangea Aerospace | Meso | 2018 | Development | ? | 0 | $4.4M | 150 kg | 29300 $/kg | - | ||
UP Aerospace | Spyder Orbital | 1998 | Development | ? | 0 | $1M | 10 kg | 100000 $/kg | - | ||
Vogue Aerospace | US1-LALV | 2016 | Development | ? | 0 | $2M | 500 kg | 4000 $/kg | - | ||
SpaceDarts | One | 2017 | Development | ? | 0 | $0.04M | 10 kg | 4000 $/kg | - | ||
Green Launch | ? | 2016 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 5 kg | - | - | ||
ARCA Space | EcoRocket / Haas 2CA | 1999 | Development | ? | 0 | $1M | 100 kg | 10000 $/kg | - | ||
RocketStar | StarLord | 2015 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 300 kg | - | - | ||
Phoenix | Phoenix | 2019 | Development | ? | 0 | $0.75M | 22 kg | 34100 $/kg | - | ||
OmSpace | Infinity One | 2020 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
Timewarp | Stardust | 2020 | Development | ? | 0 | - | 150 kg | - | - | ||
Protolaunch | ? | 2019 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
Wave Motion Launch | ? | 2020 | Development | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
Sidereus Space Dynamics | EOS SmallLauncher | 2019 | Development | ? | 0 | $1.2M | 100 kg | 12000 $/kg | - | ![]() |
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loyer-Taylor Laboratories (GTL) | ACE (Advanced Cryogenic Expendable) | 2004 | Development | ? | 0 | $1M | 70 kg | 14300 $/kg | - | ||
Cubecab | Cab-3A | 2014 | Concept | 2022 | 0 | $0.25M | 5 kg | 50000 $/kg | - | ||
Masterra Space | MINSAT-2000 | 1984 | Concept | 2021 | 0 | $1M | 20 kg | 50000 $/kg | - | ||
EPIC Aerospace | ? | 2017 | Concept | 2022 | 0 | - | - | - | YC19 | ||
STAR | Phoenix | 2015 | Concept | 2026 | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
Crest Astra | ? | 2019 | Concept | 2039 | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
Frontier Astronautics | ? | 2008 | Concept | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
Stofiel Aerospace | BOREAS | 2015 | Concept | ? | 0 | - | 100 kg | - | - | ![]() |
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Scorpius Space Launch | Demi-Sprite | 1984 | Concept | ? | 0 | $3.6M | 160 kg | 22500 $/kg | - | ||
MT Aerospace | MTA, WARR, Daneo | 2005 | Concept | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ![]() |
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The Rocket and Satellite Company | ? | 2019 | Concept | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
Aakashgangaa Space | Indra | 2020 | Concept | ? | 0 | - | 150 kg | - | |||
Thor Launch Systems | ? | 2016 | Dormant? | 2020 | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
MARCOM | CHEETAH-1 | 2002 | Dormant? | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
Space Ops | Rocky 1 | 2016 | Dormant? | 2022 | 0 | $0.1M | 5 kg | 20000 $/kg | - | ||
Orbital Access | Orbital 500 | 2015 | Dormant? | 2022 | 0 | - | 500 kg | - | - | ![]() |
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Odyne Space | ? | 2016 | Dormant? | ? | 0 | - | 150 kg | - | - | ||
Celestia Aerospace | Space Arrow CM | 2014 | Dormant? | ? | 0 | $0.2M | 16 kg | 12500 $/kg | - | ![]() |
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bspace | Volant | 2016 | Dormant | ? | 0 | - | 215 kg | - | - | ![]() |
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Fore Dynamics | NFR-1 | 2017 | Dormant | ? | 0 | - | 200 kg | - | - | ||
United Frontiers | Discovery 2 | 2018 | Dormant | 2021 | 0 | $1M | 500 kg | 2000 $/kg | - | ||
Heliaq | ALV-2 | 2012 | Dormant | ? | 0 | - | 30 kg | - | $0.7M | ![]() |
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New Rocket Technologies | ? | 2017 | Dormant | ? | 0 | $9M | 500 kg | 18000 $/kg | - | ![]() |
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Space Orca | ? | 2017 | Dormant | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
Terra Space Technologies | Gyrfalcon | 2017 | Dormant | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
Rose Galactic | Anthium Orbital Cannon | 2016 | Dormant | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
SpaceLS | Prometheus-1 | 2010 | Dormant | ? | 0 | - | 250 kg | - | - | ||
LEO Aerospace | Orbital Rocket | 2017 | Dormant | ? | 0 | - | 25 kg | - | - | ||
Tranquility Aerospace | Devon Two | 2015 | Dormant | ? | 0 | - | 4 kg | - | - | ||
MISHAAL Aerospace | M-OV | 2010 | Dormant | ? | 0 | - | 454 kg | - | - | ||
proximitE | ? | 2018 | Dormant | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
Nammo | North Star | 1998 | Dormant | 2020 | 0 | - | 20 kg | - | - | ||
Avio | Vega Light | 1908 | Dormant | 2021 | 0 | - | 250 kg | - | - | ||
Leaf Space | Primo | 2014 | Cancelled | ? | 0 | - | - | - | $6.2M | ![]() |
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Swiss Space Systems | SOAR | 2012 | Cancelled | 2018 | 0 | $10M | 250 kg | 40000 $/kg | - | ||
Aphelion Orbitals | Helios / Feynman | 2016 | Cancelled | 2019 | 0 | $0.55M | 14 kg | 39300 $/kg | $0.5M | ![]() |
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Lex Aerospace | ? | 2017 | Cancelled | ? | 0 | - | - | - | - | ||
Open Space Orbital | Neutrino I | 2014 | Cancelled | ? | 0 | - | 50 kg | - | - | ||
Generation Orbit | GoLauncher 2 | 2011 | Cancelled | ? | 0 | $3M | 40 kg | 75000 $/kg | - |
Including orbital class small launchers.
Commercial and civilian rockets preferred.
Maximum 1000 kg to SSO orbit. Payload to low altitude and inclination can be more.
Performance values are not directly comparable as the stated orbits are often different.
Preference is to list payload capabilities to higher SSO orbits, but not available in many cases.
Most of the content should be linked to the source on this page unless it is the official website.
Status above is an estimation based on a mix of the following criteria and can be debatable.
Retired - Launchers that were operational, but have since been discontinued or no further launches announced or many years have passed.
Operational - Launches to orbit have been performed (successfully or not) and next launches will have payloads and high likelihood of achieving orbital velocity.
Development - Company active, intention publicly announced, relevant updates on social media and website, team size increasing, private funding announced or governmental projects awarded.
Concept - Idea or Unknown. Study stage not yet approved for hardware development, lack of proof about sustained technical development, active development unlikely based on funding level and type of updates, team very small and not increasing nased on LinkedIn.
Dormant - First step on the way to Cancelled. Website offline, lack of recent (1+ year) posts on social media channels or only non-related topics, very small team (or a single person) according to LinkedIn, no announced fundraising or none recently. For example, Astra developed in stealth, but they still had 50+ persons on LinkedIn and active signs and rumours in the industry.
Cancelled - Website offline for years or no indication of the launcher any more or company bankrupt.
NewSpace is a global industry of private companies and entrepreneurs who primarily target commercial customers, are backed by risk capital seeking a return, and seek to profit from innovative products or services developed in or for space.
NewSpace Global, newspaceglobal.com
Alt.space, NewSpace, entrepreneurial space, and other labels have been used to describe approaches to space development that different significantly from that taken by NASA and the mainstream aerospace industry.
Hobby Space, hobbyspace.com
People, businesses and organizations working to open the space frontier to human settlement through economic development.
Space Frontier Foundation, spacefrontier.org
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