Falcon 9 vs Vega vs PSLV

Here we are with three of the more representative rockets that feature rideshare launch services, Falcon 9 vs Vega vs PSLV.

We selected: Falcon 9, the launcher designed and manufactured by SpaceX; Vega, designed by AVIO and operated by Arianespace; PSLV, designed by ISRO and operated by Antrix. Both Falcon 9 and Vega have their rideshare programs Transporter and SSMS, respectively.

Let’s find out more about these launchers:

	Falcon 9	Vega	PSLV
Operator	SpaceX	Arianespace	Antrix
First Launch	2010-06-04	2012-02-13	1993-09-20
Total Launches	140	20	54
Failure	2 (1%)	2 (10%)	3 (5%)
Reusable	Partially	No	No
Payload to Leo	22800 kg	1500 kg	3250 kg
Stage	2	4	4
Height	70 m	29.9 m	44 m

Their first launch:

• The oldest rocket is PSLV, which launched for the first time in 1993, but had its first successful launch in 1994. Since then, ISRO has developed five different versions of it, featuring different boosters. Its most used version is the PSLV-XL with 23 launches.
• Falcon 9’s first version, v1.0, lift off in 2010. Falcon 9 progressed throughout the years before getting to its current version, FT Block 5, which launched for the first time in 2018. You can also check here the comparison between Falcon 9 vs Falcon Heavy.
• Vega launched for the first time in 2012 and is celebrating its 10^th anniversary in these days. Arianespace has scheduled the launch of the new version Vega C, which features a 50% bigger payload to LEO, for next month. Check out our Technical Capsule about Vega C.

Are they reusable?

• Out of these three launchers, the only one that is partially reusable is Falcon 9. SpaceX also holds the record for the most landings featuring the same first stage: both Booster 1051 and 1058 flew 11 times. The other recovered part, which was introduced in the last few years, is the fairing, which costs approximatively $ 5M. The reusability of Falcon 9 reduces costs by up to 30%.

How do capabilities of payload to LEO compare?

• Falcon 9 has the highest capability, 22800kg in its expendable configuration and 16250kg in the reusable one, with almost 700% more than PSLV and 1520% more than Vega.

Check out the launch schedule of Falcon 9 vs Vega vs PSLV. here.