Head to head

Soyuz 2.1a vs Tsiklon-3

Two vehicles in the same payload class. Every figure below comes from the same two sources for both rockets, and a row appears only when both publish the input.

Payload to low Earth orbit

Relative

Soyuz 2.1a: 7,020 kg

Tsiklon-3: 4,100 kg

Side by side

10 comparable figures

The highlighted value wins the row. Rows where neither direction is better, like length or stage count, highlight nothing.

Metric	Soyuz 2.1a	Tsiklon-3
Flights flown	58	122
Success rate	98.3%	94.3%
Payload to LEO (kg)	7,020	4,100
Launch cost	$80M	$15M
Cost per kg to LEO	$11,396	$3,659
Liftoff thrust (kN)	4,149	2,713
Length (m)	46.3	39.27
Diameter (m)	2.95	3
Launch mass (t)	312	189
Stages	3	3

Soyuz 2.1a

Flight record

98.3% success rate57 of 58 flown · 1 failed

2004peak 2023 · 7 flights2026

Maiden flight 2004-11-04. Still flying.

Tsiklon-3

Flight record

94.3% success rate115 of 122 flown · 7 failed

1977peak 1985 · 12 flights2009

Maiden flight 1977-06-24. Retired.

Soyuz 2.1a is built by Progress Rocket Space Center of Russia.Tsiklon-3 is built by Yuzhnoye Design Bureau of Ukraine.

Full specifications and the complete launch history for each: Soyuz 2.1a · Tsiklon-3.

Specifications from Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs, launch records from Space Index. Derived figures are computed here; see sources and method.