Head to head

Soyuz 2.1a vs Vega-C

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

Vega-C: 3,300 kg

Side by side

11 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	Vega-C
Flights flown	58	8
Success rate	98.3%	87.5%
Payload to LEO (kg)	7,020	3,300
Payload to SSO (kg)	4,230	2,230
Launch cost	$80M	$48M
Cost per kg to LEO	$11,396	$14,545
Liftoff thrust (kN)	4,149	2,974
Length (m)	46.3	34.8
Diameter (m)	2.95	3
Launch mass (t)	312	210
Stages	3	4

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.

Vega-C

Flight record

87.5% success rate7 of 8 flown · 1 failed

2022peak 2026 · 4 flights2026

Maiden flight 2022-07-13. Still flying.

Soyuz 2.1a is built by Progress Rocket Space Center of Russia.Vega-C is built by Avio S.p.A of Italy (company profile on Space Index).

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

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