Head to head

Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M 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 2.1b/Fregat-M: 8,200 kg

Vega-C: 3,300 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 2.1b/Fregat-M	Vega-C
Flights flown	36	8
Success rate	100%	87.5%
Payload to LEO (kg)	8,200	3,300
Launch cost	$48.5M	$48M
Cost per kg to LEO	$5,915	$14,545
Liftoff thrust (kN)	4,150	2,974
Length (m)	46.3	34.8
Diameter (m)	10.3	3
Launch mass (t)	313	210
Stages	4	4

Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M

Flight record

100% success rate36 of 36 flown

2017peak 2021 · 8 flights2026

Maiden flight 2008-07-26. 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 2.1b/Fregat-M is built by Progress Rocket Space Center of Russia (company profile on Space Index).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 2.1b/Fregat-M · 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.