4 ms·
Falcon 9 51 launches 48 completely successful 49 partially successful 94% success rate (complete success) 96% success rate (partial success) Ariane 5 97
by arrrg 9y ago
Falcon 9
51 launches
48 completely successful
49 partially successful
94% success rate (complete success)
96% success rate (partial success)
Ariane 5
97 launches
92 completely successful
95 partially successful
95% success rate (complete success)
98% success rate (partial success)
Atlas V
76 launches
75 completely successful
76 partially successful
99% success rate (complete success)
100% success rate (partial success)
Delta IV (including Heavy)
36 launches
35 completely successful
36 partially successful
97% success rate (complete success)
100% success rate (partial success)
Proton (since 2010 as an arbitrary cutoff)
65 launches
58 completely successful
59 partially successful
89% success rate (complete success)
91% success rate (partial success)
I don’t really think there is any way in which the adjective “terrible” would be an appropriate use of the word here. Also note the low numbers involved here, the different contexts and the plain arbitrariness of such comparisons. One failure more or less can make a world of difference here, despite maybe not being the most reliable indicator.
94% is about the long term ballpark figure for successful orbital launches but it is true that some newer rocket families may have ever so slightly higher reliabilities.
- toufka 9y agoNow divide that failure rate from dollars invested in each project to truly see the differences.
- qubex 9y ago(Adjusted for inflation etc and remove the arbitrary cutoff for Proton.)
- ggm 9y agoAtlas, Ariane and proton have fifty+ years of investment tail behind them and a fifth generation in atlas is probably more than musk has had in spacex in generation terms no?
- oldgradstudent 9y agoDoes it include the rocket and satellite destroyed while refueling? What about Soyuz? IIRC, they haven't lost a manned mission since 1971.
- wongarsu 9y ago>What about Soyuz? IIRC, they haven't lost a manned mission since 1971. Neither has SpaceX :) Soyuz is somewhat more complicated since it's an entire family of rockets: The Soyuz-FG (2001-today, currently does all manned flights) has a 63/63 success record. The Soyuz-U2 (1982-1995) also has a 72/72 success record. The Soyuz-U (1973-2017, also manned flight) has a 765/786 (97%) success rate, with no failure in their manned flights. The Soyuz-2 (2004-today) has a 68/75 (91%) success rate.