Launch Costs
What it costs to put a kilogram into low Earth orbit, adjusted for inflation (2025 US$)
Cost per Kilogram to Low Earth Orbit
Each dot is a launcher at the year of its first successful flight, priced for a dedicated launch at full capacity (log scale). Small launchers carry up to 2 tonnes, medium 2 to 20 tonnes, heavy more than 20. Diamonds are today's published prices.
Published Launch Prices
| Vehicle | Price | To LEO | Per kg, 2025 $ | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcon 9 SpaceX · Dedicated launch | $74M 2026 | 22,800 kg | $3,246/kg | SpaceX Capabilities & Services List price |
| Falcon 9 (Transporter rideshare) SpaceX · Rideshare | $6,500/kg 2023 | — | $6,868/kg | Payload Space List price |
| Electron Rocket Lab · Dedicated launch | $7.5M 2019 | 300 kg | $31,482/kg | TechCrunch Reported price |
| SLS Block 1 NASA · Government launch | $4.10B 2022 | 95,000 kg | $47,477/kg | NASA Office of Inspector General (via CNBC) Audit estimate |
- Falcon 9: Raised from $69.75 million in 2026. Payload is the expendable figure; 17500 kg to LEO with booster recovery
- Falcon 9 (Transporter rideshare): Raised from $5500 per kg in March 2023
- Electron: Price of a dedicated Electron launch as sold by Rocket Lab in 2019
- SLS Block 1: Production and ground operations per Artemis mission (SLS and Orion); excludes development
What Would My Payload Cost?
- Falcon 9 (Transporter rideshare)Rideshare · $6,868/kg$1.0M
- ElectronDedicated launch · 50% of its capacity$9.4M
- Falcon 9Dedicated launch · under 1% of its capacity$74M
Rough guide from published prices, in 2025 dollars. Real contracts depend on orbit, schedule, integration and how many launches are bought.
Historical costs: CSIS Aerospace Security Project (2022), via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0), published in 2021 dollars. All figures are converted to 2025 dollars with the US consumer price index (CPI-U) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most launch contracts are private, so published prices are the best public guide rather than what every customer pays.