{"id": 1014833, "name": "Launch cost per kilogram of payload", "unit": "constant 2021 US$ per kilogram", "createdAt": "2025-03-07T11:15:27.000Z", "updatedAt": "2025-03-07T11:15:27.000Z", "coverage": "", "timespan": "1962-2019", "datasetId": 6980, "shortUnit": "$/kg", "columnOrder": 0, "shortName": "cost_per_kg", "catalogPath": "grapher/space/2025-03-04/cost_of_space_launches/cost_of_space_launches#cost_per_kg", "descriptionShort": "Cost to launch one kilogram of payload mass to [low Earth orbit](#dod:low_earth_orbit) as part of a dedicated launch. This data is adjusted for inflation.", "type": "int", "grapherConfigIdETL": "01957051-4071-7903-8543-0d38fb80c425", "datasetName": "Cost of space launches", "updatePeriodDays": 364, "datasetVersion": "2025-03-04", "nonRedistributable": false, "display": {"unit": "constant 2021 US$ per kilogram", "shortUnit": "$/kg", "numDecimalPlaces": 0}, "schemaVersion": 2, "processingLevel": "minor", "presentation": {"topicTagsLinks": ["Space Exploration & Satellites"]}, "descriptionKey": ["Small vehicles carry up to 2,000 kg to [low Earth orbit](#dod:low_earth_orbit).", "Medium vehicles carry between 2,000 and 20,000 kg.", "Heavy vehicles carry more than 20,000 kg."], "dimensions": {"years": {"values": [{"id": 2014}, {"id": 2013}, {"id": 1988}, {"id": 1997}, {"id": 1999}, {"id": 1963}, {"id": 1991}, {"id": 2000}, {"id": 2002}, {"id": 1975}, {"id": 1980}, {"id": 1965}, {"id": 1990}, {"id": 2004}, {"id": 2018}, {"id": 2008}, {"id": 2010}, {"id": 2001}, {"id": 1994}, {"id": 1962}, {"id": 2017}, {"id": 2019}, {"id": 1982}, {"id": 1992}, {"id": 2016}, {"id": 1996}, {"id": 1966}, {"id": 1967}, {"id": 1998}, {"id": 1981}, {"id": 1993}, {"id": 2003}, {"id": 1964}, {"id": 1989}, {"id": 2012}, {"id": 1985}]}, "entities": {"values": [{"id": 298608, "name": "Angara", "code": null}, {"id": 298609, "name": "Antares", "code": null}, {"id": 298610, "name": "Ariane 44", "code": null}, {"id": 298611, "name": "Ariane 5G", "code": null}, {"id": 298612, "name": "Athena 1", "code": null}, {"id": 298613, "name": "Atlas Centaur", "code": null}, {"id": 298614, "name": "Atlas II", "code": null}, {"id": 298615, "name": "Atlas III", "code": null}, {"id": 298616, "name": "Atlas V", "code": null}, {"id": 298617, "name": "Delta 3000-Series", "code": null}, {"id": 298618, "name": "Delta 3910", "code": null}, {"id": 298619, "name": "Delta E", "code": null}, {"id": 298620, "name": "Delta II", "code": null}, {"id": 298621, "name": "Delta III", "code": null}, {"id": 298622, "name": "Delta IV", "code": null}, {"id": 298623, "name": "Delta IV Heavy", "code": null}, {"id": 298624, "name": "Dnepr", "code": null}, {"id": 298625, "name": "Electron", "code": null}, {"id": 298626, "name": "Epsilon", "code": null}, {"id": 298627, "name": "Falcon 1", "code": null}, {"id": 298628, "name": "Falcon 9", "code": null}, {"id": 298629, "name": "Falcon Heavy", "code": null}, {"id": 298630, "name": "GSLV", "code": null}, {"id": 298631, "name": "H-II", "code": null}, {"id": 298632, "name": "Kosmos", "code": null}, {"id": 298633, "name": "Kuaizhou", "code": null}, {"id": 298643, "name": "LVM3", "code": null}, {"id": 298634, "name": "Long March 11", "code": null}, {"id": 298635, "name": "Long March 2A", "code": null}, {"id": 298636, "name": "Long March 2C", "code": null}, {"id": 298637, "name": "Long March 2D", "code": null}, {"id": 298638, "name": "Long March 2E", "code": null}, {"id": 298639, "name": "Long March 3A", "code": null}, {"id": 298640, "name": "Long March 3B", "code": null}, {"id": 298641, "name": "Long March 4B", "code": null}, {"id": 298642, "name": "Long March 5", "code": null}, {"id": 298644, "name": "M-V", "code": null}, {"id": 298645, "name": "Minotaur I", "code": null}, {"id": 298646, "name": "Minotaur IV", "code": null}, {"id": 298650, "name": "PSLV", "code": null}, {"id": 298647, "name": "Pegasus", "code": null}, {"id": 298648, "name": "Pegasus XL", "code": null}, {"id": 298649, "name": "Proton", "code": null}, {"id": 298651, "name": "R-36 / Cyclone", "code": null}, {"id": 298652, "name": "Rokot", "code": null}, {"id": 298653, "name": "Saturn V", "code": null}, {"id": 298654, "name": "Scout", "code": null}, {"id": 298655, "name": "Shavit", "code": null}, {"id": 298656, "name": "Shian Quxian", "code": null}, {"id": 298657, "name": "Shtil", "code": null}, {"id": 298658, "name": "Soyuz", "code": null}, {"id": 298659, "name": "Space Shuttle", "code": null}, {"id": 298660, "name": "Start", "code": null}, {"id": 298661, "name": "Strela", "code": null}, {"id": 298662, "name": "Taurus", "code": null}, {"id": 298663, "name": "Titan II", "code": null}, {"id": 298664, "name": "Titan III+", "code": null}, {"id": 298665, "name": "Titan IV", "code": null}, {"id": 298666, "name": "Vega", "code": null}, {"id": 298667, "name": "Zenit 2", "code": null}, {"id": 298668, "name": "Zenit 3SL", "code": null}]}}, "origins": [{"id": 3027, "title": "Cost of space launches", "description": "This dataset published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies compares costs between space launch vehicles by incorporating many vehicle characteristics into a single figure: the cost to launch one kilogram of payload mass to low Earth orbit (LEO) as part of a dedicated launch.\n\nMany of the cited sources directly provide cost-per-kilogram estimates for launches to LEO. Others require a simple calculation: dividing the total cost of a dedicated launch by the vehicle's payload capacity to LEO. In those cases, the reported cost-per-kilogram figure is calculated by the median total launch cost and the maximum payload capacity.\n\nLaunch costs \"include all direct and indirect manufacturing costs and their associated overhead plus recurring engineering, sustaining tooling, and quality control\".\n\nCost estimates are inflated by the source to their dollar values in the fiscal year 2021.\n\nAlthough space launch vehicles are often described by their payload mass class (most often \"Small\", \"Medium\", and \"Heavy\") there is no universally accepted definition for the boundaries between these classes. In this dataset, small-lift vehicles carry up to 2,000 kg to LEO, medium-lift vehicles carry between 2,000 and 20,000 kg to LEO, and heavy-lift vehicles carry more than 20,000 kg to LEO.", "producer": "CSIS Aerospace Security Project", "citationFull": "Center for Strategic and International Studies, The Aerospace Security Project - Space Launch to Low Earth Orbit: How Much Does It Cost? (2022).", "attributionShort": "CSIS", "urlMain": "https://aerospace.csis.org/data/space-launch-to-low-earth-orbit-how-much-does-it-cost/", "urlDownload": "https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FGdaphIbRjDpXsOdU3omWGRpH5DTImmzWW-H43lLOms/gviz/tq?tqx=out:csv&sheet=Values%20Only", "dateAccessed": "2025-03-04", "datePublished": "2022-09-01", "license": {"url": "https://aerospace.csis.org/data/space-launch-to-low-earth-orbit-how-much-does-it-cost/", "name": "CC BY 4.0"}}]}