Despite its reputation, India’s per-unit space launch cost highest: study
India, according to an analysis of more than six decades of space missions, simply does not launch often enough to bring its costs down
A new study published in Economics Letters has revealed that India's per-unit cost for launching a kilogram of payload into space is the highest among major spacefaring nations. The research, conducted by Alessio Terzi of the University of Cambridge and Francesco Nicoli of Politecnico di Torino, estimates that it cost $13,302 to send a kilogram to low-earth orbit using Indian rockets in 2025.
This figure surpasses the costs of launches from Europe ($9,897), Russia ($6,682), China ($5,809), Japan ($5,287), and the United States ($3,225). The global average for such a launch is $3,868.
The study attributes India's high cost to the fact that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) primarily uses smaller rockets, which result in a higher fixed cost per launch. As the payload carried per launch is small, the cost of each launch remains relatively high. In contrast, the authors note that only the United States and Europe have demonstrated a statistically significant experience curve in reducing launch costs since 2010.
This phenomenon, known as economies of scale, involves steadily falling costs as the cumulative number of launches increases. India's relatively low launch frequency prevents it from achieving this cost reduction, according to the researchers.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
