US has cheaper tickets to India's costly rocket ride

A new study reveals stark differences in the cost of sending payloads into low Earth orbit between India and the United States. According to the research published in Economics Letters, placing a kilogram of payload into orbit costs an average of $13,302 in India, significantly higher than the United States' $3,225. The study, authored by Alessio Terzi from the University of Cambridge and Francesco Nicoli of Politecnico di Torino, analyzed data on over 6,740 rocket launches from 1960 to 2025.

The findings highlight the importance of scale and technological expertise, as countries with more experience in launches tend to have lower costs. Only the United States and Europe have shown statistically significant experience curves in space launches, meaning their costs have decreased as accumulated launch experience increased. The United States, accounting for over 80% of global payload sent to orbit in 2025, benefits from its scale advantage in the launch market.

For India, the challenge lies in not only developing launch vehicles but also building the scale and experience needed to reduce launch costs over time. The widening cost gap between India and the United States could have strategic implications as access to space becomes increasingly important for various critical applications.