{
  "id": 1201596,
  "title": "Despite its reputation, India’s per-unit space launch cost highest: study",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/despite-its-reputation-indias-per-unit-space-launch-cost-highest-study",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-16T04:57:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/despite-its-reputation-indias-per-unit-space-launch-cost-highest-study/article71344693.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.\n\nThe 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.",
  "summary": "India, according to an analysis of more than six decades of space missions, simply does not launch often enough to bring its costs down",
  "key_points": [
    "India's per-unit space launch cost highest at $13,302/kg in 2025",
    "ISRO uses smaller rockets, leading to high fixed costs per launch",
    "Only US and Europe show cost reduction through economies of scale"
  ],
  "editors_take": "India's high per-unit space launch cost undermines its reputation as a low-cost player, suggesting that launch frequency and economies of scale are key factors in reducing costs.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}