Launch Costs to LEO

Check your arithmetic. $2571/kg does not equate to $5669/lb.

king_rodent@...
10/04/01 02:51 PM

First problem, this data is from 1994. Though it is already 7 years
out of date, is a fantastic site for general cost estimations.

>

> Now, if I read that table right, the cheapest cost to LEO is on the
> Russian Energia and runs about $1,363 per kilogram. Next up is the

Energia is not currently an active launcher. It would be wonderful
if it where, but it's not.

> Russian Soyuz, checking in at $2,571 per kilogram.
>
> This is a far cry below the $10,000 per pound that I've seen being

The number $10k/lb ($4.5k/kg) is just baseline. it's a nice, round
number for estimating launch costs. Soyuz is just over half the
baseline cost at $5,669/lb ($2,571/kg), but Proton is almost baseline
with $9,020/lb($4,100/kg). On the other side of the spectrum,
TitanIIS-10GEM comes in at $22,120/lb ($10,054/kg), and Delta at
$26,164/lb ($11,892/kg). These being the most common US launches.
Another thing to consider, (well, untill Globalstar and Iridium)
most launches are to GEO, the lower inclination of Kennedy (compaired
to Balkanor [sp?]) makes launch to GEO easier (I don't have time at
the moment to calculate the price/weight comparason) meaning that US
launcers may be cheaper to GEO. Something else to think about, to
launch on a Russian bird, you have to move your payload to Russia.
With customs, freight, special packaging for vibration dampaning,
insurance, complexity, ect (not to mention any patriotic
considerations at the end of the cold war), US launch could still be
cheaper if not easier.
One other thing comes to mind. Untill the fall of the USSR, Russain
launchers where not as profit inclined compaired to US companies (one
benefit of USSR's socialist movement). This may have changed launch
costs with Russias' new economic restructuring.

king_rodent (putting the eek in geek)