The "Reusable" Rocket That Cost the Most to Reach Orbit
Launch price to low-Earth orbit, to scale ($/kg, constant 2021$): the Space Shuttle cost the most, the plateau barely moved for ~40 years, then reusable Falcons broke the curve — with Starship's target still lower.
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Used For
Credit
Source
01Space Shuttle launch, STS-125 (hook)
Scott Andrews, Canon / NASASTS-125 Atlantis Liftoff 02.jpg / Public domain
02Space Shuttle landing, STS-135 (promise)
NASA / Jim GrossmannSTS-135 Space Shuttle Atlantis makes its final landing 08.jpg / Public domain
03Spent Apollo third stage (expendable beat)
NASA, Apollo 8 — via NASA on The CommonsApollo 8 Third Stage (23748892070).jpg / Public domain
04Falcon 9 first-stage landing (reuse beat)
SpaceXFalcon 9 first stage landing on Droneship.jpg / CC0
05Starlink satellite train
FarhillCRW 4088-4145-starlink-2018111-stack-1.jpg / CC BY-SA 2.0
06SpaceX Starship full stack
Jenny Hautmann / JennyHPhotoSpace X booster Full Stack.jpg / CC BY-SA 4.0
Data sources & references
02Cross-check — NASA / Harry W. Jones, "The Recent Large Reduction in Space Launch Cost" (ICES-2018-81, 2018)
03Starship target range ($250–500/kg near-term; $10/kg aspiration) — Payload Research (Mar 2024)