What is space exploration really costing us?

Many people still stick to a belief that the space industry is one of the most expensive spheres of our life. But are there facts to back up this claim? We have compared the costs of several dozen major space programs and historic missions to more down-to-earth projects, so that you could see for yourselves whether spaceflight is all that exorbitant.

All prices/expenses are inflation adjusted for 2020.

This small rocket by Russian startup Lin Industrial was designed to deliver up to 30 kg (66 lbs.) of science experiments to altitudes of up to 177 km (109 mi).

Includes development, production and launch costs. Launched in 2014.

The rocket is built and launched by the New-Zealand subsidiary of US company Rocket Lab. It is capable of delivering 225 kg payloads to low Earth orbit and up to 150 kg payloads to Sun-synchronous orbit.

The rocket built by Russian startup Lin Industrial was designed to launch 65 kg payloads to low Earth orbit and 25 kg payloads to Sun-synchronous.

The rocket is capable of delivering 8.25 tons of payload to low Earth orbit. To deliver up to 4.9 tons to Sun-synchronous and geostationary orbits it is equipped with an upper stage, bringing up the total launch cost to $48.5 million.

This launch vehicle configured with a reusable first stage is capable of delivering over 16 tons of payload to low Earth orbit and around 6 tons to geotransfer…

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