# Rocket launch costs have dropped 96% since 1960. How low can they go?

> **Open Intelligence Dossier** · First detected: 2026-07-20 23:07 UTC · Category: Technology

## Executive Summary
Rocket launch costs have fallen ninety-six percent since nineteen-sixty, with studies showing prices dropping faster than nineteenth-century steamship freight.

## Intelligence Brief
Recent coverage across multiple outlets highlights a dramatic historical decline in the expenses associated with launching payloads into orbit. According to reporting from Space Daily, The Times, Mobility Engineering Technology, heise online, SingularityHub, Space, and financial analysis from Goldman Sachs, space cargo costs have experienced a significant ninety-six percent reduction since nineteen-sixty. Outlets emphasize a newly published dataset from Cambridge economist Alessio Terzi and colleagues, described as the largest launch-cost dataset ever assembled. This comprehensive study examines four thousand four hundred rockets flown since nineteen-sixty to chart the trajectory of orbital transportation economics. The analyzed data reveals specific metrics regarding pricing dynamics and technological scaling within the space sector. Coverage notes that every time total cargo volume has doubled, the price per kilogram has fallen by twenty-one point two percent.


Furthermore, the rate of decline in space cargo expenses is outpacing the historical decrease observed in steamship freight during the eighteen hundreds. Commentary from heise online draws a comparison between contemporary commercial enterprises and historical trading entities, specifically referring to SpaceX as the East India Company of our time, while Goldman Sachs examines the intersection of falling launch costs and artificial intelligence in driving the broader space economy. Context provided within the source articles establishes the baseline numbers defining this ongoing economic shift. The newly released research projects that the price of putting a kilogram into orbit will drop dramatically from the three thousand eight hundred sixty-eight dollars recorded last year down to twenty-seven dollars. Additionally, reporting from Mobility Engineering Technology indicates that space cargo launch costs are expected to fall by an additional fifty percent by the year twenty-thirty. Coverage does not yet specify the exact technological mechanisms or policy decisions required to achieve these future cost thresholds beyond the observed volume-scaling relationships.


Observers tracking this trend are left with several open questions regarding the future of commercial and scientific access to space. As academic researchers and financial institutions continue to analyze the dataset published in July twenty-six-twenty-six, attention turns toward the broader implications for the global space economy. Coverage notes that the ongoing reduction in per-kilogram payload expenses will likely influence satellite deployment, orbital manufacturing, and deep-space exploration ventures. Specific future outcomes, however, remain contingent on whether market demand and cargo volume continue to double at the historical rates identified in the Cambridge study.

## Multi-Source Evidence Table
| Source Outlet | Headline | Verification URL |
|---|---|---|
| Space Daily | Rocket launch costs are falling faster than steamship freight did in the 1800s — and a new study of every orbital launch since 1960 finds that every time total cargo volume doubled, the price per kilogram fell by 21.2 per cent. | [Source Link](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMixwJBVV95cUxNSTBsRnVMSTJyRkRtQVVZemdpZzFFZmE5ZG42Q2w1UkZkaDRVcl91R3d0T0FOU3hPNVd4anliNFZId1QwLWh6MGhTclRtblFPRzVLN2FKcVN0b2d1M2hLZm9hM09CZ2dWb3FHNC0yTUFwZW9ldG9hN3RiLUlwOTRzSzF6RzlXdFE3U1ZoRmF1TXdWdzBheElFeE1KaFlaOF9xc0Z0Y0NRNXRuZEhPaUQwSnpHVjVBQV9VZDdsT2JWbXJzbHpncVIxNlMyVVRIbzFEV2FQVm1TQzdLeTdXR2hweTdKanhOSEhuUk5xLWdvcHZ0aE5GMkhFb2lBTFIyOVlmajdQU2dMTlRiZGNvX1dqbGxQaXlHN2ZpNU5DZWxrY1ZVVkkzdGJ3VHdIdXBzcWp3NHg1Y3M0RV8wRVNEc1pQWWRQYVdJbUU?oc=5) |
| Goldman Sachs | How Falling Launch Costs and AI Are Driving the Space Economy | [Source Link](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiwAFBVV95cUxPeGUtWm0wVjRtcDRSSnVfYTAxVEo1bTIxeEd2aUMybk1GU1ZFUnNMZ19ySGh6eU1kM3ZuVUNJbFA0LUhWOVZvRk1ZV3g3WDJLa3lrYVFvMGlBbzFMVGpVcDlhNDd2aGFEQk5HRG1zVDlTY0JGNFB0S3dZUEkzZXRiR082aEdRWUxKcnl1ajVKbTJsLUhvSkN5SUJNS20zY2l0UmQ1c09hVjFXbHUzaU5meTB6R3V5TkVyR2lLZG1MaDE?oc=5) |
| The Times | Space cargo costs falling faster than steamship freight in the 1800s | [Source Link](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMimAFBVV95cUxNVzBpbTdHTHR0T1o3cDBNNHFzeWh5SVhmNDAtTlF0dms0dHNnV1RBRVRUUjE2d29HalJmeUtNZWZ1NTFEemxXWHFPTVYwOFozS0RfMnp5MWh1ZWgtcGtoUHFId0NzLVY3YTl4emZWd0NmUzFXaTc2aTg3d2Y3V1JNbDN6azJSOUJEZm45TG1PUmpxWmoyQTlxaQ?oc=5) |
| Mobility Engineering Technology | New Study Expects Space Cargo Launch Costs to Fall by 50 Percent by 2030 | [Source Link](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMi3AFBVV95cUxPX0JoV29CY3hTek53MVFyd2FSbVN0YXZncFhYR2xsYjJZRzV4bkNnSDItYlEwSDFMWlJmd1dkQlJnYTNld0FlMkpId0VnaDJ3bUtSUmMtV0YtU1pWQlpQbFg2WWRNVFYtbm44dGpOZU82eXRMVXBNdEtSc3NuZ2FWeUdYX056UVlYbWljSUNnUmdJLXA0YWFLWlM2ek1NY1oyU09pNXBYNmZBNkZlTDkwY0tlSlZpYWdyUGFuSEhfY3RyRF81Z21WWFo2ZTFYV1E1X2dtVTlWU2ttTndT?oc=5) |
| heise online | Transport of payload into space: SpaceX as the East India Company of our time | [Source Link](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiuwFBVV95cUxObXNCdE1oanFPb2dOT29oaHpwcEd1YzBKOFhkcHBtdUFyTlp5SVFNeFA3T0U2eDR1X1dJV3pYbEs4RFk3QUlTYWhQQm4wVkU0andaSFRGSjdXQlRMVGVhSWNLMml0Y2hEY0NSbXRDdGdIV1RxdmhDLVRvWHJXNzZzSjlGNE9sSnJlblJzYWZUZmg0WXN0UmdFWnNHdzR2bjliUVRJWjdTYnQyNVNFUC1nU3p3NEpEeEhMdTln?oc=5) |
| Space Daily | In July 2026, Cambridge economist Alessio Terzi and colleagues published the largest launch-cost dataset ever assembled — 4,400 rockets flown since 1960 — and projected that the price of putting a kilogram into orbit will fall from $3,868 last year to $27 | [Source Link](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiqgJBVV95cUxQc21qWXV2dTRIZkVVQ0E0YVI0Mm1uV3JubzVzdnlnTHYwOUpJZ182NEx4ZkJUOEFFSV9ob0xoVW5Od0FjNE9WRjJWS29JYzBKamlRM0J5Mlk0Um5mRnpPMkpFZWNZZ3hFLVhKa00yM2JEcTFCa3p5THJ5SFczVkRyNVRST1RRdmhBbDVYYm1XXzBoNm1LdHZnbmxFMVB6NllnMXRHMTFndDJNS1JjbmxHMEJiVW5tSnQzcFFsZ0lMUkxfMnJDSmxCLXQwdEpqcUlDSTQzbVJHM2M2VjIyOUFhVHRHLUJyTl9aWW1GYnNRb0VtSWZxQTJIWUduRFV4dGZTVU9GVGVoNE44WVR2Vi1Jd2tBblY0NVNuVjVSTWV4TG1KanhQSXFkSER3?oc=5) |
| SingularityHub | Space Launch Costs Have Fallen 96% Since 1960. They Aren’t Done Yet. | [Source Link](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMipgFBVV95cUxOLVh2TFhrWS1YYm1xeTBuRnhEbGN1LXkyTTU3NmE1SmJySzlBanctLWpRS1ZYSVl4dXEta0o3TWVya3llNzA1cWU2bU5WUjB6UkdvdGE4WkJocU9CR3p6dTR2V0JyT0VHc2F5Z0M3YU9yQXpwSjB1a2ttVHZTSXh4S3paNUhmand3dUg2Z01sU3BIRTNlNExabWNOaVpmSllTZ3AyNmdn?oc=5) |
| Space | Rocket launch costs have dropped 96% since 1960. How low can they go? | [Source Link](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMizwFBVV95cUxQUTNjX3NWZjZMT0ZKR2dYbUtPLU1mWFlZLWVZUFRWTWZOV0E5eW9VT19yWDNwX1h5dWtYamZhNU14LUFtN3RwOUhId19BSWxFM3kxMUxRVHgzaVVBQzBXbkRMb0pNUl9BUEZmQ0QzVkdFTExBNDhvT09KWmZ1b1BYZTVhYTBxeW5ZUzFPcTVmUVp3elV1c1JEblRMT0RTUjdFVnFhZWU0cXhYTl9uS2NwaVNNT2h2TGZ5dWNPXzV6c3ZHWDl1aEZvdHAyTmRMYjQ?oc=5) |

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*Canonical Source: https://pulse.byoviral.com/trend/2026-07-20/rocket-launch-costs-have-dropped-96-since-1960-how-low-can-they-go*