A new Cambridge-led study has put a striking number on India’s access-to-space economics: $13,302 per kilogram to Low Earth Orbit in 2025.
That is more than four times the study’s estimate for the United States, at $3,225 per kg, and the highest among the major space markets examined.
But the figure needs an important qualification. It is a research estimate of standardised launch cost per kilogram, not a price that ISRO charges customers for every kilogram placed in orbit. The study uses historical launch data and publicly available cost information to construct comparable country-level estimates.
The finding has also been disputed by India’s space agency. ISRO Chairman V Narayanan told NDTV that the paper used “wrong data”. That means the Cambridge estimate should be treated as a research finding under dispute, rather than as an established measure of India’s actual commercial launch prices.
How The Countries Compare
The study by Alessio Terzi of the University of Cambridge and Francesco Nicoli of Politecnico di Torino examines more than 6,740 launches between 1960 and 2025 across 16 geographical entities.
For 2025, the estimated average cost per kilogram to LEO was $3,225 in the US, $5,287 in Japan, $5,809 in China, $6,682 in Russia and $9,897 in Europe. India was estimated at $13,302, compared with a global average of $3,868.
The comparison is therefore about the economics of getting payload into orbit, rather than a simple comparison of advertised launch contracts.
The researchers say India’s result can appear counterintuitive because of the country’s longstanding reputation for frugal space engineering. “The very high figure for India might be counterintuitive as it stands in stark contrast with the narrative of the country’s frugal space programme,” the paper states.
One explanation examined in the research is the size of launch vehicles and payloads. When fixed costs are spread across smaller payload volumes, the calculated cost per kilogram can be higher.
That distinction is important because a higher per-kilogram estimate does not automatically mean that an entire Indian mission costs more than an equivalent mission elsewhere.
Experience Matters In Space
The Cambridge research also examines whether repeated launches reduce costs over time, an economic relationship commonly described as an experience curve.
Since 2010, the study finds statistically significant experience curves for the US and Europe, while the evidence for India, China, Russia and Japan does not show a statistically significant equivalent effect.
The finding points to the importance of accumulated launch activity in the economics of space access. Higher volumes can allow launch systems and associated infrastructure to be used more frequently, while manufacturers and operators accumulate experience.
The US has developed a particularly strong position in this area. The Cambridge researchers link the country’s cost advantage to the evolution of its commercial launch sector and reusable technology, although the study’s country-level estimates should not be read as a direct cost comparison between individual companies such as SpaceX and national space programmes.
India Is Building Reusable Technology
India is already working on technologies that could change its future launch economics.
ISRO’s Reusable Launch Vehicle programme has demonstrated autonomous landing and other technologies through the Pushpak test vehicle. In 2025, ISRO also commissioned a landing-gear test facility for the programme and continued work towards an orbital flight and re-entry demonstration.
The agency’s 2025–26 Annual Report says development of the Next Generation Launch Vehicle, incorporating reusable technology, has been initiated. ISRO has also been developing technologies including vertical take-off and vertical landing, advanced propulsion and orbital re-entry systems.
These projects are still part of technology development. India has not yet deployed an operational, fully reusable orbital launch vehicle.
What The Numbers Really Mean
The Cambridge findings are best understood as a warning about the changing economics of the global launch industry, rather than as proof that India’s space programme is inherently expensive.
A separate Cambridge study published in 2026, using a different dataset of 4,405 launches, estimates that the global average cost of reaching LEO could fall from $3,868 per kg in 2025 to $1,569 by 2030 and potentially $273 by 2040. These are projections, not current prices.
For India, the competitive question is therefore increasingly about how its launch industry performs as global costs decline. Reusability, launch frequency, manufacturing scale and payload capacity could all influence that trajectory.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
India’s space programme has demonstrated how innovation can deliver complex missions with limited resources. The Cambridge study offers a different lens, highlighting the importance of launch economics, scale and accumulated experience.
However, its estimates have been disputed by ISRO, making careful interpretation essential. Rather than reducing India’s space capabilities to a single cost figure, the conversation should focus on transparency, technological progress and long-term competitiveness. As reusable launch technologies develop, India’s ability to lower costs will remain important.
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