The metrics that matter — tracking the price points and milestones that will make orbital infrastructure inevitable. Updated quarterly.
The Space Shuttle cost $54,500/kg to LEO. Falcon 9 costs $2,720/kg — a 95% reduction that created an entirely new commercial space industry. Starship targets below $100/kg. That next compression unlocks the orbital economy.
At $2,720/kg today: satellite constellations, Earth observation, ISS resupply, premium pharmaceutical manufacturing (Varda Space).
At ~$500/kg near-term: broader in-orbit manufacturing, ZBLAN fiber optics, small-scale orbital compute, early asset custody.
At <$100/kg (Starship target): orbital data centers, broad manufacturing, mass-market access, Space Vault-scale asset custody.
SpaceX filed its IPO S-1, confirming Starship payload delivery to orbit in H2 2026 and naming orbital AI data centers as a target application. Varda Space Industries signed United Therapeutics as its first major commercial customer — the first contract for products manufactured in orbit. Eight organisations committed capital to orbital compute in Q1 2026 alone.
Data updated May 2026 · Sources: Orbital Radar, Novaspace, SpaceX S-1 filing, Varda press releases
Full interactive charts — coming soon