What does cheaper orbit make possible?
Putting a kilogram in orbit cost about $54,500 on the Space Shuttle. On SpaceX's rideshare today it costs $7,000. That drop is why companies are now building private space stations, factories and data centers in orbit. We track each of them with numbers that carry a date and a source.
What we track
What it costs to launch a satellite
SpaceX's published prices since 2020, before and after inflation, against the Space Shuttle.
Commercial space station tracker
Five stations, their launch targets and every earlier target their companies gave.
When the ISS comes down
NASA's deorbit plan, year by year, to the final burn over the South Pacific.
What it costs to go to space
Seat prices, what NASA paid per seat, and NASA's price list for staying on the ISS.
In-space manufacturing log
Every capsule that went up to make or test something and come back, and what happened.
Orbital data centers
What computing hardware is actually in orbit, against what has been announced and filed.
What changed recently
- Oct 29, 2026 · People · Virgin Galactic unveils Apeiron, its first Delta-class ship, and moves its return to commercial flights to early Q2 2027, as reported by the newsletter Payload. Tracker
- Oct 20, 2026 · Manufacturing · Varda launches its W-7 capsule with a cancer-drug compound; SpaceX's Starfall capsule flies Air Force Research Laboratory cargo on the same rideshare, Bandwagon-5. Tracker
- Oct 14, 2026 · Compute · China launches eight more computing satellites on a Zhuque-2E rocket. Tracker
- Oct 9, 2026 · Stations · NASA issues its final call for commercial station proposals: due December 8, awards expected spring 2027. Tracker
- Oct 1, 2026 · Compute · Google's first Project Suncatcher prototype, a computing satellite, launches on SpaceX's Transporter-18 rideshare, with Varda's W-8 and W-9 capsules. Tracker
- Sep 30, 2026 · Manufacturing · Varda raises a $251 million Series D, bringing its total to $598 million. Tracker
One chart, and every number that changed
Every two weeks: one chart from our trackers, plus every price, launch date and mission that changed since the last issue, each with its source. When something big happens, such as a space station's launch date slipping, a short alert the same day.
One issue every two weeks, a short alert when something big moves, and the occasional news from Orbit Economics. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy
Every number has a date and a source
We read prices and dates from the companies and agencies themselves: their own pages, SEC filings, NASA and its auditors, archived copies of old pages. Press reports are used only when nothing primary exists, and are marked. When a company changes a date, the old one stays on the page with the day it was stated. How we check.