Average launch vehicle costs?

[Tortoise]

So I was making a launch vehicle to construct my space station that I had on hiatus. I intentionally made it so that it can have a sufficient amount of Dv (4,300) and reliably lift 50 tons into LKO. so I'd put a module ontop of it and whatever parts I need to rendezvous and dock. I was done, then I looked down at the price. OH MOLY MOLY HOLY HELL NO! 70k. After a while I started thinking...Wait, maybe the price isn't that high...Am I exagerrating? I mean, I already have a couple million but that still sounds expensive.

What's your average launch vehicle costs for LKO and beyong?

[regex]

I pretty much ignore costs because I have mad satellites~ in orbit everywhere.

[tygoo7]

Probably around 70,000 to 100,000. I've only been to Mun and Minmus so far. I accept more than one contract for each mission so I have a profit.

EDIT: My satellite launcher to LKO is about 30,000.

Edited July 31, 2014 by tygoo7

[Rarity]

My small lifters? 30k-70k. My "real men do it in one trip!" lifter? Something like 550k.

[Wanderfound]

About √100,000. But as they're all spaceplanes, the only launch cost is the fuel bill, which is typically about √5,000.

[merendel]

for a 50 ton payload to orbit that does not sound to bad. I made a moho landing mission useing low ish tech, no nukes, whole mission had a pricetag of about 170k including the launcher to get it to orbit. the payload being lifted to orbit consisted of about 2 orange tanks of fuel 2 poodles a lightweight lander and a T800 with a 909 for a capsule return stage. Not a lightweight launch by any stretch, think it was somewhere in the 550 tons range on the launchpad.

Personaly my path to cheap launch vehicles is solid boosters. particularly those big ones. If you put the right amount on you can prety much ride those all the way up to the start of the gravity turn with only enough throttle to give you a bit of gimble controll for steering. Do it right and you can just about ride terminal velocity all the way to burnout and have that burnout happen in the 8-9km range. perfect time to ditch the solids and start the gravity turn. solids are dirt cheep compaired to a similar lifting capacity of liquid fuels for the early part of a launch.

Edited July 31, 2014 by merendel

[prophet_01]

70.000 for 50t is imo pretty good. I usually dont want to lift more than 35 to 40 t at once. In my experience it gets rly expensive once you cant use srb's efficiently. I use those a lot to keep the costs down but above a certain payload level i need to add more and more decouplers or just accept to run them at or below 50%...

[Wanderfound]

70.000 for 50t is imo pretty good. I usually dont want to lift more than 35 to 40 t at once. In my experience it gets rly expensive once you cant use srb's efficiently. I use those a lot to keep the costs down but above a certain payload level i need to add more and more decouplers or just accept to run them at or below 50%...

I know I'm harping on a bit here, but: wings. You can get 50 ton into orbit for less than √10,000 if you let the air do the lifting.

[Idrryl]

My current mission to farm Minmus with a couple of mods (KW Rocketry most notably) has a launcher capable of lifting 18 tons to LKO and it costs something like 30-40k

[prophet_01]

Yes u are right with spaceplanes. They do help, but my current science tree isn't there yet. Although i prefer shuttles due to the time it takes to get a spaceplane to orbit and of course i can't look at shuttles without feeling the urgent need to roll out my own and fly around a bit

[DocMoriarty]

Milkman's price tag is around 260k, lifts around 50 tons to space (takes fuel out of the big can) but is fully recoverable including the milk bottle if i want to ...

Here is Milkman's little bro Sparrow getting ready to launch 2xBullfrog landers for the future mun station. Sparrow lifts around 22t max to space (not this version, this is for around 10t).

Milkman's tank, Sparrow's landers and all other stuff for my career mode orbital station for the Mun were launched by space planes to LKO at practically no costs for the launch except fuel. Even the tug at the end of the station was launched by a spaceplane. This is the final Mun station on it's way to Mun.

Edited July 31, 2014 by DocMoriarty

[Bean]

I use SSTO Jet+Rocket combos, my basic one cost 90k, the massive go anywhere one is around 550k, but both land on the runway for 100% minus fuel recovery.

[LordFjord]

I didn't pay much attention to the costs so far, but roughly its like this:

1st Mun Mission: 100k

SSTOs: 50k-100k for small ones, easily 250k when bigger

Refuel station in LKO: 200k

space station in Mun orbit: 500k

Still have ~2M funds so there is plenty to burn to silly stuff and contract-unrelated missions.

[NecroBones]

I'd say my average launch is between 150-300k (total cost on the launch pad), with most of it being recoverable. I don't mind a large price-tag when most of it comes back. I just broke out of that with the Moho design I put together, which is going to cost more than 1M on the pad.

Edited July 31, 2014 by NecroBones

[nadreck]

Launch cost is about 110,000 for just a tanker, 1st stage recovery nets me about 55,000 back probably more if I could reliably splash it down right by KSC. The tanker stage can be recovered for about 10,000. Same 1st stage plus my 4x LV-N half orange tank transfer stage was about 130,000, with the same 55,000 recovered, and the Ike lander launch was about 120,000, again recoveries.

I will probably try to make a heavier lift one soon. Will need it for my Eve return mission.

[Rithsom]

Because I just started a new career save, my average launch vehicle costs are quite low, only 30,000-40,000. It will probably increase to around 100,000 when I complete the tech tree though.

[SkyHook]

40-50k for the 2.5 m lifter that I use as my workhorse. I haven't finished importing my shuttles, but initial reports put my large shuttle at 125k. I can't wait to reuse my shuttles and regain that money back!

[Aragosnat]

34k under for my SSTO plane that just recovers Kerbals from 120 km circular orbit. Think avarge 150km+ depends on what I'm trying to launch up.

[Concentric]

Went and looked up the figures for my 50t to LKO lifter that I used to put up my Fueldump station and my Duna-Ike mission. The whole lifter is a little under 140k (about √1500 under), and the recoverable central core is roughly 50k when empty. So, 70k for 50t to LKO is cheaper than what I pay, even if I recover everything I can. I remember my basic orbital rescue SSTO, SpaceplaneA, is about 30k, which flies back to runway so only pays fuel cost. Don't really have any other standard equipment, except my outdated disposable rescue rocket that I can't remember the cost of.

Anyway, science satellites and a "Mun base" (a lander that I'm certain can return, but stays to plant flags for missions) mean that money isn't really a problem. Perhaps in future I'll look into serious cost-cutting, maybe when preparing for a another career once that's imminent. Considering that I currently plan for my next career to be a no-experiment one (no science instruments, no crew/EVA reports. Part Testing will be the source of my science points), I won't be able to depend on data missions to fund everything, so it might just become important.

Edited August 10, 2014 by Concentric

[Dat_Spacewaffle]

somewhere in the 20-75k range. My Eve mission cost me only 32k.

[aikixd]

With KIDS and FAR, I've got 600k+ to launch a 0.9 ton vehicle to Eve. 20 tons to LKO costs around 300k. Also, with KIDS, it is impossible to launch heavy vehicles to other planets, until some advanced research is conducted, so you need to spend around 2 millions to send enough probes with all needed science stuff.

[Lysergic]

Probably 500k, because monies.

[magnemoe]

I know I'm harping on a bit here, but: wings. You can get 50 ton into orbit for less than √10,000 if you let the air do the lifting.

Yes, however I have problem scaling up planes, they work nice for small payload, but I have problems scaling them up without B9 who I have problems with in 0.24

Fear that planes might get problems with bulky payloads to.

[Mister Kerman]

Mine is sitting at about 450K. I have a heavy payload. I can't find the right balance for launching a heavy payload to the moon and leave no space junk as well.

[DasValdez]

Hrmm, I may be overspending a bit.

The Epic5 Automated Fuel Drone (left) rolls out to the pad for √1,090,179, delivering 4x full Kerbodyne BATs to orbit. Between DebRecovery, RealChutes, and a lot of work... only √342,000 is actually spent, everything else is recovered. Even the Epic5 itself makes it home with landing gear (still working on a runway landing, have gotten close). Most of the expense comes from the orbital insertion stage, which lands on the backside of Kerbin and only gets 40% return rate. Have to work on that, since I need to fly a lot of these missions... because...

The Orbital Fuel Rotary (right) cost √1,658,414 to go up. Still working on the math for unrecovered cost, but you only need one of these in the sky . It reuses the same lifter as the Epic5 AFD, and self inserts with 6 mainsails that are jettisoned (and recovered) just before she makes orbit. Fully fueled it stores over 640,000 units of LF&O. That's 44 Kerbodyne BATs.

If you want to see what dumping √1.6m into the sea looks like, I've got a video. Heh.

(Yes, the video starts with a small prayer to the Kraken )