About the Lunar Launch Economics Calculator

Once you can launch from the Moon, the economics of reaching orbit and Mars change completely. This calculator compares pure-Starship-from-Earth against a lunar mass driver plus Starship, giving the real cost per kilogram to your chosen destination.

It's built to make the business case for lunar industry legible — the numbers that show when off-Earth launch beats launching everything from the ground.

How to use it

1. Set payload mass and choose a destination (LEO, GTO, or Mars surface).
2. Enter Starship and mass-driver cost per launch and annual cadence.
3. Run the comparison to see cost per kilogram for each architecture.
4. Explore the sensitivity of cost to launch cadence.

How it works

Cost per kilogram is the launch cost spread over delivered payload, amortised across annual flights. Departing from the Moon needs far less energy than climbing out of Earth's gravity well, so a lunar mass driver plus Starship can undercut pure Earth launch for the right destinations and volumes.

The calculator surfaces cadence as the key variable: reusable and electromagnetic systems get cheaper the more they fly, so the architecture that wins depends heavily on how busy it is.

Worked example

For high-volume delivery to lunar or transfer orbits, a mass driver plus Starship can beat pure Earth launch on cost per kilogram once cadence is high — the crossover that justifies building launch infrastructure on the Moon.

Frequently asked questions

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