How Much Does A Civilian SpaceX Flight Cost?

In April 2022, the Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) launched, taking its first paying visitors to the ISS aboard the SpaceX Dragon Resilience for a cost of what is believed to have been at least $55 million per person (via Quartz). Musk said that in 2016 the cost to launch a Falcon 9 rocket was $62 million, but in 2020 SpaceX director of vehicle integration Christopher Couluris said the company managed to bring the launch cost down to about $28 million by reusing the Falcon 9 rockets (via CNBC). With that said, the cost of each trip will likely be based on the customer’s needs.

CNBC reported in 2020 that the Air Force gave SpaceX a contract worth approximately $95 million per launch because its missions required certain security measures based on national security. By comparison, Virgin Galactic charges $450,000 (with a $150,000 deposit) for a 90-minute sub-orbital trip, according to TechCrunch. After Isaacman’s Inspiration4 flight, Musk stated that trips to space will initially be “very expensive,” but over time will decrease, making space more accessible for everyone. That time likely won’t be in our near future, but with humanity’s passionate desire to become space cowboys, the time will eventually come.