LEO on the Cheap: Methods for Achieving Drastic Reductions in Space Launch Costs

by John R. London

Colonel London has developed an extensive and well-documented amount of information on the original causes of high launch costs, the specifics of current costs, and the reasons that these costs continue to be perpetuated. He offers recommendations that buck the popular trend of advanced technology solutions, and he describes how a significant reduction in launch costs would have a broad positive impact on a variety of space systems and activities. His research is thorough and his command of the subject is impressive.

Genres: Space

248 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2002

Reviews

[Daniel Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really interesting, despite being rather dated. There's some really clever insights into what make space transportation so expensive as compared to other methods of moving heavy stuff around. Parts of the book appear rather prescient in hindsight, like predicting a reliance upon Russian launch systems (though I doubt the author would've anticipated astronauts hitching rides on Soyuz). It also makes me think there's still plenty of room for launch costs to drop. Even seemingly new launch efforts, like SpaceX, aren't really building rockets differently than the way NASA and the Air Force do—methods of which the author is highly dismissive. The main weakness of the book is that it's perhaps too optimistic about the reliability and safety of rockets generally, to the point of advocating against range safety protocols and hardware.