What is the cost of launching a geosynchronous sattellite (probably by
kilogram)?  Additionally, are there any services which provide a
turnkey solution for this for reasonable pricing (and I understand
that reasonable is probably a relative term in this industry)?

Hi, thank you for bringing your question to us here at Google Answers.

Your best bet price wise will be China or Russia.

This isn't a question which can be answered specifically, it is
negotiated and contracted - prices will vary for reasons I cite below
and might even be reduced if you can piggyback on another launch.

The price today should be in the $15-$20,000/pound range but I supply
a lot of details below which may help you judge the price better for
your particular launch even before contacting launch companies.

Since prices will change on almost a daily basis due to changes in
fuel costs, I can only provide guidelines.

http://newsfromrussia.com/world/2005/11/26/68546.html 

offers low-orbit and probably geosync launches but the prices given
are for launches to low earth orbit.

?Falcon 1 can carry 1,254 pounds (564.3 kilograms) to low Earth orbit.
An intermediate version, Falcon 5, is planned, and SpaceX has
announced a Falcon 9, designed to carry between 21,000 pounds (9,450
kilograms) and 55,000 pounds (24,750 kilograms) to low Earth orbit
depending on configuration. Falcon 9's medium configuration will cost
$27 million (?22.95 million); heavy lift will cost $35 million (?29.75
million), reported AP.?

 http://www.futron.com/pdf/FutronLaunchCostWP.pdf 

provides costs for 1999-2000 in a paper titled ?Trends in Price per
Pound to Orbit.?

This paper is very informative because it provides prices for U.S.,
China, EU, Russia, and Ukranian launghes.

The price also varies by the size of the payload ? but the price per
pound or kilogram goes down for heavy payloads.

The prices then were in the $12-$18,000 per pound for high orbit
launches, about 2.5 times more than a low-earth orbit launch.

Also, although chemical costs are rising, the average cost per pound
has dropped significantly from 1990 to 2000.

You may wish to contact www.futron.com and take advantage of their
consulting services if you are actually involved in a project rather
than just doing research.

You will find more information about launches at
http://www.spaceandtech.com/digest/flash2002/flash2002-045.shtml


In addition to the Russian company listed above and the Futron.com
consulting company, the Asia Pacific Space Centre
http://www.apsc2orbit.com/ is an international commercial launch
services company.

You sill find the names of many more launch companies at
http://www.space-careers.com/launchers.html


Google Search Terms:
orbital geosynchronous launch cost by kilogram


Since the launch price per pound or kilogram will also depend on the
total weight category; on the current market (demand and supply); on
the cost of fuel; and even on currency fluctuations, it is impossible
to do more than provide general price guidelines which I have supplied
links to.

There is no possible way for me to estimate what would seem reasonable
to you, but obviously Russia, China, The Ukraine, or possibly
Australia (Asia Pacific) would most likely provide the best prices.


I hope this answers your question.

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Clarification of Answer by siliconsamurai-ga on 11 Jan 2006 11:09 PST

Glad to do it, it was an interestig topic I hadn't worked with for a
long time(friends of mine were with NASA during the early space race).

Thank you for the question, the rating, and especially for the nice tip.

Very thorough and complete answer - exactly what I was looking for!