Is China’s commercial rocket now cheaper than Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9?

Using the measure of cost per kilogram of payload capacity, CAS Space compares its Kinetica-2 to a US reusable rocket2-MIN READ2-MIN4 ListenPublished: 10:00pm, 1 Apr 2026Updated: 10:41pm, 1 Apr 2026China’s commercial space sector has reached a cost milestone as its new rocket debuts for less than the ticket price of the latest SpaceX Falcon 9 reusable launch vehicle.The Kinetica-2 Y1 carrier rocket, also known as the Lijian-2 Y1, took off on its inaugural flight on Monday before delivering three satellites into orbit, including a prototype commercial cargo spacecraft and a satellite to function as a mini-orbiting space lab.The rocket developed by Chinese commercial space firm CAS Space – established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences – was launched from the commercial innovation pilot zone at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwestern China.It cost 30,000 yuan per kilogram (US$4,350 per 2.2lbs) of payload capacity to launch the Kinetica-2, according to Yang Haoliang, the firm’s vice-president and chief commander of the rocket.01:23Chinese start-up starts taking advance bookings for its first commercial space flightChinese start-up starts taking advance bookings for its first commercial space flightYang said on Monday that the craft’s current non-reusable launch cost was about the same as Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 reusable rocket at US$5,000 per kg, according to Star Market Daily, a financial news subsidiary of the state-owned Shanghai Media Group.