The last time NASA adjusted the prices for shipping cargo into space was in June 2019. NASA felt that enough time had passed since then to update the price list. But in general, the problem is that for 2021 the US Congress has sharply reduced funding for the organization. It is argued that NASA should not subsidize commercial missions, such as offering discounts for filming in orbit a movie with Tom Cruise, which has long been talked about, or encouraging advertising of cosmetics in space, as happened in the case of sending samples of Estée Lauder cosmetics to the ISS for a photoshoot in weightlessness.

According to the updated price list, now the cost of delivering one kilogram of cargo to the ISS will be $ 20,000 instead of $ 3,000 before. Return delivery of each kilogram of cargo will cost $ 40,000 instead of the previous $ 6,000. And have already begun to report the withdrawal from the previously discussed programs.

Simultaneously, representatives of the agency assure that services in cooperation with NASA national laboratories or educational programs will not cost more than before. Only purely commercial projects will rise in price. But the line is often thin, and scientific and educational programs may well pursue commercial goals. But there is also a positive moment in all this – there is scope for commercializing services for the delivery of goods into orbit by the private sector.