According to this document from the USAF, the estimated energy needed to launch into orbit is 67GJ. Converting that to the US measurement of electricity is 18,

According to this document from the USAF, the estimated energy needed to launch into orbit is 67GJ. Converting that to the US measurement of electricity is 18,611 kWh. According to the EIA, the US average for electricity, specifically for the transportation sector, was 10.22 pennies per kWh. So yes, a lot of pennies... edit: The same document mentions that 20 degree launch trajectory gives LEO == HEO delta-v. So that 200km track also needs to, naively, be 72km high at the end to have constant acceleration through that 200km. [0] - http://www.star-tech-inc.com/papers/lcls/low-cost_launch_2.pdf http://www.star-tech-inc.com/papers/lcls/low-cost_launch_2.p... [1] - https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.cfm?t=epmt_5_6_a https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.cf...