Report: SLI-developed RLV could have cost $35 billion
Posted: Mon, Dec 23, 2002, 10:15 AM ET (1515 GMT)
The full cost to develop a second-generation reusable launch vehicle (RLV) under NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI) could have cost $35 billion, Florida Today reported Sunday. The article cited Bush administration budget documents in which NASA concluded that the cost to build a full-fledged RLV designed to replace the space shuttle would have far exceeded the $10 billion originally estimated when SLI started. NASA commissioned four independent cost reviews which each found that the cost to develop the RLV would have approached $30-35 billion. NASA had planned to split the costs of developing the RLV with industry, but the near collapse of the commercial launch market since the late 1990s made it unlikely that private companies could afford any significant investment in such a project. Those extraordinarily high costs were the reason why NASA announced last month it was restructuring SLI, essentially ending efforts to develop a second-generation RLV for the foreseeable future.
The full cost to develop a second-generation reusable launch vehicle (RLV) under NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI) could have cost $35 billion, Florida Today reported Sunday. The article cited Bush administration budget documents in which NASA concluded that the cost to build a full-fledged RLV designed to replace the space shuttle would have far exceeded the $10 billion originally estimated when SLI started. NASA commissioned four independent cost reviews which each found that the cost to develop the RLV would have approached $30-35 billion. NASA had planned to split the costs of developing the RLV with industry, but the near collapse of the commercial launch market since the late 1990s made it unlikely that private companies could afford any significant investment in such a project. Those extraordinarily high costs were the reason why NASA announced last month it was restructuring SLI, essentially ending efforts to develop a second-generation RLV for the foreseeable future.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
SpaceX sets Nov. 18 launch date for sixth Starship test flight
Posted: Sat, Nov 9 9:57 AM ET (1457 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, November 17
Telesat making ‘strong progress’ on Lightspeed, CEO says as firm’s revenues fall in Q3
Ottawa Business Journal — 3:16 am ET (0816 GMT) MDA Space Reports Third Quarter 2024 Results
MDA — 3:15 am ET (0815 GMT) To the moon and back: Alumnus prepares for Blue Ghost Mission One
Virginia Tech — 3:15 am ET (0815 GMT) Rivada suffers Liechtenstein blow
Advanced Television — 3:14 am ET (0814 GMT) MDA reports $29.5M Q3 profit, revenue up nearly 40 per cent from year ago
Canadian Press — 3:13 am ET (0813 GMT) |
