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I often wonder with JWST, wouldn't building another cost way less than $10B? We have detailed blueprints, the software, etc.
by QuadrupleA 5y ago
I often wonder with JWST, wouldn't building another cost way less than $10B? We have detailed blueprints, the software, etc.
- inamberclad 5y agoI'm sure there's a flatsat somewhere, but probably without the optics or sunshield...
- ck2 5y agoFirst rule in government spending: why build one when you can have two at twice the price?
- qwertox 5y agoFrom the movie Contact. This is probably the sentence which I will never forget and I very often think of if I need to justify buying a backup of anything.
- ck2 5y agoAlso if you weren't expecting it, awesome plot twist. That later scene "...they're alive..." gave me chills. Clever little end note on the recording. Fantastic film.
- magicalhippo 5y agoNot only is this a precision instrument, the mirrors are guaranteed to be possible to align within a nanometer once deployed, it's going into space on top of a giant controlled explosion. A large part of the cost is the manufacture, testing and qualification of the parts and assemblies. Things that doesn't really scale at low numbers.