The total cost of the shuttle was around $200 billion. A Saturn V launch was around $1.2 billion (today's dollars). The Saturn V could get 44.5 tons to the moo

The total cost of the shuttle was around $200 billion. A Saturn V launch was around $1.2 billion (today's dollars). The Saturn V could get 44.5 tons to the moon. So instead of the shuttle program we could have had whatever amount of moon base you'd get with just under 7500 tons on the moon. And that's assuming a very expensive Saturn V, in reality the system would have become cheaper over time due to optimization and amortization.