> 17bn is more or less NASA's budget if you suddenly want to discuss the European scientific budget with America as a baseline. It's also more than two times th

> 17bn is more or less NASA's budget if you suddenly want to discuss the European scientific budget with America as a baseline. It's also more than two times the budget of the ESA (European Space Agency) Annually. The cost of building something for $17bn is amortized over many years. Nobody is writing a $17bn check.