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The JWST space telescope cost $10b. I've been excoriated here by suggesting that a twin could be built probably for $1b.
by WalterBright 5mo ago
The JWST space telescope cost $10b. I've been excoriated here by suggesting that a twin could be built probably for $1b.
- ericd 5mo agoSeems like we should build at least 11, if it’s 11 for the price of 2. There’s a lot of cosmos to look at.
- My_Name 5mo agoThat's what they did with Hubble. Of course the CIA bought them to point downwards...
- fc417fc802 5mo agoI think it's better to take a production line approach the way musk did with spacex rockets. That would give us a recurring fixed budget, career stability, and stable pipelines for training and research. It's bound to be far more cost effective and to have more benefits for society as a whole. There's no good reason not to have a steady stream of space telescopes and rovers being sent out at a rate of once or twice per year.
- m4rtink 5mo agoWith cost of launch to space finally coming down thanks to SpaceX & reusable rockets in general I would imagine this is how things will go much more often in the future. Not only mass production but possibly cheaper materials, more in-space prototyping & less expensive ground testing and paper studies before launch.
- WalterBright 5mo agoI'm sure it took $$$ for the software developed for the JWST, and it would cost $0 to make a copy.