You make some good points. Building in orbit is not like building a condominium.
Still....
A nuclear aircraft carrier costs about $4 billion. A complete aircraft carrier battle group runs somewhere between $20 and $30 billion (I can't find exact numbers), including a Nimitz-class carrier, two Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers, a guided missile destroyer (Arleigh Burke-class), a destroyer, (Spruance-class), a frigate, two attack submarines, (Los Angeles-class) and a combined ammunition, oiler, and supply ship. A number of these ships are nuclear powered.
This is still less than a third of the cost of the ISS.
Note that a aircraft carrier battle group also operates under hostile conditions, and that the U.S. military isn't exactly noted for its frugal spending habits.
Something is seriously wrong with how money is spent for space projects, and until that is corrected, we're not going anywhere soon.
Space/Science » in reply to Re:space
Re: space
The whole thread (42 posts)
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- Moon vs. Mars: barking up the wrong trees
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- Re: Worden
- Along with many others