Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: NASA Headline News for 12/12/89 (Forwarded)
Message-ID: <1989Dec19.001442.18701@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <37951@ames.arc.nasa.gov> <3332@ibmpa.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 89 00:14:42 GMT

In article <3332@ibmpa.UUCP> szabonj@ibmpa.UUCP (Nick Szabo) writes:
>Unmanned strikes again!  Delta launches cost probably one-fifth to 
>one-tenth of a Shuttle launch, depending on whose accounting you want
>to believe.

I believe the NRC's accounting, which says that all current US launchers
cost about the same per pound at the same launch volume.  The enormous
cost advantage of unmanned launchers is a myth.

Well, one caveat:  Delta probably *is* somewhat cheaper now because those
are (I think) commercial launches rather than government-run ones; that
development is more recent than the NRC findings.
-- 
1755 EST, Dec 14, 1972:  human |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
exploration of space terminates| uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu