Re: Cost to keep a launch pad ready?

From: ed kyle (edkyle99_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 09/29/04 

Date: 29 Sep 2004 08:40:22 -0700

edkyle99@hotmail.com (ed kyle) wrote in message news:<88d21cfd.0409281129.1d69af64@posting.google.com>...
> mattwriter@aol.com (MattWriter) wrote in message news:<20040927155950.23728.00001107@mb-m12.aol.com>...
> > Has anyone seen an estimate for what it costs to operate and
> >maintain (or just maintain) a launch pad for an expendable
> >vehicle?
>
> "The total Air Force
> funding to operate, maintain, sustain and modernize the
> ranges in FY 1998 (including appropriate base operating
> support) was $452 million, including $290 million for the
> Eastern Range and $162 million for the Western Range.
> In 1998, the total cost for both Cape Canaveral Air Station
> and Vandenberg Air Force Base was closer to $570 million which
> includes approximately $25 million in operational reimbursements
> from commercial users and $91 million from other government
> users and pads."
>

I just remembered that SLC-6 was still being used for
Athena launches in 1998, making five active space launch
pads at Vandenberg and seven at Cape Canaveral, resulting
in the following annual per-pad costs.

Average per-pad total (both ranges): $47.5 million
Average Cape per-pad USAF funded: $41.4 million
Average VAFB per-pad USAF funded: $32.4 million

The Eastern Range costs are probably higher due to the
big Titan IV ITL complex and possibly due to support for
STS launches.

 - Ed Kyle

Relevant Pages

  • Re: NASA Encounters Problems With Ares 1 Launch Vehicle Design
    ... Because it's not economical for the crew/light cargo mission - each Ares V ... fixed costs that dominate Ares. ... rotations and possibly two lunar missions per year, ... if the full cost of five Aries V launches ...
    (sci.space.history)
  • Re: Space Access Update #112 9/19/05
    ... >>>million per moon mission, over $1 billion per Mars mission based on ... >three launches without sequential redundancy, ... Add to that the extra costs of research, design, and trials ... cost of mounting lunar and Mars missions. ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: What should they do when (if) they get there?
    ... > Piggybacking of Constellation is like piggybacking off the ISS or the ... Even if you got given the ISS for free, ... Launch costs are already a fraction of the total cost. ... to 300 commercially procured launches. ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: Death Sentence for the Hubble?
    ... :>:>is claimed are easy to do and will have a huge market (which is a big ... :>number of current launches. ... even if lower launch costs didn't enlarge ... If it takes that much up front investment in "development costs", ...
    (sci.astro)
  • Re: Death Sentence for the Hubble?
    ... :>:>is claimed are easy to do and will have a huge market (which is a big ... :>number of current launches. ... even if lower launch costs didn't enlarge ... If it takes that much up front investment in "development costs", ...
    (sci.space.policy)