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by PaulRobinson 78 days ago
$93 billion over 13 years doesn't feel like a great deal for a program that has started to align around a single person's ego, when most of the US is struggling to make ends meet.

I think Artemis will be cancelled by the end of the year, unfortunately. If the heat shield doesn't hold up as some observers fear/have warned, perhaps by the end of April.

I hope I'm wrong.

3 comments

> $93 billion over 13 years doesn't feel like a great deal

So, around 7 billion a year?

We are at around half of the total Artemis cost just one month after the Iran invasion. One week of this war finances one year of the Artemis program. Do you think that's a better deal?

Compared to the military spending, that doesn't even register. Maybe you should be mad about that.

I'd rather spend it on high speed rail projects.
Come and live in the UK :-(
They didn't say high speed rail projects that get cancelled and downgraded after doing all the hard bits
We handed out 300 billion in cash payments alone for COVID stimulus, this is not that crazy especially if you factor in the knowledge and skills put to work and retained.
One is real cash going into the hands of ordinary people for everyday purchases, which has proven (in various studies) to have helped parents/families and the financially struggled.

The other is "knowledge and skills" that seem remote and detached from people's lives.

As someone whose life isn't affected much by either of these, I would choose the stimulus every time.

The money was not vaporized by aerospace companies, it's largely spent in US on salaries, subcontractors, etc. Not against stimulus but to call out the amount in comparison is reasonable.