More Space Waste

“Per-launch costs can be measured by dividing the total cost over the life of the program (including buildings, facilities, training, salaries, etc.) by the number of launches. With 134 missions, and the total cost of US$192 billion (in 2010 dollars), this gives approximately $1.5 billion per launch over the life of the program.^[“
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_program

In case anyone missed that, let me repeat; the Space Shuttle program cost “$1.5 BILLION per launch over the life of the program.”

That’s right! Every time we watched the Space Shuttle launch, we were watching $1.5 Billion of our hard-earned tax funds literally going up in flames. Sure, this seems like chicken-feed in the total scheme of federal spending, but that’s the problem. The federal government is spending OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY. Those who are supposed to be representing our interests view tax revenues as their personal piggy bank to fund their pet projects.

The fact is that neither our elected representatives nor we can comprehend these kinds of figures and so, we have blithely sat by and watched as our wealth has been squandered. Attempts to translate such into something more meaningful are seldom helpful. It should be enough to understand that such expenditures for programs which offer no tangible benefits to citizens who cannot participate in or understand what they are paying for are inappropriate.

I should also observe that virtually all government funded space exploration is based on an evolutionary hypothesis of the origin of the Universe and our place in it.