When I was asked to write an opinion piece on whether the space shuttle program was worth the cost, I immediately agreed because I have a significant bias toward justifying the program that has dominated my career at NASA. However, because I am very interested in accurately describing the legacy of the shuttle program, I have attempted to make an objective evaluation. Over 30 years, the shuttle cost $3-5 billion per year for production and operations, plus the loss of two orbiters and flight crews and the potential opportunity cost of focusing NASA's best engineers and technicians on this program.
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