SpaceElevatorCost

Budget

The capital construction and operational costs of the space elevator have traditionally been considered a major barrier. Here we will define the budget and determine how it impacts the program.

		# of units	Unit cost $M	Tot cost $M
Deployment	Launch costs	4	200	800
	LEO-GEO stage	4	10	40
Cable	CNTs ($/kg)	750000	100	75
	interconnects	1	20	20
	Cable labor	1	100	100
	Misc.	100%		195
Spacecraft	solar arrays	150	0.01	1.5
	sol arr assemb	1	7	7
	Struct	1	15	15
	Cable support	2	25	50
	cable end mass	1	20	20
	Design, construction	1	100	100
	Control	1	50	50
	braking motors, other	1	10	10
	Misc	0%		0
Climbers	Struct, Control	230	0.2	46
	Motors	1100	0.05	55
	Solar cells (m2)	22,000	0.01	220
	Construct	230	0.2	46
Power beam	Station	3	100	300
	laser	6	100	600
	optics	6	125	750
	power gen	4	10	40
Anchor	Anchor	1	100	100
	Modifications	1	20	20
Tracking	Tracking	1	500	500
Facilities	Megafloat	1	200	200
		1	20	20
Other	Admin	2000	0.15	300
	Cont.	30%		1404
	Total			6085

Major Development Issues Related to this Component

1. Full budget analysis of the construction and operation of the space elevator

Additional Work Needed

Item	Notes	Completed and Ongoing Efforts
Detailed analysis of each subcomponent	Accurate quotes on production of various components	The Space Elevator by Edwards, Westling
Detailed operational costs	Costs based on existing projects of similar scope	File:SE Financial.ods operational budget by Edwards

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