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Same for SLS, except way more expensive and way more far behind schedule.
Did some googling (go verify these numbers yourself if you want to):
- SLS Dev.Costs so far: around $11.8 Billion (numbers from 2023 report), development started in 2011, reuses actual space shuttle parts instead of developing something on their own. Costs per launch estimate: $4.1 Billion
- Starship Dev.Costs so far: $5 Billion, started somewhere in 2019, based on Falcon technology, which started in 2002. Cost per launch estimate: realistically somewhere around $100 Million (Falcon 9 costs ~$62Million per launch including profit). I’ll ignore SpaceXs delirious goal of $2-$3 Million per launch for now.
Both companies are far behind schedule and budget. I think SLS will put a lander on the moon first and SLS will land the bulk of the whole program on the moon afterwards. Sort of like comparing an F1 car with a Full-sized Truck. After that Starship 3 launch, which was mostly successful, I am quite sure they’ll make it work at some point in the future.
Leatherman with matching bitset. Bought it on a whim 10 years ago and I use it constantly for lots of things. It wasn’t my cheapest purchase, but damn has it gotten me out of a lot of difficult project situations where no proper toolbox was available. I’ve literally filled and repaired entire server racks with this thing.