Paper
21 September 2012 Update on multivariable parametric cost models for ground and space telescopes
H. Philip Stahl, Todd Henrichs, Alexander Luedtke, Miranda West
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
Parametric cost models can be used by designers and project managers to perform relative cost comparisons between major architectural cost drivers and allow high-level design trades; enable cost-benefit analysis for technology development investment; and, provide a basis for estimating total project cost between related concepts. This paper reports on recent revisions and improvements to our ground telescope cost model and refinements of our understanding of space telescope cost models. One interesting observation is that while space telescopes are 50X to 100X more expensive than ground telescopes, their respective scaling relationships are similar. Another interesting speculation is that the role of technology development may be different between ground and space telescopes. For ground telescopes, the data indicates that technology development tends to reduce cost by approximately 50% every 20 years. But for space telescopes, there appears to be no such cost reduction because we do not tend to re-fly similar systems. Thus, instead of reducing cost, 20 years of technology development may be required to enable a doubling of space telescope capability. Other findings include: mass should not be used to estimate cost; spacecraft and science instrument costs account for approximately 50% of total mission cost; and, integration and testing accounts for only about 10% of total mission cost.
© (2012) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
H. Philip Stahl, Todd Henrichs, Alexander Luedtke, and Miranda West "Update on multivariable parametric cost models for ground and space telescopes", Proc. SPIE 8442, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 844224 (21 September 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926363
Lens.org Logo
CITATIONS
Cited by 3 scholarly publications.
Advertisement
Advertisement
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission  Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace
KEYWORDS
Space telescopes

Telescopes

Mirrors

James Webb Space Telescope

Data modeling

Optical telescopes

Space operations

RELATED CONTENT

Parametric cost models for space telescopes
Proceedings of SPIE (November 20 2017)
Update on parametric cost models for space telescopes
Proceedings of SPIE (September 14 2011)
Cost modeling for space optical telescope assemblies
Proceedings of SPIE (October 25 2011)
An Overview Of Optical Telescope Technology
Proceedings of SPIE (October 22 1985)

Back to Top