#ESA
and its member states forked over $4.4B
to develop #Ariane6. Customer launches are unlikely to pay back development costs any time soon.
#SpaceX has invested over $5B in #Starship
R&D to date. Starship has proven its expendable capability, and the company is focusing on achieving full #reusability
.
#NASA spent a dizzying $24B developing #SLS
https://payloadspace.com/rocket-development-costs-by-vehicle-payload-research