Space travel, because of its high profile and expense, has been highly publicized and scrutinized ever since the space race began during the Cold War.
NASA estimates that the average space shuttle mission costs $450 million. Space.com says it's closer to $1.6 billion. Either way, any sort of delay or slip-up costs taxpayers millions.
Every delay of a shuttle mission costs Americans about $1.3 million per day and each pound of space cargo costs roughly $20,000.
Over the last 40 years, there have been many failed launches of space shuttles, rockets, satellites, telescopes and rovers exploring the vast expanses of our universe. Here are the costliest failures.
10. Japanese spy satellite malfunctions.
Money Lost In 2003: $78 million
Inflation Adjusted Value: $97.1 million
A rocket carrying two spy satellites, reportedly being used to watch North Korea, malfunctioned during take-off and had to be destroyed. The H2-A rocket was meant to be a cheaper and more reliable alternative to its predecessor, but encountered more than a year of problems before this crucial breakdown.
9. Russian probe stranded while orbiting Earth.
Money Lost in 2012: $170 million
Russia's Zenit-2SB rocket held a probe that was supposed to travel to one of Mars' moons, Phobos, and collect dust samples. The rover, Phobos-Grunt, which reportedly had many parts based on decade-old technology, became stranded and lost while orbiting the earth.
Russia claims that a U.S. radar satellite interfered with the rocket and cause it to crash in South America this past January after two months in orbit.
8. Math error doomed a Mars orbiter.
Money Lost in 1999: $125 million for building the orbiter.
Inflation Adjusted Value: $172 million
Lockheed Martin engineers calculated a crucial spacecraft operation with the English numeric system while NASA's team calculated the operation with the metric system. As a result, the spacecraft went way past the surface of Mars towards the sun.
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