2.13 II.6: SCHEDULING AND COSTS II.6.1: Schedule: The program schedule derived for the prototype space colony project falls rather naturally into four.divisions: research, development, and procurement; construction site setup; colony construction; and testing, spin-up, and interior finishing. Starting from program go-ahead, six years are spent in research and development of new systems, such as the colony structure and lunar electromagnetic launcher; and in procurement of vehicles and equipment necessary. The only orbital operations in this initial period consist of four space shuttle flights in program year 6, to assemble the orbital transfer and lunar landing vehicles. The next three years are spent assembling the construction and lunar material transport apparatus, with initial operational capability of the entire construction system at the end of program year 9. Actual colony construction takes five years, with proof testing in the first quarter of program year 15. The remainder of that year and the next are spent outfitting the interior and starting the ecosystem, resulting in overall colony completion at the end of program year 16. This schedule is illustrated in Figure 2.7. II.6.2: Costs: Costs are extrapolated on a system-by-system basis, based on cost information available on comparative systems already operational. Twenty-eight line items are identified, divided into research and development, production and procurement, and operations cost groups. Costing for each line item is done on a year-by-year basis. The overall prototype colony project is found to cost $64.5 billion, of which $13.7 billion are research and development costs, and $44.1 billion are operational costs. Application of a 10% discount rate results in a net future program value of $147.7 billion at completion. The cumulative discounted and undiscounted costs are presented in graphical form in Figure 2.8.
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