I always thought that GURPS Traveller: Far Trader under-estimates the cost of starship maintenance to 'subsidize' adventure parties who don't have the time to earn their upkeep. But googling shows the pricetag of a 777 airliner around $230M and the cost of a C check (roughly equivalent to annual maintenance) at $250k (the latter is just one non-official posting).
The numbers for a NASA shuttle launch are of course much higher. GT:Ground Forces has a different figure for military vehicles: 1% of sticker price per month during peacetime operations, 2% - 300% in combat. 5% is the lower end for offensive or defensive combat, so maybe it is fitting for frequent reentries. Say a shuttle lasts for 2.5 years and costs 5% of sticker price in maintenance per month. With launches every second day and no fuel costs (water reaction mass), the cost per launch would be 0.55% of the sticker price. My light shuttle design could lift cargo for roughly $0.4 per pound. Call it $0.5 to allow for crew costs (unless they are AI) and stevedores. _______________________________________________ GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l
