Aerojet Rocketdyne Says RS-25 Engines Are Cheaper - Just Don't Ask What They Cost

Aerojet Rocketdyne defends SLS engine contract costs, Space News

"Maser declined to give the cost of an individual engine alone, without the additional labor and overhead. "There's a lot of other activity included in there that is well beyond just assembling and testing engines," he said. The $40 million cost estimate widely cited for the SSME does not have a date attached. If it comes from 2000, around the time the Block 2 SSME design was in production, that $40 million would be about $64 million in 2020 dollars, using NASA's New Start Inflation Index. If it comes from 1980, just before the shuttle started operations, it would be nearly $150 million in 2020 dollars. While not providing a specific cost for an RS-25, the contract includes an estimated 30% reduction in the cost per engine when compared to the SSME, which he said would be phased in over the course of the production contract."

Keith's note: On one hand Aerojet wants you to think that they are doing everyone a favor by cutting the cost of their RS-25 engines - yet on the other hand they refuse to tell you how much each engine costs. Caveat emptor

- Only NASA Would Spend Billions To Make A Reusable Engine Disposable, earlier post

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