The Money - Orion vs Gemini and Apollo
This page compares the funding and subsequent results for the Gemini program and the Apollo program’s Crew and Service Module (CSM) to the funding and results for the Orion program’s CSM. The data shows that despite spending massive funds on the Orion program, we are nowhere near the results achieved by the Gemini and Apollo programs. There are many reasons for this, but the bigotry of today’s racial policies are a large factor of these failures and set the space program up for numerous future problems.
The Gemini Program
The Gemini program preceded the Apollo program. It included 12 capsules that were launched over the course of just 2 years. The third flight was crewed and did 3 orbits. Subsequent flights included rendezvous with other targets, docking, and EVAs. The program did not include missions to the moon, but demonstrated the abilities of a capsule. Many of these capsules are still on display in museums.
The total adjusted cost was ~$10 Billion.
The Apollo Program
The chart to the right shows the amount of money spent on the Apollo program’s Crew and Service Module. These values are adjusted for inflation.
The total adjusted cost was $43.5 Billion.
The Orion Program
The chart to the right shows the amount of money spent on the Orion program’s Crew and Service Module.
The total adjusted cost to date is roughly $29.4 Billion.
What did we get for this funding - Orion vs Apollo
Apollo
The Apollo program had numerous missions that ranged from orbital tests to multiple landings on the moon. This required numerous CSM vehicles. The list below shows the name, date, vehicle and brief description of each mission.
Nineteen CSMs were launched into space. Of these, nine flew humans to the Moon between 1968 and 1972, and another two performed crewed test flights in low Earth orbit, all as part of the Apollo program. Before these, another four CSMs had flown as uncrewed Apollo tests, of which two were suborbital flights and another two were orbital flights.
| Date | Name | Vehicle | Mission |
|---|---|---|---|
| AS-201 | Feb 1966 | CSM-009 | Suborbital flight |
| AS-202 | Aug 1996 | CSM-011 | Suborbital flight |
| Apollo 1 | Feb 1967 | CSM-012 | Destroyed in fire |
| Apollo 4 | Nov 1967 | CSM-017 | High Earth orbit |
| Apollo 6 | Apr 1968 | CM-020/SM-014 | Uncrewed test flight of failures and flight profile |
| Apollo 7 | Oct 1968 | CSM-101 | First crewed orbital demo |
| Apollo 8 | Dec 1968 | CSM-103 | First crewed flight to moon; 10 lunar orbits |
| Apollo 9 | Mar 1969 | CSM-104 | Crewed CSM Earth orbit |
| Apollo 10 | May 1969 | CSM-106 | Dress rehearsak for lunar landing |
| Apollo 11 | Jul 1969 | CSM-107 | Crewed landing on moon and EVA |
| Apollo 12 | Nov 1969 | CSM-108 | Second moon landing |
| Apollo 13 | Apr 1970 | CSM-109 | Aborted moon attempt landing |
| Apollo 14 | Jan 1971 | CSM-110 | Third moon landing and EVA |
| Apollo 15 | Jul 1971 | CSM-112 | Fourth moon landing and long EVA |
| Apollo 16 | Apr 1972 | CSM-113 | Fifth moon landing and EVA |
| Apollo 17 | Dec 1972 | CSM-114 | Sixth moon landing and EVA |
Orion
The Orion program recently launched an uncrewed lunar orbit. Its first manned mission is scheduled for September of 2025 and will be a lunar flyby.
Exact numbers are elusive, but there appear to have been 3 ground test vehicles, 2 expended ones, a ground test vehicle, a structural test vehicle, one active vehicle, and 4 that are under construction.
| Date | Name | Vehicle | Mission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artemis 1 | Nov 2022 | NA | Uncrewed lunar orbit and return |
Summary - Gemini and Apollo vs Orion
The Gemini program launched close to a dozen vehicles into space over the course of just 2 years. The total cost was roughly 1/3 of what the Orion program has already spent, despite Orion launching just 1 uncrewed vehicle into space to date.
The Apollo program launched 19 vehicles into space with many of those going to the moon. Orion has already spent 2/3 as much as the total cost of the Apollo CSM, taking almost twice as long, and has launched 1 uncrewed mission. The Apollo vehicle also included a “service” aspect to it whereas Orion does not. (Note that the Orion cost is being compared to that of the Apollo Crew and Service Module and not the cost of the whole Apollo program. The Orion program is just a crew module itself, so the cost is comparable.)
If you look at where the Apollo program was when it had spent the amount that Orion has currently spent, Apollo had completed a manned mission to orbit the moon and a manned moon landing with many more right around the corner.
The Apollo program had the Gemini program to use as a starting point. The Orion program has had Gemini, Apollo, the shuttle, and numerous other programs as well as fabulous advancements in computational systems such as finite element analysis and computational fluid dynamics. All of this should have brought the cost and time of production down and yet both cost and time have increased.
There are multiple problems with space program. These problems include an incredible lack of direction and purpose from political leadership as well as congressional leadership views the various NASA facilities as a means to punish and reward voting blocks.
The intent of this site is not to blame all of the problems with the space program solely on the culture of racial and gender animosity now present. However, the fact remains that Apollo benefited from NASA engineers and shop workers that had direct experience in Gemini and other programs. The bureaucracy in place now views old, White, male engineers as something to be avoided and discarded instead of used for their experience. Its policies force young, White male engineers to be the “technical people” on projects while also being the equivalent of temp workers. This ensures that the best case scenario is that the technical experience of these engineers is retained, but only in the lowest level positions where they spend their careers paying people for the privilege of working at NASA. The more common scenario is that the best and brightest leave the space program and go where their talents and work ethic are rewarded.
These polices are incredibly destructive to NASA and to all other industries where they are put into effect. However, we have no burden to show that these policies have a negative effect. These policies should be rejected for the bigotry that they represent. Americans do not lose their rights to work because they are White and male. It’s time that the laws reflect this fact of basic human dignity.