Cost
In 1999, after the successful flight of AMS-01, the total cost of the AMS program was estimated to be $33 million, with AMS-02 planned for flight to the ISS in 2003. After the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, and after a number of technical difficulties with the construction of AMS-02, the cost of the program ballooned to an estimated $1.5 billion.
The cost of the program was criticized heavily during the period when it appeared that it would not be flown, and remains controversial.
Read more about this topic: Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer
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