Passage: The ISS has been described as the most expensive single item ever constructed. In 2010 the cost was expected to be $150 billion. This includes NASAs budget of $58.7 billion (inflation-unadjusted) for the station from 1985 to 2015 ($72.4 billion in 2010 dollars), Russias $12 billion, Europes $5 billion, Japans $5 billion, Canadas $2 billion, and the cost of 36 shuttle flights to build the station; estimated at $1.4 billion each, or $50.4 billion in total. Assuming 20,000 person-days of use from 2000 to 2015 by two- to six-person crews, each person-day would cost $7.5 million, less than half the inflation-adjusted $19.6 million ($5.5 million before inflation) per person-day of Skylab.
How many more billions of dollars did Europe contribute to the cost of the ISS compared to Canada? How many more billions of dollars did Japan spend on the ISS than Canada? How many more billions of dollars did the United States spend on the ISS than Russia? How many more millions of dollars is a person-day adjusted for inflation than a person day not adjusted for inflation? How many years was the time span of NASAs $58.7 billion budget for the cost of the ISS station? Which other countries were included in the budget for the ISS station, other than the United States? Whose budget contributed more towards the cost of the ISS, Russias or Europes?