Space mission · United States

What life-cycle cost did NASA report for the Solar Dynamics Observatory in 2019?

NASA launched the Solar Dynamics Observatory in February 2010 to observe changes in the Sun and improve understanding of space weather. A 2019 NASA inspector-general review recorded $862 million as its life-cycle cost and listed the observatory in extended operations. The figure is a historical mission-level accounting, not a current 2026 spending total or a cost for any one instrument.

Reported project cost

$862 million

Cost basis: 2019

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Fla., processing of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, is complete, and it is ready to be installed into an Atlas V payload fairing. SDO is the first mission in NASA's Living With a Star Program and is designed to study the causes of solar variability and its impacts on Earth. The spacecraft's long-term measurements will give solar scientists in-depth information to help characterize the interior of the Sun,
Photo credit: NASA/Jim GrossmannPublic domain

Cost evidence

Basis of the published figure

Reported project cost2019
NASA

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