Equipment costs will not be included in this per-mission cost, but damage repair that is required due to design issues will be included. For instance, both replacement of foam insulation and damage caused by the insulation are included.
A good solution would be for all space missions to be privatized. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) could contract these missions, not on a lowest-bidder basis but on a cost/benefit basis. NASA may provide personnel to accompany on these missions to fulfil mmission priorities; the contracted trip in such cases will serve as a "shuttle" in the truest sense, with NASA engineers, scientists, etc., simply using the shuttle to get to their destination. The destination may simply be orbit, in the case of scientific experiments.
At first, all mission priorities should be used in public relations. Repairs of decrepit equipment does not serve well as PR material; as such, other objectives should also be achieved. As shuttle trips become regular, these will drop off the PR radar in favor of progress updates on station projects.
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