Cost Analysis
The project is requiring 2 relay satellites in addition to the radio
telescope on the moon. Considering also the necessary transmit power we
can estimate the cost C as follows:
Launch cost | Cost for transmit power | Total | |
Lunar telescope & comm. system | $150M | $2M | $152M |
Satellite 1 | $150M | $100M | $250M |
Satellite 2 | $150M | $3M | $153M |
Total | $450M | $105M | $555M |
In addition to these costs there will be cost for other components (electronics, comm. systems, satellite dishes) resulting in a total estimated cost of about $560M.
This calculation is based on the original system noise temperatures (see here) not taking into account the noise considerations for the amplifiers and does not account for possibilities in "rocket sharing" to put the satellites into space and the telescope onto the moon.
Using these optimizations we might be able to reduce the cost to $350-$450M.