SCP-6959 — SCP-6959 | Cost Breakdown

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SCP-6959 Safe ~ medium confidence

SCP-6959

Expected annual

$13.2M

One-time setup

$278.2M

Annual recurring

$12.8M

Personnel

One-time setup and capital (facility, containment hardware, contingency reserves, and optional removal mission) dominate costs (~$274M one-time in this estimate); recurring annual costs are driven by specialized staff, long-term R&D and capital replacement (~$12.8M/yr baseline).

🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $278.2M

Dedicated Removal Mission $150.0M

[#21] Optional dedicated removal mission capital (launch + specialized hardware) — highly variable and optional; included here for completeness.

Contingency Reserve $55.0M

[#19] Contingency reserve for catastrophic failure, emergency response, rapid airlift and demolition/containment contracts (held reserve).

Facilities $20.0M

[#1] Secure site acquisition, underground/hardened reinforced-concrete containment vault, airlocks, blast/EMP hardening and classified-site features; excavation and structural work.

Decommissioning Fund $20.0M

[#24] Decommissioning, relocation and environmental remediation liability / fund.

Equipment $12.8M

[#2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #9, #10, #13, #16] UHV vacuum chamber (#2), electromagnetic levitation system (#3), cryogenics plant capex (#4), primary power upgrade/grid-tie (#5), backup generators & UPS capex (#6), initial monitoring/sensors (#9), remote handling robotics capex (#10), initial security equipment (#13), secure communications & IT capex (#16).

Removal Mission Concept $10.0M

[#20] One-time mission concept / preliminary engineering study for jettison/removal (small-scale concept).

Insurance And Escrow Reserve $5.0M

[#22] Held insurance / escrow reserve for liabilities and whistleblower/community compensation.

Initial Research And Lab Setup $2.8M

[#11] Specialized non-contact research instrumentation setup (remote spectroscopy, particle detectors, tomography, high-speed cameras) and associated lab research setup.

Cryogenics Plant $1.2M

[#4] One-time capex portion for cryocoolers, liquid helium handling and cryogenic piping (capex distinct from recurring consumables).

Cover Story Setup $1.2M

[#17] One-time establishment of front companies, PR/legal setup and initial OPSEC cover-story establishment.

Background Checks Setup $100K

[#18] Initial background checks, top-tier clearance processing and psychological screening setup.

🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $12.8M/yr

Long Term Research R And D $5.0M/yr

[#20] Ongoing R&D program funding for feasibility studies toward neutralization/removal (lower-bound recurring estimate).

Staff Wages $3.2M/yr

[#12] Salaries, benefits and shift coverage for 24/7 containment (Site Director, lead engineers, technicians, security, monitoring operators, ERT, admin/support).

Annual Capital Replacement Reserve $2.0M/yr

[#23] Annual reserve for scheduled replacement of pumps, magnet components, electronics and facility upgrades (5–10% of capital).

Research And Monitoring $600K/yr

[#11] Ongoing non-contact research operating costs for specialized instruments and data collection.

Cover Story And Legal $350K/yr

[#17] Ongoing cover-story maintenance, PR management, legal counsel and contractor payments to maintain secrecy.

Security Training And Recurring $275K/yr

[#13] Recurring security training, tactical recertification, intrusion response readiness and vehicular maintenance.

It Ops And Data Archiving $200K/yr

[#16] Classified networks, hardened servers, telemetry archiving and off-site backups operations.

Insurance Legal Retainer $200K/yr

[#22] Annual legal retainer and recurring liability insurance-related costs.

Generator Fuel And Maintenance $160K/yr

[#6] Fuel, inspections and maintenance for redundant backup generators & UPS systems (frequent inspections).

Cryogenics Consumables $125K/yr

[#4] Cryogenics consumables and related recurring support (boil-off handling, cryogen replenishment, servicing).

Energy Bill $125K/yr

[#7] Continuous electrical energy for cryocoolers, control systems, monitoring and HVAC (50–200 kW steady-state).

Routine Inspections $125K/yr

[#14] Labor and parts for frequent generator/system inspections and predictive maintenance contracts.

Supplies And Consumables $100K/yr

[#15] Consumables and small spares (O-rings, seals, pump oils, connectors, camera spares).

Vacuum Maintenance $85K/yr

[#8] Vacuum pump servicing, spare cartridges, periodic rebaking and leak repair.

Background Vetting Recurring $75K/yr

[#18] Ongoing vetting, periodic polygraphs and continuous psychological monitoring tools.

Robotics Upkeep $62K/yr

[#10] Maintenance, spare actuators and upkeep for remote handling robotics and tooling.

Monitoring Maintenance $50K/yr

[#9] Maintenance and replacement for cameras, sensors, fiber telemetry and redundancy.

Facilities Maintenance $0/yr

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Logistics And Transport $0/yr

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⚡ Cost Scenarios

📊 Baseline (baseline) $12.8M/yr

91.3% probability / year

Normal uneventful year: steady-state operations, scheduled maintenance and routine research with no major incidents.

no_incidents scheduled_maintenance routine_research

🚨 Minor Incident $13.3M/yr

8.0% probability / year +$500K vs baseline

Localized equipment failure or small containment alarm requiring emergency repairs, overtime, PR mitigation and limited use of contingency operational funds.

pump_failure seal_leak minor_security_breach

🚨 Major Breach $32.8M/yr

0.5% probability / year +$20.0M vs baseline

Significant containment failure or emergency requiring large-scale response contracts, partial deployment of contingency reserve and extended recovery operations.

containment_system_failure major_equipment_quench sustained_power_loss

🚨 Dedicated Removal Mission $162.8M/yr

0.2% probability / year +$150.0M vs baseline

Decision-year in which a dedicated off-world removal/launch mission is executed (one-time large capital outlay for mission and operations).

executive_decision_to_launch approval_of_major_mission funding_allocation_for_removal

👥 Personnel 29 total

Role	Count	Notes
Site Director / Executive Staff	1	[#12] Site director oversight and authorization (1).
Engineer / Maintenance	2	[#12] Lead engineers for systems (2).
Technician	6	[#12] Technical staff for vacuum, cryogenics, magnets, robotics (6).
Security Officer / MTF Agent	12	[#12] Security personnel distributed across shifts (12 total across shifts).
Monitoring Operator	4	[#12] Operators for sensors, telemetry and monitoring (4).
Rapid-Response / E.R.T.	2	[#12] Emergency response team members (2).
Administrative Staff	2	[#12] Admin and support staff (2).

📋 Confidence Notes

Analyst-provided ranges exist for most line items, enabling reasoned mid-point estimates; however very large optional items (dedicated removal mission) and contingency/reserve sizing introduce substantial variance, so confidence is medium.

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