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Like Dare says, international co-operation would be an absolute necessity for a big space mission. Every proposal I've read about it says that some type of cooperation among all the big industrial states would be the only way to do it. So, the improved relations and friendships and partnerships ALONE would probably be worth the $200 billion. $200 billion is still only a small part of the annual gross productive economy of the whole planet.
Think about it. Right now the russians are saving our asses in space. We savaged their economy in the cold war, but still, now, we are wary friends, and they have taken on their shoulders the responsibility of keeping the door to space open while we solve a little problem we are having with the aging shuttles.
That is simply _fucking_ amazing.
The best minds in a dozen countries are working together on something incredible. The space station has led to a lot more than most people realize. Yeah, we're learning that running a space station is a lot fucking harder than we thought it would be, but how else could we have possibly learned that without trying?
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