Playing with the big rocket

[Jccarlton]

NASA takes an f1 out of storage and takes it apart to figure out how to make a new one:
http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/04/ ... k-to-life/

[choff]

I remember a few years back in talk-polywell we were blogging on replacements for the shuttle and discussed bringing back Saturn V. Somebody said you would need to build a time machine and go back to the '60's because the original plans and engineers were all gone, we discussed back enigneering the unused V's on display. Amazing how old engines gathering dust for all these years can still be fired up! Even more so that a 1000 piece machine will be replicated in only 40 today. It would be interesting to see if they could replicate the entire missle and for how much less today.

[Skipjack]

Big, expensive rockets are a bad idea for bringing down the cost of access to space. You want to do it like Elon Musk instead.

[choff]

If you have a bunch of J1 engines lying around in mint condition after all these years, you could at least put them to use lifting payloads into orbit. They're already paid for, in fact if you have enough gear from the three Saturn V's on musuem duty maybe you could do a moon shot on the cheap. It's amazing that after all these years they're still around and possibly in working order.

[Skipjack]

Well you still have to build a launch vehicle arround the engines and then you have to test everything. The tooling and everything needed for the Saturn V is all gone. So you probably wont save that much money in the end and you will only be able to do it until you run out of engines.

[choff]

At least you wouldn't have to train a new crew, you tell the old Apollo astronauts they get to fly again and they'll jump at the chance!

[paperburn1]

At least you wouldn't have to train a new crew, you tell the old Apollo astronauts they get to fly again and they'll jump at the chance!

There are 3 astronauts under the age of 80 , The youngest , Ken Mattingly is 77 and most of them are in their 80s
But your right I bet all of them would give a body part to go again.