menellom":2fvwxwuf said:
Why spend billions trying to reinvent HLV when we have the tried-and-true Saturn V design/build? Why not just expand on that idea? After all we don't have to reinvent the wheel...
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Why spend billions trying to reinvent HLV when we have the tried-and-true Saturn V design/build? Why not just expand on that idea? After all we don't have to reinvent the wheel...
Just because something worked great 40 years ago doesn't mean it's a good idea to just 'resurrect' it and use it now.
Trying to resurrect the Saturn V sounds good on paper, it was - as you put it - a tried and true design. But doing so would ultimately cost about as much (if not more) as designing a new rocket. Nevermind that you'd have to rebuild the entire Saturn V manufacturing infrastructure - you'd have to practically redesign the whole damn rocket from the electronics to the safety features to the materials used to meet current standards and be compatible with current NASA tech.
Trying to resurrect the Saturn V sounds good on paper, it was - as you put it - a tried and true design. But doing so would ultimately cost about as much (if not more) as designing a new rocket. Nevermind that you'd have to rebuild the entire Saturn V manufacturing infrastructure - you'd have to practically redesign the whole damn rocket from the electronics to the safety features to the materials used to meet current standards and be compatible with current NASA tech.
menellom":3cqcvot3 said:
Your logic doesn't make any sense to me? According to your way of thinking if I owned a 68 Ford Mustang I couldn't put a fuel injection, or a hybrid electric/gas engine in it to get better mileage and increase the power train output!!!
The point is, there are no more 68 Mustangs to go into space, in fact there aren't even any engineering drawings on how to make them.
MeteorWayne":z1sfaskk said:
Thats not true they not only have blueprints of the Saturn V, but they have a 2 fully functional Saturn Vs one at Cape Kennedy, and the other at Houston...
I doubt that the Saturn V could qualify for manned rating by today's standards. And the man is right it would cost as much to start manufacturing them today as it would a whole new design. There aren't any sitting around in storage waiting to be called on to go into service.marcel_leonard":3676q8zz said:
Keep in mind that blueprints (and related documents) do not always capture all of the essentials for
buiding something - institutional human memory can be important in doing even simple things like -
well - changing of contract hands.
Also note that some components may no longer exist, and simply plugging and replacing with
modern equivalents can have unforseen consequences.
Finally, not all of the faluts of the Saturn design were full eliminated - POGO for example, while mitigated, was not
eliminated.
buiding something - institutional human memory can be important in doing even simple things like -
well - changing of contract hands.
Also note that some components may no longer exist, and simply plugging and replacing with
modern equivalents can have unforseen consequences.
Finally, not all of the faluts of the Saturn design were full eliminated - POGO for example, while mitigated, was not
eliminated.
drwayne":17jgevps said:
That was one of the points I was trying to make. Even if we could somehow get a hold of Saturn V blueprints and find people who worked on the rocket that were still alive, the whole damn thing would have to be redesigned anyways to replace old obsolete or outdated parts and technology and to make it compatible with current NASA standards and technology. Completely redesigning the Saturn V would cost as much if not more than designing a new heavy launch vehicle.
It will be cancelled.. of course. There will be NO moon base. We 'They' don't need one. :mrgreen:
No. In fact, I highly doubt NASA will return to the Moon by 2024. The plan is for a return by 2019, but given the budgetary constraints, technological issues, economic recession and lack of political will, I doubt the US will meet its return to the Moon date. Obama made it clear before the election he has no interest in going back to the Moon. I cross my fingers that he has changed his mind and will provide at least a small budget increase for NASA as well as a viable vision/mission for NASA.
RJEvans":3oh123mz said:
Hardly! There was some confusion on Obama's position on space exploration very early in the election based on one suggestion he made about delaying Constellation in order to divert funding to science education... but he cleared that rumor up way back in 2008 and he's been clear about backing the goals of the Constellation program since.
He's already promoting a massive proposed overhaul for STEM education (one which would divert funding from any program) and the current rumors regarding his decision on NASA is that he intends to support at least a partial increase in funding to help keep the space program and its goals on course.
Invalid":1rbx5kmn said:
Can we say DARTH VADER!? Seriously this is exactly what Anikin said to Padme in Episode 2.
I believe private space can get us there by 2030. The Bigelow Ba330 expandable module design article on this website speaks volumes about how serious they are about leo to the moon itself in terms of bases. Lease a base anyone?
menellom":sxj0tptq said:
What Obama says and what he does are 2 different things. People start thinking. He is a politican from chicogo. He is more crocked than a lawyer, and a better lier than a...well politican.
No i dont think we will have a moon base by 2019 if things continue as they are. It will take a reinvestment into america's space industry to bring things around. Depending more on companies like spaceX and such. Bush accually invested far more into science and space research than clinton. Basicaly as i heard it once because "if there is one thing i know no republican wants to die poor". Ive never understood why people think industry is so evil.
From what I've seen of the Ares V flight plan, it really shouldn't be that difficult to build a lunar base. For example, the Earth Departure Stage is pretty large, larger than an S-IVB by my estimates of just looking at it. Why can't we outfit that as a Wet Workshop station on the lunar surface? In fact, how about we boost an Ares V core stage (the big external tank structure) and modify that into one? Like the Shuttle ET, it seems to approach orbital velocity, so let's but that giant hydrogen tank to good use!
It should have been built by 1974. 2024 is, sadly, only a whimsical hope. The fact that there is no Lunar settlement, much less a scientific or military base, is insurmountable proof that U.S. and world leaders suffer from "Rectal-Cranial Inversion" (which means their collective heads are in a place where the Sun never shines).
Why do they need to redesign a heavy launch vehicle? The existing space shuttle launch system can launch hundreds of thousands of pounds into low earth orbit, if modified without the shuttle itself. It could launch several tons into lunar trajectory, therefore. A 'simple' rendezvous and docking would be necessary, with a manned capsule launched by any number of existing boosters. Rendezvous and docking in lunar trajectory has been adequately demonstrated by the Apollo program.
If that's not enough mass, consider an upgraded version of the good old Saturn-V, with better engines (sure, it's rocket science, but the system is valid).
If that's not enough mass, consider an upgraded version of the good old Saturn-V, with better engines (sure, it's rocket science, but the system is valid).
You aren't going to have a moon base by 2024
Given the opportunity NASA would spend billions of dollars and years of research reinventing the wheel all while smugly proclaiming that we as common folk couldn't possibly understand "why" because it's just sooo complicated.
A wheel is an object that is round yet flat after all, a paragon of qualities, a true miracle of engineering.
On the other hand what ever administration is in office (Republican or Democrat) will repeatedly spin grand visions to spur the imagination but like so many relationships we all experience in life it's all a tease with nothing to back it up.
Our space program is broken, and has been for a long long time. From the lack of vision or direction from the government, to the bloated expense/ blatant profiteering of the contractors to some just plain bad, almost criminally bad, engineering.
Given the opportunity NASA would spend billions of dollars and years of research reinventing the wheel all while smugly proclaiming that we as common folk couldn't possibly understand "why" because it's just sooo complicated.
A wheel is an object that is round yet flat after all, a paragon of qualities, a true miracle of engineering.
On the other hand what ever administration is in office (Republican or Democrat) will repeatedly spin grand visions to spur the imagination but like so many relationships we all experience in life it's all a tease with nothing to back it up.
Our space program is broken, and has been for a long long time. From the lack of vision or direction from the government, to the bloated expense/ blatant profiteering of the contractors to some just plain bad, almost criminally bad, engineering.
It's certainly true that a moon base comes down to money. But it also comes down to will. In the 1960s, the United States was willing to spend what was than an incredible amount of money--with relatively little public dissent--to go to the moon because people were terrified of what the Soviets would do if they got there first. Some of that was pride as well. But one can just imagine the outcry that would erupt if the President and Congress authorized an expenditure of that magnitude for a moon mission today....
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