Unusual things I think about sometimes...

[fencerm2]

Sometimes I have the oddest thoughts at the oddest times.

Earlier this afternoon, for no reason whatsoever, I was pondering the loss of our nation's ability to readily send people to space.  The Shuttle is retired, and its replacement is not scheduled to be ready til 2015, which we all know means 2020 at the EARLIEST.  Thus NASA will rely on the Russian space program and their Soyuz craft, and the likes of SpaceX and their Dragon capsule to get our astronauts to the ISS and such.

So I was thinking - rather than reinvent the wheel - why can't they just return to Apollo?  I mean, the Saturn V rocket for the Apollo program is solid, the command module is a tried and tested design - and how much can it be refined if you swap out 1960's computer technology with 21st century tech? 

Seriously - why the hell has no one asked this question?  Why can't we just take the Apollo design, modernize it (which I bet would allow for a roomier interior in the capsule) and get this up-and-running in a year or two?

Comments

I'm sure the question has been asked

[bytchearse.livejournal.com]

And discounted as either making too much sense or too "backward-thinking"...

[terrilyn.livejournal.com]

The Constellation program was nothing but a souped up Apollo. They even went to the Space museum in Huntsville, AL where the only extant complete Saturn V and all accessories is housed. They poured over it for weeks, and all the documentation in the archives.

So yes, it's been asked, and there was an answer. Unfortunately, bureaucracy got in the way.

The "new" thing (that I don't know that much about) looks very much like the larger Constellation rocket, but with boosters.

also...

[bytchearse.livejournal.com]

The 21st-century tech is fine, but the propulsion system is still nearly 60 years old. Not saying there's some alien/Jetsons tech out there waiting to be used, but you'd think with all the engineering strides made since the 50's there would be something other that strapping a billion dollar piece of equipment to a glorified bottle rocket...

[lord-strider.livejournal.com]

It makes too much since. And I bet it could be done in lest then a year. The only problem I see is it is a one shot deal. You don't reuse the capsule once it has been to space. So the cost is high.

[fencerm2.livejournal.com]

Bear in mind - Orion and Constellation, the proposed shuttle follow-up, is a one-shot deal just like Apollo. And as terrilyn points out - it is a souped up Saturn V.

[lord-strider.livejournal.com]

What would be cool is a low orbit station. use the new or beefed up unit to get to the station take another unit from low orbit out to the ISS. Best of both worlds if the second unit was reusable.