NASA has a problem. In 2005, Michael Griffin became the NASA Administrator and his pet-project idea of using old Shuttle parts for a disposable launch system became NASA’s plan for getting back to the Moon.
The basic premise of the Ares program (as it became known), is that getting Americans back to the Moon (and eventually Mars) will use two spacecraft systems:
Ares I will use a single solid rocket booster from the shuttle, coupled to a liquid-fueled second stage rocket (based on the 1960s era J-2 rocket). This rocket will be used to put astronauts into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
Ares V will use two solid rocket boosters from the shuttle program, the shuttle external tank for liquid fuel and some new engines mounted on the bottom of the external tank. A second stage consisting of J-2 derived rockets will provide additional thrust to get heavy loads into orbit where they would rendevouz with the crew capsule. The second and third stage rockets would then be used to escape the earth and head off to the Moon (or Mars).
The problems with the rockets are numerous, as has been described elsewhere.
Various commenters have proposed that the Ares design is doomed and that perhaps they should dust off the 1960s Saturn V design which had a perfect flight record (including being struck by lightning during launch on one occasion). Other commenters have stated that they couldn’t rebuild Saturn because the technology isn’t safe enough for modern use and that getting 1960s era parts would be nigh impossible.
Now I find it funny that people are arguing that we should re-use 1970s era technology (the Shuttle Parts) instead of 1960s era technology (Saturn V parts). Both are ancient in the high-tech world.
But it is ridiculous to say that the Saturn V plans are useless and we would have to start over. The Saturn V rocket is the only very-heavy-lift vehicle that ever successfully sent people outside the Earth’s gravity well.
The plans are valid. Modernization of those plans, and development of new parts would be no more difficult than fixing the problems with Ares. If the United States is serious about going back to the Moon, then it needs to commit to the program in the same way it committed to the Manhattan Project and the Apollo Program.
Interestingly, one of the things about those historic projects was that they were executed by a hastily assembled group of technical experts, where even management roles were held by technical people (e.g. Oppenheimer, von Braun). And little bureaucracy. So one of the things that should be done is to shut down NASA. And start over without the baggage 50 years of bureaucracy with which the space program has been saddled.
2 comments
Brian says:
3 November 2008 at 7:18 (UTC -7 )
Well it is not so simple. Seems NASA lost or destroyed many of drawings of the critical components used in the Saturn V rocket motor.
There was an interesting PBS ( … or the like) program about this where the guys were scavenging a critical liquid fuel valve from the rotting Saturn V in a Texas space museum. They were marveling at the design and asking themselves , why did they (the original designers) do it this way ?
Anyone who has ever been involved with taking an old design into a modern environment knows only too well the problems … the drawings are lost or were never updated with the final changes … the original designers are long gone !!!!
A new version of the Saturn V will essentially be a total start from scratch design.
Taliesyn says:
4 November 2008 at 20:21 (UTC -7 )
Actually – most if not all of the plans for the Saturn V are in existence. NASA has them in storage.
I have designed / modified old facilities and it can be painful. But the point I was making is that I would rather start with 1960s technology that was designed for the same purpose rather than trying to force-fit 1970s technology to a new purpose.