nooneimportant wrote:

I kind of agree... seems like a capsule program is a step backward... but
then again, isn't it cheaper to build a brand new Saturn V rocket and capsul
for every launch, then it is to refit a "re-usable" shuttle (just pulling
that out outa my rear, but i seem to recall somewhere seeing that building a
SatV in todays dollars is still cheaper than refitting a shuttle)?

Well, it might be, but we haven't had the capability of building a Saturn V for
well over a decade now. It would probably take 10 years to redevelop the
manufacturing facilities.

The Russians still have their mass lifters, though, and we collaborate with them
these days.

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.