[r9etb]

I'm with you - substitutes/retools to get the parts we would need is not be that hard. Spending the money to scrub the requirements to get the hardware converted from 1960's tech to 2003 tech would be nigh-insignificant in comparison to ground-up development. It was a watershed of new ideas and was a system built to do a lot, reclaiming it's capability would be outstanding.

On the contrary -- the requirements are easy, and have not been lost. In fact, we know a lot more than we did then. The hard part is precisely getting the tooling and hardware to build exact-duplicate Saturn V components. Consider, for example, the computer hardware. All of that stuff would have to be rebuilt, as opposed to buying it off the shelf. To give you an example, one of the hottest tasks at Kennedy Space Center is going around to old computer hardware places and buying up things like 8086 chips. They're not made anymore, but the ground support equipment is based on them. Suppose they couldn't get the 8086's anymore. It would be much cheaper and easier to rebuild the ground support equipment from scratch, than to restart an 8086 production line.

If you extend that problem to virtually every component -- right down to the availability of certain specialty metals -- you'll find that the real cost is in putting all of those components back into production.

Much better to use the design elements where applicable, but basically to redesign using modern ideas and equipment.

The bottom-line reason the Saturn V isn't built anymore is because there's no MARKET for something that big and expensive.

[Professional Engineer]

The bottom-line reason the Saturn V isn't built anymore is because there's no MARKET for something that big and expensive.

Oh there's a market. I want one. Now where can I refinance my mortgage at 1,000,000,000% of market value.

[Frank_Discussion]

The 8086 argument is a special case. Tooling up for electronics is different from nuts and bolt structures, simply because the processes, materials, and base technology has evolved so rapidly. Some processes have been left completely behind.

Materials and Processes have improved a great deal since the 60's, but a surprising number of older processes are still used, so there would be little retooling in that respect. As a matter of fact, a lot of those previous exotic processes/materials from the past are standard repertoire now.

Yes, we would have to build all-new jigs and fixtures for restarting a Saturn V production line, but we'd do the same for something completely new.