No, we don't have it. No current launch vehicles are suitable.
Yes, we do have it. We haven't forgotten anything about building rockets, and the engineering has improved.
but I don’t think we have the intelligence to do it safely
I think you're completely wrong, and grossly unjust to today's science and engineering community.
nor do we have the drive to be explorers anymore.
Who's "we", Kemosabe? Our political class certainly lacks such drive ... and our welfare class lacks any drive.
Then, there's the rest of us ...
-Bustard, the engineer.
bttt
“Yes, we do have it. We haven’t forgotten anything about building rockets, and the engineering has improved.”
I have read several times where the Saturn V is a mystery in some ways to the current crop of scientists. Perhaps they could build a better version of the Saturn V, but they would be starting over.
“I think you’re completely wrong, and grossly unjust to today’s science and engineering community.”
Would that be the current science community that embraces Global Warming in order to further political agenda, (NASA), or to gain funding and favor? Doubting them is anything but unjust.
“Who’s “we”, Kemosabe? Our political class certainly lacks such drive ... and our welfare class lacks any drive.
Then, there’s the rest of us ...”
The rest of us is a very small group now. You’re not taking into account what the public schools have done to several generations of Americans. As proof, I offer you the election of Barack Obama. Not only that, without the support of the political class, the climb becomes very steep indeed.
“We haven’t forgotten anything about building rockets...”
Most of the folks who did that work are long retired and/or passed on. Sometimes institutional knowledge about what works and what doesn’t is as important as book learning. Most of the engineers at NASA today haven’t a clue. What they have been told is fast and cheap. Buy off the shelf. Don’t design anything new.
We may not be able to replicate the work done