Why are we trying to reverse engineer a Saturn V?
It has been a year or so since we took the JSC tour, but I did not notice any major pieces of that one missing.
One of the people on the tour actually asked that question and they said yes they had the plans but I have little doubt the tooling is gone.
Yes all of the engineers that I knew and hunted with for years, and the ones my dad worked with are either long retired or gone.
Why are we trying to reverse engineer the Saturn V? Because the Ares V has been cancelled and we no longer have true heavy lift capability in the US.
The heaviest thing we have now is the Delta IV Heavy, and it can only carry 22,560 kg (49,470lbs) to LEO and 12,980kg (28,620lbs) to geostationary orbit. It’s also much more expensive per pound than any of the other commercial launch solutions.
By comparison, the Saturn V could lift 119,000kg or 262,000 pounds to low earth orbit. Literally more than five times more - and it could get 45,000kg or 100,000lbs into lunar orbit.
Most importantly, we know the things *work* and don’t explode.
And before someone mentions the Atlas V - the Atlas V relies on *Russian* engines for the first stage.