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Couldn't they just re-manufacture the 3rd stage of the Saturn 5? The design has been proven and there could be substantial weight saving just by upgrading the on-board computer, electronics and fuel cells. I don't know if it would fit in the shuttle's cargo bay, but I'm sure that it (the 3rd stage w/LEM) could be modified to fit or brought up seperately. Contrary to popular myth, the blueprints to the Saturn 5 were not all lost or destroyed. Why spend the money to design and build an entirely new vehicle when the big dollars and hard work were done 30 years ago?

Why spend the money to design and build an entirely new vehicle when the big dollars and hard work were done 30 years ago?

Your point that we once had a working, heavy-lift launch vehicle is well taken and yes, we could re-manufacture Saturn V. However, it would require an entirely new launch infrastructure at the Cape, whereas we already have a working STS processing, assembly, and launch facility available. Also, Saturn V, while a superb machine, was even more labor-intensive than Shuttle (the S-II second stage was (literally) hand-made -- thousands of man-hours work in each one. And those guys were not paid minimum-wage).

NASA has an architecture in hand that could return us to the Moon within 5 years, using existing STS and Delta-IV launches and other easily made, Shuttle-derived hardware.

And it even uses the Space Station, too! :-)

"Contrary to popular myth, the blueprints to the Saturn 5 were not all lost or destroyed."

Actually, the bulk of the documentation was warehoused and govenment excess some time ago, but excessed items are often destroyed after a time. Very DAMN sad. NASA didn't realize they had a national treasure on their hands.

"Why spend the money to design and build an entirely new vehicle when the big dollars and hard work were done 30 years ago?"

It could be reverse-engineered without the bulk of the blueprints, but it would be expensive. And the tooling to build the Saturns is pretty much gone or beyond the ability to refurbish.

Besides, new technology has already proven to be better in the commercial sector. A guy named Andrew Beal built and tested with his own capital an engine at the same power as the Saturn V main engine. He was aiming at a sattellite market saturated by the government, though, and realized he would never be able to compete. Much sheaper than NASA's development, and actually a simpler design, to boot.