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Project Orion to Bring U.S. Back to the Moon

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the guess-you-can't-take-the-sky-from-me dept.

ganjadude writes "Thirty-seven years ago yesterday, Project Apollo put the first humans on the surface of the Moon. The next time the U.S. launches its astronauts to Earth's natural satellite, they will do so as part of Project Orion." From the article: "Under Project Orion, NASA would launch crews of four astronauts aboard Orion capsules, first to Earth orbit and the International Space Station and then later to the Moon. Two teams, one led by Lockheed Martin and the other a joint effort by Northrop Grumman and The Boeing Co., are currently competing to build the CEV. NASA is expected to select the winner in September."

4 of 399 comments (clear)

  1. Am I the only one... by TintinX · · Score: 4, Funny

    I read that as Project Onion.
    Either way - something to cry over, I'm sure

    1. Re:Am I the only one... by megaditto · · Score: 4, Funny

      Not to worry, with our current technology the entire thing can be faked in CGI for half the cost of the original Apollo sound-staging.

      --
      I keed, I keed!

      --
      Obama likes poor people so much, he wants to make more of them.
  2. Re:Why not build more Saturn Vs? by CreateWindowEx · · Score: 3, Funny
    I was about to reply that I had heard they had lost the plans to the Saturn V, then thought to myself that perhaps that was an urban legend, and of course, it is just a legend at least according to this page.

    Key takeaway (at least according to some random internet source, ha ha):

    Despite a widespread belief to the contrary, the Saturn V blueprints have not been lost. They are kept at Marshall Space Flight Center on microfilm.

    The problem in re-creating the Saturn V is not finding the drawings, it is finding vendors who can supply mid-1960's vintage hardware (like guidance system components), and the fact that the launch pads and VAB have been converted to Space Shuttle use, so you have no place to launch from.

    By the time you redesign to accommodate available hardware and re-modify the launch pads, you may as well have started from scratch with a clean sheet design.

    Not to mention the cost of updating the design to include child seat brackets, non-CFC air conditioning, and an MP3 player input...
  3. Re:Ares V by Guppy06 · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Can we only put ~70 mT on the Moon or can we put more?"

    Um... 70 militeslas?

    If you're trying to say "metric tons," you might be better off with "mton," "tonne," or the far less ambiguous "Mg."