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Fascinating that NASA are now having to reverse engineer existing spacecraft parts that they have lying around in junkyards, since they forewent the opportunity
by auxbuss 16y ago
Fascinating that NASA are now having to reverse engineer existing spacecraft parts that they have lying around in junkyards, since they forewent the opportunity to document during development, apparently due delivery pressure and use of contractors.
- hga 16y agoActually, when it came to the Saturn V rocket NASA deliberately destroyed the design documents in a "burn your boats" style to make the Space Shuttle the only way forward. Disbanded Wernher von Braun's team for good measure. Which is a pity, seeing as how some of the details of the design of the first stage kerosene/LOX F-1 engines were said to be pretty well near magic (it had 7 years of teething problems according to Wikipedia). On the other hand I know from an acquaintance that the NERVA developers including her father were gathered together no later than in the '80s so that their work could be adequately documented.