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[Speculation] I have been reading comments that the issue is that some of the components are just not produced anymore and replacing those components with more
by Ambolia 4y ago
[Speculation] I have been reading comments that the issue is that some of the components are just not produced anymore and replacing those components with more modern ones would require going through the whole certification and testing process for the product. Basically you need to redesign the whole product because some of the components have been lost in time.
- mikewarot 4y agoYep, it's like the Rocketdyne F-1 Engine[1], the heart of the Saturn Booster for Apollo. Drawings exist, NASA documented everything... but the processes that were used were manual, and people with the requisite skills don't exist anymore. The materials used have far better modern replacements. The thing barely held together without blowing itself up. It's far better to use a newer engine that's in production now if you want to get into space. The plans NASA had were to develop reusable rockets in the 1970s, before their funding was slashed. 1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocketdyne_F-1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocketdyne_F-1