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The 'tech' comparison in TFA only applies to computer hardware for the guidance computers. I'd be keen to know more about the engines, the fuels, the materials,
by KineticLensman 3y ago
The 'tech' comparison in TFA only applies to computer hardware for the guidance computers. I'd be keen to know more about the engines, the fuels, the materials, the construction techniques, etc.
- d_silin 3y agoWith the exception of computers, most of the engineering and materials of 1969 and 2024 are remarkably similar.
- Animats 3y agoThere's been progress. Carbon fiber works now. Titanium quality is much better. 3D printing of rocket engines works for smaller engines. (A rocket engine is a big piece of metal with a lot of internal voids and channels, which is what 3D printing is good at.) Cutting tools are better; tungsten carbide and diamond are widely used. That's all non-computer stuff.
- sgt101 3y agoI would love to see a comparison of the properties of the Apollo launch systems and the current generation. My guess is that Starship is technically a jump ahead, while SLS is comparable.
- Animats 3y agoWikipedia: "As a Shuttle-derived vehicle, the SLS reuses hardware from the Shuttle program, including the solid rocket boosters and RS-25 first stage engines."
- WalterBright 3y agoI've read several books about the Apollo program. Sadly, the focus of those books is always on budgets, management, personalities, and politics. Just a few technical tidbits are thrown in here and there. Personally, I'm much more interested in how problems were identified and overcome than how The Trench was organized and how astronauts liked to speed in their corvettes.
- dkekez 3y agoI would recommend _Apollo_ by Charles Murray and Catherine Bly Cox. It covers the program from the perspective of the engineers who were involved and the technical problems they had to overcome. The book is currently out of print but is available for the Kindle.
- WalterBright 3y agoThank you for the recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Race-Moon-Charles-Murray/dp/0671611011 https://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Race-Moon-Charles-Murray/dp/06... I have the book! While it's a worthy book and I enjoyed reading it, it is not written by an engineer or scientist and comes from a lay perspective. There are a few great tidbits in it, like how to determine the amount of fuel left in a tank at 0 gee, but you had to read a lot of pages to find those nuggets.
- trollerator23 3y agoI think there are a few that are more technical if that's what you mean: * Stages to Saturn * Digital Apollo * The Apollo Guidance Computer The last one may be too boringly technical. Some parts can be a slog even for me who breathe that stuff.
- WalterBright 3y agothank you!