The moon trips were single shot with the sole purpose of putting someone on the moon before the Russians. Additionally, only a tiny part of the rocket had to re

The moon trips were single shot with the sole purpose of putting someone on the moon before the Russians. Additionally, only a tiny part of the rocket had to re-enter the atmosphere to return the crew. This link http://www.metafilter.com/48654/Jan-28-1986#1189388 http://www.metafilter.com/48654/Jan-28-1986#1189388 perhaps explains what's wrong with the shuttle better than I could.