The close distance between Venus and the Earth reminds me of a proposal to use a Saturn V to do a 1 year manned flyby of Venus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man

The close distance between Venus and the Earth reminds me of a proposal to use a Saturn V to do a 1 year manned flyby of Venus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manned_Venus_Flyby#Apollo_Applications_Program http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manned_Venus_Flyby#Apollo_Appli... Basically it would use a repurposed S-IVB like Skylab. Skylab has a (relatively deserved) poor reputation, but it was spacious as hell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awe6vOXURpY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awe6vOXURpY (I wonder if Pete Conrad, seen running around the station in that video, had seen 2001: A Space Odyssey)