Author Topic: Turn in your Saturn V posters, or the terrorists win?  (Read 29484 times)

Offline SCEtoAUX

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Turn in your Saturn V posters, or the terrorists win?
« on: July 30, 2007, 07:40:58 AM »
In an amazing display of stupidity, a NASA security contractor is attempting to use the ITAR export restrictions to effectively classify drawings, schematics, and other materials related to the Saturn V booster, after they have spent the last 40 years in the public domain. This reportedly includes posters that were being sold in the KSC visitor center gift shop!

http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/30/0215204

Do these people seriously think that a "rogue nation" would try to duplicate a Saturn V in order to lob a nuke at the US?


 

Offline jdbenner

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Re: Turn in your Saturn V posters, or the terrorists win?
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2007, 07:56:09 PM »
Concidering that it is government I think that they probibly are. :?
Joshua D. Benner Associate in Arts and Sciences in General Science

Offline spacecat27

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Re: Turn in your Saturn V posters, or the terrorists win?
« Reply #2 on: July 31, 2007, 12:17:10 AM »
For those who have not been following this "story" on other sites.....
Turns out there has been no confirmation of this, and it was apparently spawned by unfounded panic (or a clever stab at advertising?) from the owner of a website that sells unclassified aviation & space "blueprints" to model builders & collectors.

Offline DonPMitchell

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Re: Turn in your Saturn V posters, or the terrorists win?
« Reply #3 on: July 31, 2007, 02:39:16 AM »
Slashdot, digg.com, wikipedia  -- beware of the signal to noise ratio on "democracy based" information site.
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Offline Satanic Mechanic

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Re: Turn in your Saturn V posters, or the terrorists win?
« Reply #4 on: July 31, 2007, 01:45:28 PM »
I found this strange when I first heard it.  Why the Saturn V?  You got some crappy designers if your nuke is over a 100 tons. 
Hell, what was it a few years ago that a guy sold an old Atlas or Nike/Zeus on ebay?  It does not take much to build and launch a missle, but to guide it is another thing.  It is cheaper for a terrorist or rogue nation to just smuggle it in.

SM

Offline DonPMitchell

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Re: Turn in your Saturn V posters, or the terrorists win?
« Reply #5 on: July 31, 2007, 06:05:29 PM »
No one in their right mind would build an F-1 engine today anyway.  It was inefficient and just barely achieved combustion stability.  I need to check, but I don't think anyone today builds a single combustion chamber that big.  It's just too dangerous.
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Offline spacecat27

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Re: Turn in your Saturn V posters, or the terrorists win?
« Reply #6 on: July 31, 2007, 11:09:30 PM »
I think the closest thing to an F-1 in recent history, size-wise, was the engine Beal Aerospace was testing before they shut down.  Seem to recall news stories at the time (2000?) saying it was the largest rocket engine fired since the Saturn V.  They were out to dodge the cryogenic costs by using helium-pressure fed H2O2 and RP-1, I think.

Offline ijuin

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Re: Turn in your Saturn V posters, or the terrorists win?
« Reply #7 on: August 02, 2007, 12:59:03 AM »
Probably the only nation in the world with the interest AND the resources to recreate the Saturn V would be China.

Offline DonPMitchell

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Re: Turn in your Saturn V posters, or the terrorists win?
« Reply #8 on: August 02, 2007, 12:40:58 PM »
China is doing nothing.  All talk and no action.

If you look at who is launching rockets, like that report I did on all launches in 2006, you see that Russia and Europe are completely dominating space.  If you look at money spent, it seems like America must be, but in fact NASA is just bleeding out, trying to support the shuttle and ISS.
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Offline surlalune

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Re: Turn in your Saturn V posters, or the terrorists win?
« Reply #9 on: August 03, 2007, 04:14:21 AM »
I paid good money for this poster! Which is actually in the CD sleeve of my Saturn V Explorer program. :(
I really don't know what to say...