COMPLETE STATIC READING EDITION
If we went in 1969, why is it so hard now?
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NASA says it lost the know-how.
In 2016 astronaut Don Pettit said: “I’d go to the moon in a nanosecond. The problem is we don’t have the technology to do that anymore. We used to but we destroyed that technology and it’s a painful process to build it back again.” [1]
If NASA did it with 1960s technology, why would it need decades and billions of dollars to repeat it? [1][2]
News report with the full Pettit quote in context.
Fact check on the clip of Aldrin answering a girl’s question.
A factory closed, and the money went elsewhere.
On 1 August 1968, before the first landing, NASA chose not to order more Saturn Vs. The production lines closed, the tooling was scrapped, and the workers moved on. [1]
Apollo 20 was cancelled in January 1970 and Apollo 18 and 19 that September. [1][2][4]
Pettit was making exactly this point: the Saturn V and its factories no longer exist, so the capability has to be rebuilt. He was arguing for going back to the Moon, not saying the first trips were faked. [3]
The design itself is no secret. On 25 April 2009 hobbyist Steve Eves flew a 1/10-scale Saturn V, the largest amateur rocket then launched and recovered, more than 4,440 feet up. [5]
NASA’s dated history identifies the 1968 production decision, budget restrictions and the reassignment of a Saturn V to Skylab.
Mission-cancellation history, including renumbering; distinguishes planned expeditions from those that flew.
News report with the full Pettit quote in context.
Primary institutional record. Carried from the first edition and re-listed 23 October 2026; cited for the specific point in the text.
Amateur-rocketry club newsletter reporting the 1/10-scale Saturn V flight.
WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THIS FILE
4 claims people make about this file, each rated documented, partly true, disputed, unproven or false. Think a rating is wrong? Use Dispute or Support, or join the Discussion.
Apollo 20 in January 1970; 18 and 19 in September.
Who says it: NASA.
He did, about rebuilding Moon capability.
Who says it: IBT.
Engineering records survive; what is gone is the factory and tooling.
Who says it: Viral posts.
The Saturn V line was closed in 1968; the industry must be rebuilt.
Who says it: Viral posts.
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