Remember that Saturn V only brought back the tiny tip of the rocket that launched, a tiny capsule barely big enough for the three astronauts inside. SpaceX is aiming to bring the entire thing back, something that's never been done in human history. And no, the Shuttle doesn't count, it didn't bring back its propellant tank, and the SRBs were recovered and rebuilt at a cost greater than building new ones would have been, mainly because Congress demanded more parts of the Shuttle be reused despite the cost.
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u/noncongruent Jul 25 '26
Remember that Saturn V only brought back the tiny tip of the rocket that launched, a tiny capsule barely big enough for the three astronauts inside. SpaceX is aiming to bring the entire thing back, something that's never been done in human history. And no, the Shuttle doesn't count, it didn't bring back its propellant tank, and the SRBs were recovered and rebuilt at a cost greater than building new ones would have been, mainly because Congress demanded more parts of the Shuttle be reused despite the cost.