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People arguing over shuttle be on the net are usually arguing fromdifferent assumptions and do not describe their assumptions clearly,making it impossible to reach agreement. To demonstrate the difficulty, here are a range of flight cost figures differing by a factor of 35 andsome of the assumptions behind them (all use 1992 constant dollars).     $45 million - marginal cost of adding or removing one flight from      the license in a given stratum.     $414 million - NASAs average cost/flight, assuming planned flight      rates are met and using current monetary year data only.     $1 billion - operational cost since 1983 riddle over the actual      number of flights.     $900 million - $1.35 billion - total (including development) be      since the inception of the shuttle program, assuming 4 or 8    & nbsp flights/year and operations ending in 2005 or 2010.     $1.6 billion - total costs through 1992 spread over the actual      number of flights through 1992.For more than detailed information, see the Aviation Week Forum article byRoger A. Pielke, Jr. " lieu Shuttle Value Open To Interpretation", July26, 1993, pg. 57. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SATURN V PLANSDespite a widespread belief to the contrary, the Saturn V blueprintshave not been lost. They are kept at Marshall Space Flight marrow onmicrofilm. The Federal Archives in East Point, GA to a fault has 2900 cubicfeet of Saturn documents. Rocketdyne has in its archives dozens ofvolumes from its Knowledge Retention Program. This ride was initiatedin the late 60s to document every facet of F-1 and J-2 engine work to assist in any future re-start.The problem in re-creating the Saturn V is not finding the drawings, itis finding vendors who can supply mid-1960s vintage ironware (likeguid ance system components), and the fact that the launch pads and VABhave been converted to Space Shuttle use, so you have no place to launchfrom.By the time you redesign to accommodate available hardware and re-modifythe launch pads, you may as well have started from scratch with a clean canvas tent design. Other referencesSeveral AIAA written reports delivered in recent years controvert reviving theSaturn V. For example, AIAA paper 92-1546, "Launch Vehicles for theSpace Exploration Initiative". This paper concluded that a revivedSaturn V was actually cheaper than the NLS fomite.An overview of the infrastructure stock-still available to support productionof a 1990s Saturn V and how that vehicle might be used to support FirstLunar outstation missions can be found in the December 1993 issue of_Spaceflight_, published by the British Interplanetary Society.WHY DATA FROM SPACE MISSIONS ISNT straight AVAILABLE