Not including test articles, NASA purchased 15 Saturn V's for the Apollo Program. [SA-500-515]. My question is what would it take for NASA to secure a second production run of Saturn V's for a potential space station program in the 70's and 80's?
Senator Proxmire being assassinated?
There were many other reasons for the Saturn project being terminated, but Proxmire was a key leader in bringing all those together to kill the Saturn program.
Among other things run out the full Apollo moon exploration program. Fund a robust Skylab program, that requires more than one station. A NASA launch service tat loads multiple satilites on a single primary launch vehicle.
So more space hysteria following Apollo 11 produces more long-term support for the space program. Or you can take the Baxter route and have Kenndy survive his assassination, only to become a cheerleader for NASA. No Apollo 13 incident, leaving Nixon more open to manned missions. Apollo 15 remains an H-Class Mission, and Apollos 18-20 are flown into 1974.An expansion of the Saturn production run could be secured with him in office, it would just take more widespread public and presidential support for the program. Nixon was wary of further missions after Apollo 13, as a major loss in space could undo a lot of the soft power benefits--Apollo 1, but worse.
Senator Proxmire being assassinated?
There were many other reasons for the Saturn project being terminated, but Proxmire was a key leader in bringing all those together to kill the Saturn program.
Among other things run out the full Apollo moon exploration program. Fund a robust Skylab program, that requires more than one station. A NASA launch service tat loads multiple satilites on a single primary launch vehicle.