NASA Proposes High-Tech Fix for Shaking Moon Rocket:

You know, when I heard months ago that the new NASA moon launch vehicle had a major problem with vibration, ( So bad in fact that many astronauts have stated unofficially that they would have grave concerns about launch safety.) I remember asking what genius let this one slide through? Now I hear from the Gizmodo blog:

• NASA engineers have announced how they're going to deal with a potentially serious vibration problem in the crew-launched Ares I: springs.

WHAT?!!! Oh yes, you read right. Big springs and weights (oh yes, knowing very well how fiendishly expensive it is to launch anything out of Earth's gravity well and with a wealth of material already available on heavy lift, NASA again is trying to reinvent the wheel. The dichotomy is difficult to understand. They will copy the Apollo crew capsule and then disregard one of the shinning achievements of the Apollo era the Saturn lift system. It's a baby/bathwater event. With the present level of motor technology available, I am sure they could make the Saturn more efficient. But designing a whole new system that has yet to be man rated seems extraordinarily wasteful.

<- read more about the Aries 1 work arounds on Gizmodo -> Plus, Gizmodo's cartoon is funny!