No "technology was lost." You have a magical conception of technology. We lost the ability to make F-1 engines for the same reason we lost the ability to purchase Studebaker automobiles: it was a limited production run, and after the run was over (or the demand market dried up), the supply base turned to other products or went out of business. A lot of the manufacturing information was embedded in hand-me-down "tribal knowledge," and when the tribe retired and died, that went with them. (A good argument for systematic and complete documentation.)
The F-1 "production line" was over with. People talked about bringing it back, but it would have meant starting all over again from scratch, and no one wanted to foot the bill. It didn't mean we lost the technology of making rocket engines. We went on to make the Space Shuttle Main Engine---which is now in its waning years. SpaceX comes along, newcomer on the block, and starts making rocket engines for its own use. Now they have the Raptor engine, which compares to the F-1 and they are flying it with gusto.
Go find a Studebaker and drive it around. Or an American Motors car. Pontiac, Mercury, Plymoth, and Oldsmobile will be equally unknown in another decade or so. Does their demise mean we have "lost the technology"? Of course not. We have lost them as products, and all we can say is "boo-hoo."
Get some humility and learn some history. You are in a very poor position to look down with scorn on NASA when they were doing the right things.
No "technology was lost." You have a magical conception of technology. We lost the ability to make F-1 engines for the same reason we lost the ability to purchase Studebaker automobiles: it was a limited production run, and after the run was over (or the demand market dried up), the supply base turned to other products or went out of business. A lot of the manufacturing information was embedded in hand-me-down "tribal knowledge," and when the tribe retired and died, that went with them. (A good argument for systematic and complete documentation.)
The F-1 "production line" was over with. People talked about bringing it back, but it would have meant starting all over again from scratch, and no one wanted to foot the bill. It didn't mean we lost the technology of making rocket engines. We went on to make the Space Shuttle Main Engine---which is now in its waning years. SpaceX comes along, newcomer on the block, and starts making rocket engines for its own use. Now they have the Raptor engine, which compares to the F-1 and they are flying it with gusto.
Go find a Studebaker and drive it around. Or an American Motors car. Pontiac, Mercury, Plymoth, and Oldsmobile will be equally unknown in another decade or so. Does their demise mean we have "lost the technology"? Of course not. We have lost them as products, and all we can say is "boo-hoo."
Get some humility and learn some history. You are in a very poor position to look down with scorn on NASA when they were doing the right things.