CEV or Apollo

Stover, Dawn. "CEV Vs. Apollo." CNN. 3 Mar. 2006. 10 Dec. 2006 http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/03/03/cev.vs.apollo/index.html.

This artifact is comparing the CEV v. the Apollo the article starts out with talking about when Michael Griffin unveiled the CEV. Many people say the CEV is an "Apollo on steroids." The shows that the CEV although similar in looks it is different from the Apollo spacecraft. They compare 5 things between the CEV and the Apollo. They are size, launch, range, controls and landing. In all of these categories the article sates that The CEV is better then the Apollo.

The article goes into detail about the difference in size. It states that the CEV will be bigger in diameter, 18ft versus the 13ft of the Apollo. Yet the spacecraft will only be 10 to 15 percent heavier. The CEV will also be able to hold more people and be less cramped. This will lead to a more comfortable and enjoyable experience for our astronauts. The article also talks about the launch. The Apollo lunched on the largest rockets ever made. The CEV will launch with smaller rockets then in earth orbit it will meet up with the rest of the rockets to reach the moon.

The next point was the range. The article states that since the CEV will hold more fuel than the Apollo it can land anywhere on the moon unlike the Apollo. Then the article talks about the controls, it states that the computers on the CEV are much more advance than the Apollo. This will lead to The CEV being able to fly on autopilot around the moon while the astronauts can be on the surface of the moon. The next point is about the CEV's capsule landing on land and not the ocean. This would mean no costly recovery mission/efforts.

The CEV seems more advance then The Apollo. The CEV has the advantage over the Apollo in all of these five fields.

Questions:
1. Are there any disadvantages to the CEV?
2. Can it hold as much as the Apollo?