Saturn V was the product of german engineering and one of the worlds most reliable rockets. the mercedes W123 of its day. the space shuttle was (and is) an attempt to "save costs" and create a reusable space craft. nice idea, but in the end it has blown up a few times and taken a few people with it. think "doing it right" vs "budget cuts".

a few years back, I met a retired Navy Seal who was on the team who picked up the the Apollo 13 astronauts. he said their heart rates and blood pressure readings were just slightly higher than normal. the result of many hours of training for ANY situation. they kept a cool head and that is one of the many reasons they made it home. quite a team and quite a space craft.