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Saturn V Preservation Efforts
PizzaFace writes "Saturn V: The rocket that took man to the moon remains a totem of its time and a magnificent memento of youthful superpower. Yet Slashdot reported a year ago on the neglect suffered by the Saturn V rockets that were not launched into space. Some progress is being made toward preserving these awesome vehicles. The Kennedy Space Center has already brought its Saturn in from the rain; Houston and Huntsville are putting shelters up this year and working on funding for restoration and more permanent indoor exhibits. These gigantic masterpieces of 20th century engineering deserve a visit - maybe a pilgrimage."
The Saturns are absolutely incredible. Currently they are (have been) out in the open along with several other rockets, including Redstone and others from the early days of NASA. Several engines are also outside where one can walk around them. It was after a pilgrimage there that my now 13 year old announced that he wanted to become an aerospace engineer.
To those making the pilgrimage, a trip to Space Center, adjacent to the Johnson Space Center complex is also an absolute must do, especially if you have offspring.
We visited a few years ago and it's great to see it inside. An awesome display. If you are inspired by things mechanical and have never visited - go!
Some corporations are already making contributions to this effort and are bidding for name rights. However, given the alternatives, i.e. tax payers shelling out even more money on a space related program, perhaps it's best that we preserve this historical monuments in anyway possible.
Re the account, I didn't need to get one, not sure how that worked...
Re the funding, they're floating a loan, NASA's kicking in part of the gate from the Canaveral visitor's center, they're selling vanity license plates and some other stuff.
I'm sure I missed something, but that's the caffeine deprivation talking.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens.
The Kennedy Space Flight Center museum is up and running. I visited it two weeks ago. The museum is supported by admission fees; no tax dollars are involved. The Saturn is in a complex that includes the original Apollo launch control center, and part of the tour is a recreation of the Apollo 8 launch, which was the first Saturn V lanuch. I took lots of pictures; this was the most powerful engine built, after all, though I think the Delta 4 Heavy might be more powerful.
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Here's some inglorious snaps of the Kennedy Space Center preservation of the Saturn V that I did back in the "bad old days" of using only a 3MP digital.
To say the least, it is an awesome job that they did. In Huntsville, there are two Saturn V's, albeit one erect, the other on it's side. Both are outside. I have photos of those too, and will put them on my site tonight. Check back if you are interested.
Nova -A Specifications.
he Nova was to be our Manned Mars exploration lifting body. It would be powerful enough to lift the "landing party" and ALL of their supporting equipment, out of the Terrestrial gravity well. One must remember that at this point in time, rockets were blowing up with apalling frequency on or near the launch site, so designing these spacecraft took an incredible leap of faith. In most cases, these designs are based on then-existing technologies, such as the F-1 liquid-fueled rocket engine, or the J-2 second stage liquid fueled rocket engine. Some avant guarde technology was envisioned, though - note solid-rocket boosters on some of the larger NASA design variants of the Nova.
Also notable is the presence of several nuclear powered rockets. Nuclear power for rocket design was abandoned because it was felt that technology would not support the development of such a craft until certain base technologies became viable. The primary technology necessary was related to the development of a safe containment capability that would house the nuclear reactor and requisite material, and keep it safe from ANY damage imaginable - and some of the unimaginable ! Such technology is still beyond our capabilities.
Note the Aerospike design at the very bottom image - Martin Marietta Advanced Designs - anotated R10R-2, with 424 K thrust. The aerospike is a timeless design that gets dusted off and retried every time the technologies are deemed to have advanced sufficiently far enough. Does it look familiar ? Like the inlet to a high-speed jet engine (ala SR-71) ? The aerospike had its contibutions to both technologies !
Nova - Project Overview
Just a note from a Huntsvillian: there are actually two Saturn V's on display in the Huntsville area. The one getting the big bucks for restoration is within Huntsville city limits on the grounds of the US Space and Rocket Center.
The other is actually at a state-owned rest stop on I-65, 20 or so miles north-west (as the crow flies) of Huntsville. It's at the welcome-center when crossing the Alabama/Tennessee border.
While the rocket on display at the USSRC may need restoration, the one at the rest-stop is in awful shape. Too bad the state is too cash-scrapped to even think about touching that one.
Oddly enough as I sit here and read this, I am in my Florida hotel. I just visited the KSC yesterday. I must say there facility for the Saturn V is impressive.
;)
After being treated to a movie and a simulated launch on the real (not mock) Launch Control hardware, you get to walk through the door and take in this enormous machine. I must say, the craft is pristine. Aside from a tiny bit of rust on the Escape Tower, the paint and metal body is perfect. A big piece of history preserved the way it should be.
I would assume that future plans for the other Saturn Vs would be similar though I don't know the difference in annual visitors between the other two centers and if it would be worth it to do such a grandiose thing for 2 more of them.
Perhaps they could just truck the other 2 to Florida and expand the exhibit?
Anyway, I just want to say, if you're a geek on vacation in Florida, Kennedy Space Center is pretty killer and a must-see.
I just wasted your mod points! HA!
The enclosure for the rocket at the Kennedy Space Center in fact does have mission control - i.e. the original computers, terminals, and other equipment - in semi-working order. It's part of a display / demonstration they have at the space center. Its worth the hour drive from DisneyWorld to go see. If you have children, definately spend the extra cash and have lunch with an astronaut.
For all those people who are thinking or posted, "what's the big deal?" or "The rocket is just a big tube with chemical propellent." Think again. I used to be one of these people.
Since I have children, pilgrimages to the Orlando area once every couple of years has become requisite because of a certain multi-national entertainment conglomerate that happens to be very good at marketing to children. On a recent trip, I insisted that we all go to the Kennedy Space Center for a visit while we were there. Everybody was not too enthusastic about losing an entire day at the theme parks to drive an hour and a half to the coast just to see a "bigger airport".
Once we got there, it was amazing how people's opinions changed, but the biggest hit of the day was the multimedia presentation and tour of the indoor Saturn V rocket. I was skeptical myself as to how entertaining this portion of the visit would be, but it was by-far the best part of the KSC tour. The way they have this thing mounted allows you to walk under the rocket. Also, at each of the separation joints, they separated the components so you can see the machinery and technology that made the rocket work. It was like walking into the garage where they keep one of the baddest vehicles know to man and someone opens the hood for your inspection.
I highly recommend the bus tour of the Kennedy Space Center if you are remotely close to it. It is one of the best ways to gain insight of how those things actually flew. (Not to mention all the other cool things you'll see like the Shuttle Launch Facillity and the ISS Fabrication Facillity.) As far as preservation of the other Saturn Vs, if they are trying to build something similar to what is in KSC, then I'm all for it.
"Ahhhh, best laid plans of mice and men... and Cookie Monster." -- Cookie Monster, Sesame Street
I have one of those nifty home-delivery accounts, read it on the way in.
The funding is a public/private partnership grant promoted by Hillary Clinton under the name Save America's Treasures. Under the program the federal government provides matching grant money to supplement private sponsorships. For every federal dollar contributed, there is a private dollar raised.
But what about the tech that REALLY got man to the moon. Saturn V is just a big WWII rocket, the thing that made the difference was the IBM computing "power" that directed the thing.
You might say the the monster SIC stage was of WWII vintage, though the F1 engines were gigantic and employed innovative turbomachinery and cooling. It was designed by Von Braun's V2 team. The SII and SIVB H2/O2 stages were truly revolutionary. They are the main reason why the Saturn V had such a huge payload mass fraction (3.8%). As you say, the IBM instrument and guidance programming were also of tremendous importance. There were several instances of 'engine out' during Apollo and all events were smartly handled by the IU.
an ill wind that blows no good
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Not exactly. NASA says that the designs are still around and archived, but that they are basically useless. The Saturn V is made of a huge number of parts, and the majority of them are simply not made anymore. Although some of those parts are obviously custom-built anyway, many are not, and it would take a huge investment to recreate that 60's-era industrial infrastructure. We would be better off designing a new, modern rocket than trying to recreate a Saturn V.
I have seen the future, and it is inconvenient.
If you want to get a better idea of what it takes to restore a mighty Saturn V, I have on my website an article from the December 1996/ January 1997 issue of Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine an article that details the efforts involved in restoring the one in Florida.
The same company is being tapped for the Huntsville Saturn V and I would imagine the one in Texas, also.
The Google cache of the first page (my poor little website can't afford a Slashdotting) can be found here and the second page will load from my site, but at least I've cut my load in half.
People should read this.
And after you do, feel free to make a donation to help save the Saturn V Werner von Braun left the U.S. Space & Rocket Center