Slashdot Mirror
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."
Since i really don't feel like registering for a WashPo account, does the article mention what type of funding they've been using?
Seems like it would be good for a company to donate money to help store these things. The Pepsi Saturn V storage facility, or something along those lines.
What strikes most people who stand next to it is how *big* it is. Yes it is big on the scale of a human. Maybe I'm weird, but what struck me was how *small* it is. It can go to the Moon and come back, yet it's smaller than a freight train.
Slashdot monitor for your Mozilla sidebar or Active Desktop.
Admittedly, preserving the Saturn is worthwhile, but how about you keep the general public excited about space by doing something new, instead of putting the past into prettier showcases?
NASA had several designs that were larger than the Saturn V that never made it into production. Most of them were called Nova something or other. One of them used 8 F1 motors in the first stage (compared to 5 for the Saturn V).
First, the things we build can barely last a few decades without being destroyed by something as simple as weather.
Second, we're so short sited that we cannot see the value protecting our own history.
If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
The last documentary I saw mentioned that the designs for them were destroyed as part of some deal in building the shuttle. In other words, NASA currently has no launch vehicles powerful enough to even send people to the moon, forget all the talk about Mars. Shuttles: Just say no to vehicle recycling.
vi? Who's that?
My alma mater, California State University, Fresno, had was was supposed to be a Saturn V motor out in front of one of it's buildings. By the time I was there in 1990-1994 it was hidden in the midst of some low-traffic buildings.
:)
Supposedly it was moved because it looked too much like a missile engine and missiles are for war, and that's bad.
I remember taking my girlfriend at the time who was a reporter for the campus newspaper to go see it. She had no idea it was even there. Yeah, she dug it -- shows that geeks really can attract girls
It was in pretty bad shape out in the elements at all, but it was impressive. I often wonder if it's still there a decade later, or if the weeds have clamed it.
I know that thing...I practically grew up in the shadows of the one at the Johnson Space Center. I've also seen the one that they put indoors at the Kennedy Space Center. Those things are impressive.
That said, I know the dilapadated state that the one in Clear Lake (man, I'm giving away my location: most people don't know that Johnson is in Clear Lake, not Houston) is in, and I can imagine that the one in Huntsville isn't in much better shape. It's rather sad to see this magnificent device that could take three people to the moon and return them safely in such a state.
I mean, I grew up imagining myself in the command module of that thing, on a revived moon mission (granted, they'd probably update some of the computer controls, but the general design philosophy would be exactly what one would need to make the return...wonder if the Chineese have thought about that). I'd love for my kids to be able to do the same thing, assuming that I make the decision to reproduce.
Now, if only they'd re-open most of Johnson Space Center to the public. After Disney took over tourist management, it's really not the same there. I remember the coolness that was Building 2 on that campus. It used to be the visitor's center. I also remember being able to eat in the same cafeteria with the engineers and astronauts training for their next missions, being able to walk into the gallery in building 31A at will except during an hour window during launch, during which it was filled with press (that's Mission Control for those not in the know), and just watching the ground control while they were doing their jobs. It was quite amazing, honestly. As a young child, it fueled my imagination more than what the current setup can do.
Haec merda tauri est. Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.
The Redstone was a scaled up V2. But then the V2 as pretty much a scaled up version of one of Robert Goddard's later rockets. Yes right down to the graphite vanes in the exhaust stream. I have got to wonder if maybe Charles Lindberg might have transfered some of the information on Goddard's work to the Germans. Before the war he was very pro Nazi and helped fund Goddard research. One has to wonder since when asked about the advanced nature of the V2 von Braun said "ask Goddard he did it all first." Not to mention that during his latter life Goddard was extermly secretive.
The Saturn V use LH2 and LOX for the second and third stages. Both used the J2 while the first stage used the kerosene and LOX powered F-1.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
When I worked for Intergraph in the 80's, they threw a big employee party and flew all of us into Huntsville. The party was at the Space and Rocket Center where Alan Shepard gave a keynote and we all got to meet him and Wally Schirra closeup. We had the run of the place and the most breathtaking exhibit was the Saturn V. They had the telemetry ring inside the building so you could get really close and see all the detail. It was amazing. Another lasting memory was taking the bus to see the Saturn V engine test stand. They said when they tested those engines, it rattled windows miles away!