Saturn V Restored
One of only three surviving Saturn V rockets - the booster for the Apollo moon missions - has been refurbished, housed in a special building and reopened to the public 38 years to the day after man first set foot on the moon. Nice timing.
The Saturn V on display outside Johnson Space Center for two decades would be 30 stories high if stood upright. But the rocket, one of the most powerful ever built, was no match for the city's stifling humidity. A two-year, $5 million restoration was culminating in reopening ceremonies Friday — 38 years to the day after men first walked on the moon.
The rocket, which is already open to visitors, is now housed inside a climate-controlled, barn-like building near the entrance to the space center. Posters alongside the rocket's different sections explain their function to visitors.
Former astronaut Alan Bean, who walked on the moon in 1969 on the Apollo 12 mission, said preserving the rocket was important because it is a symbol of America's success in space exploration and the country's innovative spirit.
"It's inspirational to look at it and think that human beings just like us conceived it, designed it and built it," he said. "It shows human beings at their best."
Saturn V rockets were launched 13 times from 1967 to 1973. Eight missions traveled to the moon, and six landed there. A Saturn V also put Skylab, America's first space station, into orbit in 1973.
I have been to see the one housed at the Kennedy Space Center. You simply cannot comprehend the size of these things until you have walked under one. Thirty stories tall, the most powerful rocket ever built. There were 32 Saturns of various types launched in total - not one failed.
By rlpete2, Friday, 20 July , 2007 @ 12:34 pm
I remember the frustration of the Vanguard program: most of them were dismal failures. Very disheartening to a young boy who had been enthralled of the idea of space travel by the Walt disney series on the matter. And remember Kennedy’s pledge that we would send a man to the moon and bring him back.
For me, the greatest reward of the Apollo program was not the photos of the men on the Moon, but the image of Spaceship Earth floating among the stars. What a beautiful jewel our world is.
What has happened to the “can do” attitude that enabled us to bring back moon rocks? Why are we not applying a modern version of that commitment to renewable energy? Where problems used to be challenges, now they are excuses.
If Nixon had been smart instead of loyal, he could have blamed the burglary on overzealous staff members, and he would have provided the leadership to make our nation energy selfsufficient. Aside from the question of global warming, it would have made OPEC nearly irrelevant, and Osama’s financiers would have had less money for mischief.
Thanks for the article, for reminding me what a great country we can be when we put our heart into it. I’ve got to make a visit to a Saturn.