You can also see a Saturn V, other rockets, lunar landers, etc. at:
U.S. Space & Rocket Center
One Tranquility Base, Huntsville, Alabama
https://www.rocketcenter.com/
Posted on 01/19/2018 11:07:08 PM PST by beaversmom
“Someday we will do such things again”
First everybody needs to understand why we can’t have nice things anymore.
You can still buy DVD’s from Spacecraft Films. I rented these a long time ago on Netflix. They have different eras. Gemini, Saturn V and Apollo. You can still find some on Amazon. Great footage from multiple camera angles and it is loud when listening to the launches.
Thanks, I did not know about Spacecraft Films.
The SLS rocket is taller but not as wide then the Saturn V (SLS 27 feed wide Saturn V is 33 feet wide)
In late 1968 and early 69 I was living close to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and witnessed two or three Saturn launches. We never knew when they were going to be launched but there was no mistaking them they were at night and they lit the sky up like daylight and they were so loud you couldn’t hear yourself think. Overall very spectacular.
“Was this the first test launch?”
There was a short series of Saturn rockets that culminated in the Saturn V. The command module of Apollo 1 burned up on the pad with crew aboard in January of ‘67, so the first test launch of the Saturn V was probably before the launch seen in the new video.
Mercury > Gemini > Apollo...
Brought back memories of the teacher rolling the TV cart into the classroom, so we could watch the launches live.
I have not seen nor heard a Saturn launch but I have witnessed quite a few other launches out at Vandenberg AFB, CA and they are loud and they shake everything for miles.
The largest launch vehicle I have witnessed was a Titan IV and it was spectacular. The smallest was the Minuteman ICBM (I even got to turn keys on one of those babies once!) and even they create a racket for many miles.
November 9, 1967
First all up test
Duly noted!
Also had problems in longitudinal vibrations aka “POGO”
which caused damage to second stage (2 nd test launch in April 1968 had premature shutdown of engines in 2nd stage and failure of restart in 3rd stage caused by broken fuel lines)
Vibrations were so severe that could injure the crew
Threatened to derail the Apollo program - fix was found by using helium to dampen the vibrations
I’ve seen multiple shuttle launches...one from the beach just south of the launch pad, many from where I lived in south FL about 150 miles away, and a couple from north central Fl, about 150 miles away...they were always spectacular. Unfortunately, this includes the Challenger launch which exploded aloft.
It was. My father worked at NASA in the 60s and early 70s. We lived on Cocoa Beach and I was just like the kids in that video, watching launches from our front porch. I also got to watch the Apollo 8, Apollo 11, and Apollo 12 launches from the dignitary stands. It was quite a thrill for a child.
I was home sick that day with a very bad head cold. Early that morning I got a call from my eldest nieces’ school to come pick her up as she was sick too and I was her mom’s back up since her mom was at work. I had just come home and put my niece to bed and turned on the TV to watch the launch. It took a while for me to process and understand what had happened. I remember the voice of the com saying “obviously a major malfunction” and then a long period of silence.
Later
This was back when NASA was the pride of America before it was taken over by global warming idiots and their socialistic agenda!!!
I grew up on the Space Coast. My dad flew the planes that tracked the Apollo and Sky Lab missions. The pride we all felt when we watched a launch can’t be put into words. Those who grew up in the area understand.
In the early 80’s I moved out of the area. 25 years later I moved back. First launch I saw after moving back brought tears to my eyes. I was home.
Great post.
Yet another example of the complexity of the engineering necessary to meet Kennedy’s challenge of putting a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth before the decade was out.
Hard to believe, but the LEM delivered each time - twelve men on the moon, and all twelve returning. Let that sink in. Not to mention Apollo 13. It seemed almost impossible given that fire on the Cape. The Command Module set the program back at least a year. But they finally got it right.
The whole thing was simply remarkable, including the Mercury and Gemini programs. And let’s not forget the contribution of John C. Houbolt who came up with the idea of Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR). That was a hard sell but once Von Braun came on board it was a done deal.
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