NASA tests vintage Apollo 11 rocket engine for ideas for new US missions

Fox News ^ | Jan 24, 2013 | AP

[Islander7]

A vintage rocket engine built to blast the first U.S. lunar mission into Earth's orbit more than 40 years ago is again rumbling across the Southern landscape.

The engine, known to NASA engineers as No. F-6049, was supposed to help propel Apollo 11 into orbit in 1969, when NASA sent Neil Armstrong and two other astronauts to the moon for the first time.

[Islander7]

About a dozen F-1 engines remain in Huntsville, home of NASA's main propulsion center, and others are located elsewhere. Most are on display; Case said engineers used engine No. F-6049 for the tests because it was the most complete.

"It is really an excellent booster," he said. "The guys in Apollo had it right."

[TomServo]

I was raised in Huntsville and it was great to hear the test firings as a boy. And 45 years later I’ve returned and it’s great to hear ‘em again.

[RFEngineer]

Now that we’re done wasting our time on Shuttle flights, we can get back to actual space exploration.

At least one guy at NASA understands. I doubt he’s got too much company

[Army Air Corps]

Designed and built at a time when NASA was focused on things like space exploration rather than being a shill for the anthropogenic global warming scam.

[Jonty30]

I’m just wondering if there’s a way to use Earth’s rotation to help leave orbit, without such large booster rockets?

Conceptually speaking, if you could go straight up, while the Earth rotates below, you’d eventually could go into space.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Designed and built at a time when NASA was focused on things like space exploration rather than being a shill for the anthropogenic global warming scam.

BINGO!

[SampleMan]

Rockets already use the Earth’s rotation. That is why they preferably launch to the East rather than to the West.

[central_va]

Take a class in Newtonian physics and get back to me.

[Obama_Is_Sabotaging_America]

Is that engine powerful enough for Muslim outreach? /s

[ExGeeEye]

This one is in the National Air and Space Museum in WDC. The mirrors around it simulate the presence of the cluster of five of them at the bottom of the Saturn V vehicle.

[Kozak]

Well if you could just stand still you would quickly be in space as the Earth continued in its orbit..

[tpmintx]

XKCD has this covered

[donaldo]

Yes, the first stage had five F-1s, collectively producing seven-and-a-half million pounds of thrust (one stationary and four gimballed). Those F-1s are monsters. Those five engines consumed 15 tons of propellants per second. A marvel of good ol’ American can do. This 360 foot tall rocket weighing as much as a Navy destroyer was propelled from 0 to 5,000 mph in two-and-a-half minutes by those F-1s!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAucpvJAFJM

[Renegade]

German engineering!

[Obama_Is_Sabotaging_America]

'Global warming' and 'climate change' have proven to be a great tool for indoctrinating the youth into accepting total government control over everything we do "for the Earth's sake".. Pledging allegiance NOT to our Flag, but to the Earth.. Sets them up beautifully for acceptance of global government and the abolition of American sovereignty.

0bama hates the 'American NASA' (versus the 'Mother Earth NASA') because the American NASA evoked too much patriotic nationalism for America. When's the last time NASA gave us THAT feeling, huh?

[donaldo]

Commander Borman is wrong here. As stated previously those thirsty F-1s consumed 15 tons (yes, that’s 30,000 lbs.) of propellants per second.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzCsDVfPQqk

[Kozak]

This is great news. I had read that ALL the technical plans for the Apollo project were gone.

[Obama_Is_Sabotaging_America]

My buddy had a miniature one of those:

POTATO GUN (Not on Feinstein's list?)

[Moonman62]

They began work on the F1 in the 1950’s and I believe they had done significant work on a 2 million pound thrust version by the time Apollo was scrapped.