[PA Engineer]

Yep. I've been to the space center three times to show younger family members what we were as a country. That rocket at the museum was put there after the program was cancelled. It never flew. In my opinion, that is when we turned as a country in a major wrong direction.

I've stood there for hours staring at that rocket. I've counted the military plugs and realized someone had to solder every connection and the QA/QC had to be right every time. I have also been amazed at the thrust chamber, nozzle extension and the thousands of hours that went into the construction.

Slide rules and mylar. I'm just shaking my head and face palming. As evidenced by this thread, we are not the same country we were then.

[roadcat]

I've stood there for hours staring at that rocket.

I was there maybe 20 years ago with my wife and daughters when they were teens. Wish I had hours, but we were there just for a day.

Seeing all the rockets reminded me of when I was a kid, the principal ushered a select few including me into a room to watch live broadcasts on B&W TV of our astronauts blasting off into space. We were a can-do nation back then. I still own a couple slide rules I had in the old days, and like you am amazed at what got designed and built with them. Kids nowadays have it easy with computers and have it bad with slacker "role models" and "leaders".

[tumblindice]

“... we are not the same country we were then.”

1900-1950: harnessing the atom, space travel, etc.
1950-2000: Affirmative Action, Barack Obama, etc.