"...Saturn V..."
Beautiful. I’m covered with goosebumps.
One thing I always wanted to see in person but never got the chance. Had to settle for watching launches on TV.
We just saw the Saturn V on display at the Kennedy Space Center a few days ago. Its size is truly amazing.
Some amazing footage here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXh3YRtTiGg
Those five F-1 engines combined burned 15 tons of propellents per second.The turbo pumps feeding the engines were rated at over 50,000 hp. Much has been written about the voracious appetite of the Saturn V’s S-IC (first) stage engines: They could consume the propellant equivalent of a backyard swimming pool in 10 seconds. They could empty an Olympic-size swimming pool in about 2 ½ minutes. The liquid oxygen (LOX) alone is equivalent to 54 railroad tank cars.
It took a lot of hard work to solve the instability of combustion in the F-1s. It was finally resolved by a system of baffles on the injector plates.
I was lucky to have been able to see one of the space shuttle launches. It was just before dawn and right on schedule. Amazing!
Was this the first test launch?
I can recall Walter Cronkite covering the first test from an outdoor studio at what was then called Cape Kennedy.
The vibrations from the launch were so intense that the plate glass window in Cronkite’s studio collapsed inward, and Cronkite had to do his whole broadcast holding up the window so it wouldn’t fall on him.
As I recall, they had to rebuild the launch pad to allow more exhaust to vent horizontally, and, again from memory, on the next test launch they used multiple high velocity water jets at the base of the pad for the first time to suppress or dissipate vibration.
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.
The SLS rocket is taller but not as wide then the Saturn V (SLS 27 feed wide Saturn V is 33 feet wide)
Brought back memories of the teacher rolling the TV cart into the classroom, so we could watch the launches live.
November 9, 1967
First all up test
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.
I miss our space program. We should have been on Mars by now, but we had welfare rats to feed instead.
We used to see them from my roof in Miami. About a minute after launch they would become visible. A pinkish trail of some width. Awesome.
Disappointing. Lots of noise, but a Titan doesn't leave a visible trail in daylight. Still, we could say we saw one.
Disappointing. Lots of noise, but a Titan doesn't leave a visible trail in daylight. Still, we could say we saw one.
Disappointing. Lots of noise, but a Titan doesn't leave a visible trail in daylight. Still, we could say we saw one.
Disappointing. Lots of noise, but a Titan doesn't leave a visible trail in daylight. Still, we could say we saw one.