Apollo Moon Booster Still Flies as Detailed Model Rocket

space.com ^ | October 29, 2003 | Jim Banke

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Saturn V

Johnson Space Center Rocket Park

Best known are the three Saturn V vehicles displayed horizontally in Florida, Alabama, and Texas. Only the Texas display represents a complete flight vehicle. Less well known are the two Saturn I and two Saturn IB rockets on display. Three of these once-famous "cluster boosters" are displayed vertically in Alabama. The only complete Saturn I/IB flight article is displayed horizontally in Florida.

Only one Saturn V, at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, has a complete set of flight-ready hardware. Its first and third stages (S-1C-14 and S-IVB-513) had been assigned to the cancelled Apollo 18 mission. Its second stage (S-II-15) came from the SA-515 Skylab backup booster.

Apollo 18's second stage (S-II-14) is displayed with the restored Saturn V at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Saturn V Visitors Center in Florida. The KSC Saturn V also has the S-1C-T All Systems Test first stage, known as "T-Bird" - the very first S-1C assembled by MSFC beginning in 1963, and the S-IVB-514 third stage. The third stage was assigned to Apollo 19 when that mission was cancelled. *** Source

[E. Pluribus Unum]

To the BATF this is just another explosive device, and anyone who owns one should be incinerated in their compound.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

[MarkeyD]

I have fond memories of my Estes rockets I built as a kid.

[Jim Cane]

Nah, this is a job for Aschroft's goons. The guy is definitely a terrorist and will be put on double secret probation for the audacious crime of competing against
NASA and running a more successful program.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Fortieth Anniversary Audio and Video Clips

Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the Moon, entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1968. That evening, the astronauts; Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders did a live television broadcast from lunar orbit, in which they showed pictures of the Earth and Moon seen from Apollo 8. Lovell said, "The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth." They ended the broadcast with the crew taking turns reading from the book of Genesis.

William Anders:

"For all the people on Earth the crew of Apollo 8 has a message we would like to send you".

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."

Jim Lovell: "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."

Frank Borman:

"And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good."

Borman then added, "And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth."

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Fortieth Anniversary Audio and Video Clips

[adx]

Surprised the ACLU didn't go apesh*t over that. Y'know, mentioning that "G-d" thingy.

[Ignatz]

I built many Estes rockets in my teens...and now I build them with my 11 year old daughter!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

People around the world loved it.

[Jim Cane]

Surprised the ACLU didn't go apesh*t over that. Y'know, mentioning that "G-d" thingy.

Don't worry, he was talking about "Ceremonial God" (but he better not let it happen again.)

[adx]

Darn shame it was before my time (born in '76, less than a week after the Bicentennial).

[Flyer]

Former Estes rocketeer bump. Now that I have the patience and skill to build a rocket that would fly more than once maybe I should revisit the hobby.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Stick around we're going back.

Presidential review on space policy heading to closure***As of late October, sources indicate that a central recommendation is likely, but not certainly to be resumption of manned lunar flights to develop advanced technologies that can support U.S. astronauts working beyond Earth orbit to not only the Moon, but eventually on near-Earth asteroids and Mars.

In an early phase of the meetings, manned Mars expeditions were considered too expensive and risky to adopt as a central goal for the civil space program. But Bush is being urged to factor in future interplanetary manned flight capabilities as part of the justification for a return to the moon. The last U.S. manned lunar mission was conducted by the Apollo 17 crew in December, 1972.

Sources indicate the policy review has been a deliberative process "not driven by any crash program mentality" but focused on how a new major manned space goal could both mobilize the U.S. space industry as well as boost morale at NASA. One person who spoke directly with Bush early in the process said the president was initially skeptical that a manned return to the Moon could be conducted for reasonable costs. Bush allegedly said then that he would not seek a massive increase of space spending.

Throughout the summer and fall, multiple groups in what was described as very small numbers have been exploring various options for new goals. Among those studied, sources say were a replacement vehicle for the space shuttle fleet, manned Moon bases and missions to Mars. An effort was also made to study how robotic missions and systems could either adjunct or replace manned flights. Strengthening of unmanned missions is also believed to be among the goals Bush is likely

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Now that I have the patience and skill to build a rocket that would fly more than once maybe I should revisit the hobby.

LOL - I bet you and thousands of others!

[AFreeBird]

Here's a pic of the Saturn V and Saturn 1B models.

Click the pic to go to Apogee's website and check out their other kits. They've got some really cool ones.

[dasboot]

Thanks for reminding me of that moment. I didn't appreciate it when I was 11.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Thanks for the picture!

[Flyer]

The model rocket companies made their best money from kids like me that never built a rocket that would fly twice - built in repeat business!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump!