<VV> My Plans for Monday

[Tony Underwood]

At 01:44 AM 7/18/2009, Chris & Bill Strickland wrote:

> >I can remember looking up at the Moon that evening trying to imagine
> >what it was like to be there..
> >
>After watching the landing and first steps on the tellyvision -- guess
>I'm a youngster, hadn't yet bought my first Corvair.
>
>The antique technology they used to get there is just scary -- they were
>very brave men!



Maybe antique now...


Then, it was state of the art, designed by one of the most brilliant 
men to work for NASA (von Braun) who sat down with little help and 
cooked up the design for the Saturn platform booster rocket... with a 
slide rule and pencil and paper.


It was almost depressingly simple in principle although 
technologically complicated.   The primary lifter's engines were 
amazingly powerful, with 3750 TONS of thrust that makes them the most 
kick-ass lifter engines to ever leave the ground even through 
today.    And the fuel they used to do this was kerosene.

No liquid hydrogen in the Saturn primary booster, although the 
secondary stage engines did use liquid hydrogen and O2.   Amazing 
stuff... kerosene.     ;)


The Saturn-V launch vehicle was capable of placing 145 tons into 
orbit around the planet, and could deliver 50 tons of payload to the 
moon.   It's also one of the very few lift systems ever used in 
anyone's space program with a perfect launch history, never a single 
failure of any Saturn lifter and that includes the tests of the 
initial prototypes.

If you're ever in FL and get the chance, take the tour.



tony..     attended the tour at the Kennedy Space center