Who remembers...

[For Us All]

The launcher was a Saturn V rocket SA 506 designed by Werner Von Braun and Arthur Rudolph. It used the powerful new F-1 and J-2 rocket engines for propulsion and when it was tested at Stennis Space Center,these engines shattered the windows of nearby houses.

[For Us All]

Whilst on the Apollo topic, I can’t help but think was Jack Swigert the luckiest or unluckiest astronaut in history. Possibly both !

 

Ken Mattingly was due to be part of the ill fated Apollo 13 crew, but was replaced by Swigert at the last minute due to possible health issues with Mattingly.

 

On one hand, Swigert gets an amazingly unexpected chance to go to the moon, on the other it almost cost him his life !

 

Swigert was also the one who stirred the air tanks which caused the explosion ! How to win friends and influence people eh !

 

How NASA got those three men back is beyond belief. I used to rush home from school to find out the latest updates. It engrossed by life. Homework was definitely on the back burner for those few days.

 

Gosh, as a young science mad lad, those were exciting days !

 

I have been lucky enough to visit the Kennedy Space Center on two occasions and it really does open your eyes.The first time we went in 2005 was to witness the launching of Discovery but it was postponed due to fuel sensor problems.Just to visit Launch pad 39A though and see the shuttle waiting to go was a sight to behold.

[RailwayRowdy]

The launcher was a Saturn V rocket SA 506 designed by Werner Von Braun and Arthur Rudolph. It used the powerful new F-1 and J-2 rocket engines for propulsion and when it was tested at Stennis Space Center,these engines shattered the windows of nearby houses.

 

Von Braun’s part in all of this is of course very contentious.

 

Von Braun, architect of the German V1 &V2 rockets, knew his worth at the end of WW2.

 

Germany was of course the leader in ballistic missiles at this time. The west and USA in particular wanted a part of it. In fact, they wanted all of it.

 

Von Braun knew the game was up for Germany circa 1944. He hid all his research documents and literally waited for the West to capture him, knowing he held all the aces.

 

Meanwhile the Nuerenburg trials find the remaining Nazi leadership guilty and are sentenced to death. But suddenly Von Braun, who’s rockets could have spelt defeat for the West, becomes Germany's MVP.

 

Standards of the double variety or what !

 

However a fantastic scientist, despite his “previous”

[RailwayRowdy]

I have been lucky enough to visit the Kennedy Space Center on two occasions and it really does open your eyes.The first time we went in 2005 was to witness the launching of Discovery but it was postponed due to fuel sensor problems.Just to visit Launch pad 39A though and see the shuttle waiting to go was a sight to behold.

 

When visiting our daughter in Lakeland Florida, I tried to persuade her and my wife to visit Cape Canaveral.

 

It fell on deaf ears.

 

Apparently Space exploration is “a complete waste of tax payers money”

[SourceOfTheTrent]

The launcher was a Saturn V rocket SA 506 designed by Werner Von Braun and Arthur Rudolph. It used the powerful new F-1 and J-2 rocket engines for propulsion and when it was tested at Stennis Space Center,these engines shattered the windows of nearby houses.

 

I built an Airfix Saturn V rocket and remember it really bringing into focus the scale of what the real thing must have been like. For anyone that remembers them it was a massive model with a tiny lunar capsule on the top that the astronauts would have occupied giving a really good perspective of the size of the actual rocket. What a sight to behold it must have been in real life.

[For Us All]

PEDANT WARNING!!!

 

Whilst indeed both the eagle landed and Armstrong set foot on the moon’s surface on 20th USA Eastern time, it was not until the early hours of the 21st GMT that this bleary eyed 10 year old watched those grainy images of man’s first lunar steps.

 

I was totally fascinated with the 60’s “Space Race” and for me it was a sad day when the 12th and final American left the moon in 1972.

 

As interesting as SkyLab and other projects to come were, NOTHING could compare to seeing a human walking on quite literally foreign “soil”

 

What is surprising looking back at that monumentus achievement, is that they were on the moon less than 24 hours !

 

That’s a long way to go for a day trip !

 

The year got even better of course as I witnessed Vale’s long unbeaten run from the start of the season and ultimately saw my first Vale promotion.

 

Space travel & Vale. You can’t beat it !

 

If you are into space travel I highly recommend the book 'Riding Rockets' by Richard 'Mike' Mullane,you won't regret it.Mike was a former astronaut who hosted a lunch we attended when we visited in 2005.He was writing the book at the time based on his experiences,including his three space shuttle missions.He covers a question I asked him at the lunch concerning his thoughts when he first saw planet earth from space.A brilliant book which NASA,I think,dreaded coming out?

A must read.

[RailwayRowdy]

If you are into space travel I highly recommend the book 'Riding Rockets' by Richard 'Mike' Mullane,you won't regret it.Mike was a former astronaut who hosted a lunch we attended when we visited in 2005.He was writing the book at the time based on his experiences,including his three space shuttle missions.He covers a question I asked him at the lunch concerning his thoughts when he first saw planet earth from space.A brilliant book which NASA,I think,dreaded coming out?

A must read.

 

Thanks for the tip. I’ll dig it out !

[For Us All]

I built an Airfix Saturn V rocket and remember it really bringing into focus the scale of what the real thing must have been like. For anyone that remembers them it was a massive model with a tiny lunar capsule on the top that the astronauts would have occupied giving a really good perspective of the size of the actual rocket. What a sight to behold it must have been in real life.

 

It's was gigantic,33 ft in diameter and 363ft tall and fully fueled it weighed 6.5 million pounds.

Awesome.

[SourceOfTheTrent]

It's was gigantic,33 ft in diameter and 363ft tall and fully fueled it weighed 6.5 million pounds.

Awesome.

To try and give it some perspective Blackpool Tower is 500 feet tall. Just imagine blasting Blackpool Tower into space under its own power from the Promenade!!

[geosname]

It's was gigantic,33 ft in diameter and 363ft tall and fully fueled it weighed 6.5 million pounds.

Awesome.

Wow... that's some airfix kit.... sorry

[Jase Sherratt]

I wasn't born in time to witness this historic event. However, I would love to see humans make it to Mars during my lifetime. Now that would be something

[SourceOfTheTrent]

I wasn't born in time to witness this historic event. However, I would love to see humans make it to Mars during my lifetime. Now that would be something

I'd like to see 30,000 Lardies make it to Mars on a one way trip. Do they count as humans though?

I'm not sure humans actually landing on Mars would be necessary, the abilities of remote vehicles is such that it might be deemed too risky and of no benefit.

For me the search for planets similar to earth, with life supporting conditions, is the most exciting aspect of space exploration.

[geosname]

I'd like to see 30,000 Lardies make it to Mars on a one way trip. Do they count as humans though?

I'm not sure humans actually landing on Mars would be necessary, the abilities of remote vehicles is such that it might be deemed too risky and of no benefit.

For me the search for planets similar to earth, with life supporting conditions, is the most exciting aspect of space exploration.

You are being a little unfair there mate, 30,000?.... at least send enough to change a light bulb.

[SourceOfTheTrent]

You are being a little unfair there mate, 30,000?.... at least send enough to change a light bulb.

 

30,000 probably is a little short, not a large enough group to have a chance of one of them knowing the difference between LED or incandescent or bayonet fitting and Edison screw fitting!

[For Us All]

Soon NASA plans to land a spacecraft on Mars which will return Martian soil samples to earth.This may prove to be the first of many giant strides which will open up a world of adventure and discoveries,as well as excite the public into the realization that we finally stand on the threshold of deep space travel.

NASA's vision also includes having a new foothold on the moon and preparing new journeys into space.