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Insane Engineering Of The Saturn F-1 Engine
- Thread starter xjwmx
- Start date
That's a great video, thanks! I grew up in Miami, and vividly remember the Apollo 17 night launch. It was a perfectly clear night, and from my front yard the flame was about the size of a black peppercorn held at arms length. 200 miles away. And the separation plume was huge, about the size of a coffee bean. What an incredible machine.
^I've seen much bigger rockets that you have. I used to do Estes 
Seriously, never seen a real launch, would be interesting at any distance.
My uncle was a mechanical engineer assigned to the testing of the first stage engine in Huntsville. With all these videos coming out about it and the perplexing problems that had to be solved, I have a lot of questions for him if he was still around. When it was finished he went to work in Alexandria, VA and so did von Braun who had been in Huntsville too. When I asked him about that he said he didn't have a close association with von Braun, but I'm thinking there must have been some indirect association.
Seriously, never seen a real launch, would be interesting at any distance.My uncle was a mechanical engineer assigned to the testing of the first stage engine in Huntsville. With all these videos coming out about it and the perplexing problems that had to be solved, I have a lot of questions for him if he was still around. When it was finished he went to work in Alexandria, VA and so did von Braun who had been in Huntsville too. When I asked him about that he said he didn't have a close association with von Braun, but I'm thinking there must have been some indirect association.
I went to hear a lecture by one of the Apollo astronauts and one of the questions at the end was about his emotional impressions during. He was like oh, we didn't have time for that, we were too focused. Most of them answer that question that way. But you know that at the very least, while they're going to sleep they have the chance to reflect inwardly. Maybe they avoid answering because they don't want to create envy in the audience. Or maybe for the sake of history they don't want to lie but they don't want to admit they were scared spitless either. I remember one of them saying that what he was fixated on the whole mission was the window in front of him and what would happen to him if it blew out...
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^Once at school I was sitting by myself in the cafeteria eating dinner. A ravishingly beautiful girl sat down across from me. Exchanging hellos I noticed she had an accent. She said she was from Germany. Being totally naive and unsophisticated at that point in life, and also never having met anybody from Germany before, I immediately started in on Nazis. She calmly listened for awhile and when I was finished she said something that has always stuck with me, which was "Zee veeners hwrite zee heestory" Which translates to "The winners write history".
My post above was not in the spirit of your thread. I removed it for that reason, mea culpa. For some reason , occasionally something will catch my interest , and I can literally spend days researching something arcane and forgotten. Such is the case of Wehrner Von Braun, a brilliant scientist with a complicated past. I had been on a jag lately researching his life, and then I saw his name pop up in this thread. I quickly wrote all that , then realized I had just crapped on your thread. My apologies 
It's a fascinating question - the emotional impressions of the lunar astronauts. I've watched TV interviews, documentaries, read books about the Apollo program. One of the best books I've read that addresses that question is 'Moondust: In search of the men who fell to Earth' by Andrew Smith. It's based on conversations Smith had with all the lunar astronauts still alive when he wrote the book in the early years of this century.
Some amazing insights provided first hand by a set of men who have had an amazing and unique experience but are all very modest and down to earth - pun not intended - about the moon missions.
Some amazing insights provided first hand by a set of men who have had an amazing and unique experience but are all very modest and down to earth - pun not intended - about the moon missions.
Mailman, no problem, I feel like I know you and know you're a great guy. Plus I didn't even take it that way. I have researched him too, along with Paperclip. Interesting stuff. Btw, I went on to have a relationship with that girl, which lasted several years. She was amazingly smart, and had a knack for instant brilliant analogies. Say something to her that didn't make sense to her and she's like "That's like saying..." Earlier this year I researched her too...she married the originator of a famous restaurant chain and lives on an estate in Florida, and finished a PhD in psychology,
Ernst Stuhlinger, who was brought over in Paperclip, wrote the definitive defense for exploring space, in a letter to a nun in Africa.
Well worth reading: Stuhlinger's defense
Well worth reading: Stuhlinger's defense
This is interesting reading as well. An interview with Ernst Stuhlinger posted on NASA’s website. It gives the background of his life in Germany, of his involvement In the German rocket program, his subsequent involvement in the US military rocket program and eventually NASA.
https://historycollection.jsc.nasa....histories/StuhlingerE/StuhlingerE_12-8-97.htm
https://historycollection.jsc.nasa....histories/StuhlingerE/StuhlingerE_12-8-97.htm
