July 2 our whole family had light years of fun. We went to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama where von Braun and his team designed the Saturn V rocket that would take America to the moon.
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Before being stationed in Huntsville, von Braun and his team were forgotten in Fort Bliss, Texas. But when von Braun accidentally sent a rocket into a Mexican cemetery, Washington relocated von Braun and his team to Huntsville.
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The first thing you notice at the Space Center is the full-size mock up of a Saturn V rocket, standing straight up in front of the ticket booths. It’s so high you almost can’t see it in one gaze—actually; the Saturn V is 363 feet high!!
***
Did you know that Frank Borman and his crew of Jim Lovell and Bill Anders were the first crew to ride a Saturn V?? Their mission, Apollo 8, was the first manned mission to the Moon. After circling the Moon 10 times, they headed home. Apollo 8 was an outstanding success.
***
After we bought our tickets, we entered into the Davidson Center for Space Exploration, in which is housed a real, restored Saturn V laying sideways, suspended so you can walk right below this mammoth of a beast. As one observer of a Saturn V launch noted, “After the deafening, earthshaking launch, the question wasn’t whether the Saturn had risen but whether Florida had sunk.” I also enjoyed the pictures, videos, and displays telling about the Saturn V creation and design.
***
Did you know that the Saturn V is the second loudest thing ever created by man?? The Saturn V is only knocked out of 1st place by the atomic bomb.
***
Another cool thing was viewing a Mercury and Gemini simulator. (Mercury and Gemini preceded Apollo.) I also really liked (barely!) squishing myself into an Apollo simulator….I now understand how the Apollo crews had to be very good friends!!
***
When NASA was developing their space program, they referred to it as “MISS”, or Man in Space Soonest”. However, wisdom prevailed and NASA revealed the program to the public as Project Mercury.
***
Though one of my favorites was the original Apollo 16 Command Module, Casper. I just thought that it was SOOOOO neat that the Space Center had the real thing there.
***
Ken Mattingly almost flew on Apollo 13. But he got exposed to a sickness, and doctors were afraid that he would get sick on the mission. So Jack Swigert took his place, and Mattingly flew on Apollo 16.
***
So far I’ve only described a third of the Space Center. After seeing the big Saturn V, we went outside where I enjoyed seeing a model of the Lunar Module as well as a V-2 rocket.
***
When Grumman Aircraft Company was building the Lunar Module for Apollo 11, they forgot to install a handle on the outside of the door. So to avoid being locked out of their spacecraft, Armstrong and Aldrin had to make sure and leave the LM’s door cracked open.
***
Then we went inside another building, where Alison enjoying climbing into models of spacecraft. She also climbed the Mars climbing wall twice. I landed the Shuttle Discovery 4 times (on a computer.) The first two times I crashed. But the second two times I really landed perfectly!! That game was really cool.
***
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched in 1990. But it had a faulty lens, so even telescopes on Earth could pick up better pictures than the Hubble could. It was 3 years before NASA could send up another Shuttle to fix the lens.
***
Right after lunch our whole family watched a really cool IMAX movie on the Hubble Space Telescope. Of course the movie talked a lot about the Hubble, and stars and how small we are, but I especially enjoyed the shots of the Space Shuttle taking off!! That was just awesome, amazing, cool….the sounds, the sights, the feelings…
***
Did you know that John Young, a moonwalker, was on the first crew of the Space Shuttle??
***
Hope you enjoyed my pictures and article!
***
Before being stationed in Huntsville, von Braun and his team were forgotten in Fort Bliss, Texas. But when von Braun accidentally sent a rocket into a Mexican cemetery, Washington relocated von Braun and his team to Huntsville.
***
The first thing you notice at the Space Center is the full-size mock up of a Saturn V rocket, standing straight up in front of the ticket booths. It’s so high you almost can’t see it in one gaze—actually; the Saturn V is 363 feet high!!
***
Did you know that Frank Borman and his crew of Jim Lovell and Bill Anders were the first crew to ride a Saturn V?? Their mission, Apollo 8, was the first manned mission to the Moon. After circling the Moon 10 times, they headed home. Apollo 8 was an outstanding success.
***
After we bought our tickets, we entered into the Davidson Center for Space Exploration, in which is housed a real, restored Saturn V laying sideways, suspended so you can walk right below this mammoth of a beast. As one observer of a Saturn V launch noted, “After the deafening, earthshaking launch, the question wasn’t whether the Saturn had risen but whether Florida had sunk.” I also enjoyed the pictures, videos, and displays telling about the Saturn V creation and design.
***
Did you know that the Saturn V is the second loudest thing ever created by man?? The Saturn V is only knocked out of 1st place by the atomic bomb.
***
Another cool thing was viewing a Mercury and Gemini simulator. (Mercury and Gemini preceded Apollo.) I also really liked (barely!) squishing myself into an Apollo simulator….I now understand how the Apollo crews had to be very good friends!!
***
When NASA was developing their space program, they referred to it as “MISS”, or Man in Space Soonest”. However, wisdom prevailed and NASA revealed the program to the public as Project Mercury.
***
Though one of my favorites was the original Apollo 16 Command Module, Casper. I just thought that it was SOOOOO neat that the Space Center had the real thing there.
***
Ken Mattingly almost flew on Apollo 13. But he got exposed to a sickness, and doctors were afraid that he would get sick on the mission. So Jack Swigert took his place, and Mattingly flew on Apollo 16.
***
So far I’ve only described a third of the Space Center. After seeing the big Saturn V, we went outside where I enjoyed seeing a model of the Lunar Module as well as a V-2 rocket.
***
When Grumman Aircraft Company was building the Lunar Module for Apollo 11, they forgot to install a handle on the outside of the door. So to avoid being locked out of their spacecraft, Armstrong and Aldrin had to make sure and leave the LM’s door cracked open.
***
Then we went inside another building, where Alison enjoying climbing into models of spacecraft. She also climbed the Mars climbing wall twice. I landed the Shuttle Discovery 4 times (on a computer.) The first two times I crashed. But the second two times I really landed perfectly!! That game was really cool.
***
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched in 1990. But it had a faulty lens, so even telescopes on Earth could pick up better pictures than the Hubble could. It was 3 years before NASA could send up another Shuttle to fix the lens.
***
Right after lunch our whole family watched a really cool IMAX movie on the Hubble Space Telescope. Of course the movie talked a lot about the Hubble, and stars and how small we are, but I especially enjoyed the shots of the Space Shuttle taking off!! That was just awesome, amazing, cool….the sounds, the sights, the feelings…
***
Did you know that John Young, a moonwalker, was on the first crew of the Space Shuttle??
***
Hope you enjoyed my pictures and article!
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