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I've been on the tour and I didn't think it was boring. I learned a lot of past and present space exploration. I think there are 2 or 3 different tours you ca

I've been on the tour and I didn't think it was boring. I learned a lot of past and present space exploration. I think there are 2 or 3 different tours you can choose so return trips are recommended. I agree the Saturn V is a thing of monstrous beauty. The pictures do not do it justice. You have to stand next to it to really appreciate the magnitude of the engineering and workmanship. Also another good NASA site to tour is the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi where they test the engines to this day. I believe it's where Wernher Von Braun spent most of his time.

rootbear 7y ago
I grew up in Huntsville, AL, in the 60s. Von Braun lived there and the Saturn V engines were tested there. The Stennis test stand was built for the Shuttle engines, I think. The test stand was south of Huntsville, on the banks of the Tennessee river. When they tested the F-1 we could hear it at our house on the north side of the city and it would shake the dishes in the kitchen cabinets.
- larrydag 7y ago
  Testing at Stennis started in the 60's. I know they tested at Hunstville but I thought Huntsville is where they did the Saturn V assembly. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/stennis/pdf/428016main_FS-2010-02-00087-SSC.pdf https://www.nasa.gov/centers/stennis/pdf/428016main_FS-2010-...
  - rootbear 7y ago
    Cool, I didn't know the Stennis site was that old. It looks like the F-1 was tested at several facilities. I found the link below to a Library of Congress document on the Huntsville site, which I'll have to read later. https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.al1331.sheet https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.al1331.sheet
    - larrydag 7y ago
      Actually Von Braun was probably mostly in Marshall FC but during the early engine testing they said he was in Stennis a lot.
Robotbeat 7y ago
Indeed. The engines for the modern successors to the Saturn V are/were being tested there: the BE-4 (edit: maybe the BE-3, not the -4) for Blue Origin’s New Glenn, Raptor for SpaceX’s Starship, and the SSME (as well as the whole core stage) for NASA’s SLS. We’re actually in a very exciting time for space exploration.
- dotancohen 7y ago
  Merlins may have been tested at Stennis, but I believe that the Raptors are not.
  - Robotbeat 7y ago
    The early components of Raptor were, indeed, tested at Stennis. The Raptors are now being tested in Texas. Here's an article from 2013 about the early work on Raptor: https://spacenews.com/37859spacex-could-begin-testing-methane-fueled-engine-at-stennis-next-year/ https://spacenews.com/37859spacex-could-begin-testing-methan...
    - dotancohen 7y ago
      Interesting, thank you!
ubertakter 7y ago
Since a sibling mentioned Huntsville, AL, the US Space and Rocket Center now houses the Saturn V stack in the Davidson Center (built for that purpose) along with multiple other exhibits, including the Apollo 16 command module. The Space and Rocket Center is definitely worth a stop if you get a chance. If you stop in on a Thursday between March and October, a biergarten is set up under the rocket in the evenings. Food's not the best but having sausages and beer while sitting under a Saturn V is a truly unique experience.

rootbear 7y ago

I grew up in Huntsville, AL, in the 60s. Von Braun lived there and the Saturn V engines were tested there. The Stennis test stand was built for the Shuttle engines, I think. The test stand was south of Huntsville, on the banks of the Tennessee river. When they tested the F-1 we could hear it at our house on the north side of the city and it would shake the dishes in the kitchen cabinets.

larrydag 7y ago
Testing at Stennis started in the 60's. I know they tested at Hunstville but I thought Huntsville is where they did the Saturn V assembly. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/stennis/pdf/428016main_FS-2010-02-00087-SSC.pdf https://www.nasa.gov/centers/stennis/pdf/428016main_FS-2010-...
- rootbear 7y ago
  Cool, I didn't know the Stennis site was that old. It looks like the F-1 was tested at several facilities. I found the link below to a Library of Congress document on the Huntsville site, which I'll have to read later. https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.al1331.sheet https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.al1331.sheet
  - larrydag 7y ago
    Actually Von Braun was probably mostly in Marshall FC but during the early engine testing they said he was in Stennis a lot.

Robotbeat 7y ago

Indeed. The engines for the modern successors to the Saturn V are/were being tested there: the BE-4 (edit: maybe the BE-3, not the -4) for Blue Origin’s New Glenn, Raptor for SpaceX’s Starship, and the SSME (as well as the whole core stage) for NASA’s SLS. We’re actually in a very exciting time for space exploration.

dotancohen 7y ago
Merlins may have been tested at Stennis, but I believe that the Raptors are not.
- Robotbeat 7y ago
  The early components of Raptor were, indeed, tested at Stennis. The Raptors are now being tested in Texas. Here's an article from 2013 about the early work on Raptor: https://spacenews.com/37859spacex-could-begin-testing-methane-fueled-engine-at-stennis-next-year/ https://spacenews.com/37859spacex-could-begin-testing-methan...
  - dotancohen 7y ago
    Interesting, thank you!

ubertakter 7y ago

Since a sibling mentioned Huntsville, AL, the US Space and Rocket Center now houses the Saturn V stack in the Davidson Center (built for that purpose) along with multiple other exhibits, including the Apollo 16 command module. The Space and Rocket Center is definitely worth a stop if you get a chance. If you stop in on a Thursday between March and October, a biergarten is set up under the rocket in the evenings. Food's not the best but having sausages and beer while sitting under a Saturn V is a truly unique experience.