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Speaking of the Saturn V... it's one of the most powerful machines that humans have ever created. It was equipped with five F-1 rocket engines, with each engine

by Arjuna 12y ago

Speaking of the Saturn V... it's one of the most powerful machines that humans have ever created. It was equipped with five F-1 rocket engines, with each engine producing an absolutely staggering 1,500,000 pounds of thrust; that's a total of 7,500,000 pounds of thrust! Can you imagine being tucked into the small, cramped Command Module, sitting on top of this magnitude of power at lift-off? The whole thing, the technology, the sound, the people coming together to make it happen... it's soul-stirring. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygBxN5UiOaM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygBxN5UiOaM

post_break 12y ago
Standing next to the thing makes you feel like an ant. I visit it once and a while and I just think to myself "we did this, this thing blasted off of the face of the earth with humans at the top"
- Toenex 12y ago
  This quote from John Glenn always reminds me just how brave those sons of bitches were; "As I hurtled through space, one thought kept crossing my mind - every part of this rocket was supplied by the lowest bidder."
  - techdragon 12y ago
    I cannot believe I have never heard this quote before. I literally LOLed.
dingaling 12y ago
> Speaking of the Saturn V... it's one of the most powerful machines that humans have ever created. In the interest of completeness, here are the two most powerful launchers even flown in terms of first-stage lift-off thrust N-1: 4,600 tonnes / 10 million lb Energia: 3,600 tonnes / 7.9 million lb Saturn V is currently in third place but will be pushed down if / when Falcon Heavy flies.
- acqq 12y ago
  If somebody is, like I was, interested to start reading about the N-1 and Energia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N1_%28rocket%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N1_%28rocket%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energia
- fanf2 12y ago
  The Falcon Heavy total thrust is supposed to be 3.9 million lbf, according to Wikipedia. However it will have a larger specific impulse than a Saturn V (282 sec vs 263 sec).
- nezza-_- 12y ago
  (For completeness: 7,500,000 pound = ~3,400 tonnes)
malingo 12y ago
Here is another video of the liftoff of Apollo 11 from one camera at the corner of the launch pad. Great narration too: http://vimeo.com/m/4366695 http://vimeo.com/m/4366695

by Arjuna 12y ago

post_break 12y ago

Standing next to the thing makes you feel like an ant. I visit it once and a while and I just think to myself "we did this, this thing blasted off of the face of the earth with humans at the top"

Toenex 12y ago
This quote from John Glenn always reminds me just how brave those sons of bitches were; "As I hurtled through space, one thought kept crossing my mind - every part of this rocket was supplied by the lowest bidder."
- techdragon 12y ago
  I cannot believe I have never heard this quote before. I literally LOLed.

dingaling 12y ago

> Speaking of the Saturn V... it's one of the most powerful machines that humans have ever created. In the interest of completeness, here are the two most powerful launchers even flown in terms of first-stage lift-off thrust N-1: 4,600 tonnes / 10 million lb Energia: 3,600 tonnes / 7.9 million lb Saturn V is currently in third place but will be pushed down if / when Falcon Heavy flies.

acqq 12y ago
If somebody is, like I was, interested to start reading about the N-1 and Energia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N1_%28rocket%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N1_%28rocket%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energia
fanf2 12y ago
The Falcon Heavy total thrust is supposed to be 3.9 million lbf, according to Wikipedia. However it will have a larger specific impulse than a Saturn V (282 sec vs 263 sec).
nezza-_- 12y ago
(For completeness: 7,500,000 pound = ~3,400 tonnes)

malingo 12y ago

Here is another video of the liftoff of Apollo 11 from one camera at the corner of the launch pad. Great narration too: http://vimeo.com/m/4366695 http://vimeo.com/m/4366695