After writing about the future of NASA, it’s time to visit the Apollo Saturn V building, located at the Kennedy Space Center. When President John F. Kennedy stated on May 25, 1961, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth” NASA was faced with the task of developing a rocket that could achieve this mission. The Saturn V rocket was developed and used successfully from 1968 to 1972. The only way to see this rocket, is to take the complimentary bus tour to the building where an original, unused rocket is on display. It is an impressive sight, and the building has been remodeled with some new displays.
2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the tragic accident to Apollo 1, and they have added a nice memorial to the three astronauts that lost their lives in the fire.
After watching a brief video, and then a simulated countdown of an Apollo launch, with all the original launch command room equipment, you walk right smack into the five F-1 engines located on the first stage of the rocket. Using a mixture of liquid oxygen and kerosene fuel, it could reach a speed of 6,000 miles per hour in three minutes.
A side view of stage one.
They have a small-scale model of the entire rocket, and spacecraft. At 363 feet, it is difficult to photograph the original!
The second stage of the rocket on display.
The third stage will take the spacecraft out of Earth’s orbit.
The Apollo spacecraft on top of the rocket consists of three components: the Lunar Module, Service Module and Command Module. The Launch Escape System (below right) is attached to the command module. The photograph below displays an unused command module (with heat-reflective silver coating) attached to a service module below the rocket.
The building contains the command module from Apollo 14, which shows how scarred the spacecraft gets from re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
Apollo 14 command module
Apollo 15 was set to carry this Lunar Module to the Moon. However, NASA decided to also send up a Lunar Rover, so the module was redesigned, and this one was never flown in space. It is a crazy looking thing, that seems to be wrapped in gold-colored aluminum foil. The bottom half (with the “foil”) remains on the surface of the moon, and the astronauts return to the command module in the top half.
A Lunar Rover, built from spare parts, is on display in the building.
Along with a spacesuit from Gene Cernan.
There are many additional displays and a few movies to view in the Apollo Saturn V Building. With the bus tour, and stop at the building, you can easily spend 2 – 3 hours viewing the exhibits. It is definitely a “must see” on your visit to the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex. Next up: the Space Shuttle.
Quote for the day: “We hope that if anything happens to us it will not delay the program.” – Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Commander Apollo One.
Hello Mr. Potato Head!
Howdee Buzz Light Year!
I would have blogged sooner, but my grandma’s desktop computer is older than I am, and I just couldn’t figure it out! My parents have come up to visit me a few times, especially now that grandma has her new computer. Grandma called them 5 times the first night after getting the laptop, so they decided to come up and visit the next day, because getting tech support over the telephone was cutting into my playing time. I was starting to feel neglected.
I try to keep my grandpa’s chair warm when he is away (usually golfing). I am so grateful that he is feeling good and fully recovered from his scary ordeal with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (you can read about it 
When my parents brought me up here, they packed up all my toys and treats. Beggin’ Strips are a special treat for me, and a bag usually lasts about 2 months, because I only get a couple of them every week. Milkbones are my regular treat. My parents were a bit shocked when grandma called after three weeks and said they were out of Beggin’ Strips! Well I am special, so I convinced my grandparents to give me my special treat every day! Yay!
It looks like I was put in the “time-out” corner, but upon closer inspection, you will see I am staring at my treat jar on the counter Yes, I have them well trained!
I also figured out where grandma hid my new 12 squeaker toy. She put it up on top of a dresser in a bedroom. So I sat and stared at that for a while, and she eventually gave in, and I was able to destroy my new toy!
My grandparents did take me to see my cousins at Camp Meyer! I really enjoyed having even more people play with me, and snuggle up with me.
I’m not sure how much longer I will be staying here, but now that I have mastered grandma’s new laptop, I will try and not go so long between blogs.
When they were taking off the drywall, an old air conditioner was discovered (the wiring was still “live”). There are also old windows, that have been covered up and bricked over on the outside of the building. The guys spent a lot of time working on busting out the old air conditioner, which was quite heavy. And yes, the old ceiling was painted blue, yellow, red and green in various parts!
This is a better shot of the basement, and the area we are building for a bathroom. We will drywall the ceiling, and use knotty pine on the walls. The tile floor is in good shape, one of the few things in this old building.
We managed to eat at one of the restaurants featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, 
Our view at the end of summer, with the moon over Mount Moran.
A short drive north of Jackson Lake brought us to the Berry Creek Fire area. It was sad to see acres of burned forest land, but it will be interesting to watch this area rejuvenate over time.
During our drive through the park, we spotted a lone female moose.
Along with a large heard of pronghorns, including a mama with two hungry babies!
After our hike, we starting driving around and noticed a number of cars pulled off the road, but we could not see what they were looking at, so we pulled over and walked about 100 yards to where the crowd was standing. And we were glad we did! At first, we just saw a head of a moose pop out of the willows. But then mama came into full view, followed by a pretty good sized baby. We watched them for a while until they walked back out of view.
Liv2RV 