Saturn V engines recovered from sea floor
Discussion
Billionaire Jeff Bezos has managed to recover some engine parts from the sea floor.
http://www.space.com/20312-apollo-moon-rocket-engi...
http://www.space.com/20312-apollo-moon-rocket-engi...
Even the list of impact locations is only approximate, as they weren't tracked all the way down, so the locations are based on trajectory projections. If the stage tumbled or broke up before impact then the estimated trajectory could be way off.
http://tinyurl.com/cmckma5
http://tinyurl.com/cmckma5
Am I sad because I know exactly whereabouts on the rocket that fragment of the stage is from ? 
( the ribbed bit in the centre is where the pad hold-down arms supported it before launch. I recognised it immediately because I fitted the NewWare aftermarket resin parts for them to a Revell 1/96 Saturn V )
The paint has lasted well on that part too, making me think maybe the rest of the damage isn't primarily due to corrosion, but impact with the sea
( the ribbed bit in the centre is where the pad hold-down arms supported it before launch. I recognised it immediately because I fitted the NewWare aftermarket resin parts for them to a Revell 1/96 Saturn V )
The paint has lasted well on that part too, making me think maybe the rest of the damage isn't primarily due to corrosion, but impact with the sea
MartG said:
Am I sad because I know exactly whereabouts on the rocket that fragment of the stage is from ?
( the ribbed bit in the centre is where the pad hold-down arms supported it before launch. I recognised it immediately because I fitted the NewWare aftermarket resin parts for them to a Revell 1/96 Saturn V )
I thought you were going to say you fitted the original ones at NASA in 1960-whatever, and was about to marvel at the power of PH until I got to the 'Revell' bit... ( the ribbed bit in the centre is where the pad hold-down arms supported it before launch. I recognised it immediately because I fitted the NewWare aftermarket resin parts for them to a Revell 1/96 Saturn V )
"...... except for Apollo 17, which seemed to launch off angle just a tad, all of the boosters ended up in an approx. 50x50 mile box.
5 of them ended up within a 7 mile box and three pairs landed pretty much right ontop of each other, within 1/2 mile. With the bottom almost 3 miles down, those parts could definitely be intermixed "
Hope they find serial numbers that will allow them to identify which flight they are from. If they are NOT Apollo 11, I wonder if they'll go back for another go
5 of them ended up within a 7 mile box and three pairs landed pretty much right ontop of each other, within 1/2 mile. With the bottom almost 3 miles down, those parts could definitely be intermixed "
Hope they find serial numbers that will allow them to identify which flight they are from. If they are NOT Apollo 11, I wonder if they'll go back for another go
Russ35 said:
Billionaire Jeff Bezos has managed to recover some engine parts from the sea floor.
http://www.space.com/20312-apollo-moon-rocket-engi...
Wow, they were really thorough when they faked the moon landings, weren't they?http://www.space.com/20312-apollo-moon-rocket-engi...
Halmyre said:
Russ35 said:
Billionaire Jeff Bezos has managed to recover some engine parts from the sea floor.
http://www.space.com/20312-apollo-moon-rocket-engi...
Wow, they were really thorough when they faked the moon landings, weren't they?http://www.space.com/20312-apollo-moon-rocket-engi...
for thatI bet they didn't.
It should be relatively easy to work out the terminal velocity of the 1st Stage of a Saturn V. At the moment they separated from the stack, the entire rocket would have been travelling at about 5,000 mph. However, the discarded stages would have continued upward in a ballistic trajectory which would have meant that they fell back to earth in a long lazy arc.
I expect that the impact speed would have been a couple of hundred miles an hour - not 5,000 mph.
It should be relatively easy to work out the terminal velocity of the 1st Stage of a Saturn V. At the moment they separated from the stack, the entire rocket would have been travelling at about 5,000 mph. However, the discarded stages would have continued upward in a ballistic trajectory which would have meant that they fell back to earth in a long lazy arc.
I expect that the impact speed would have been a couple of hundred miles an hour - not 5,000 mph.
Their maximum velocity was 5000mph, but as they re-emtered the denser atmosphere they would have slowed down a lot, so their terminal velocity would be a lot lower - still several hundred mph though so enough to cause most of the stage to break up on impact. I think it's significant that apart from the engines the only pics they've released of the stage show the heaviest part - the thrust structure to which the engines were attached - which like the engines would probably have sunk almost straight down, while the lighter aluminium panels are likely have drifted and scattered over a wider area ( assuming the stage disintegrated on impact ).
As Eric says though, a few parachutes and flotation devices and a lot of it could have been recovered intact.
I wonder if anyone will ever find any of the second stage wreckage, which will probably be in a lot poorer condition as it will have re-entered at a lot higher speed - they ended up somewhere in the Indian Ocean.
As Eric says though, a few parachutes and flotation devices and a lot of it could have been recovered intact.
I wonder if anyone will ever find any of the second stage wreckage, which will probably be in a lot poorer condition as it will have re-entered at a lot higher speed - they ended up somewhere in the Indian Ocean.
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