The HabForum

What's the story behind the Saturn 1 in Rocket Park?

It's a Saturn 1, not 1B right?
With Jupiter engines?
Is it real or a replica?

Any other stories about it?

MAYTAG wrote:i dont know i was always told it was a 1b cus there were no 1s lest

The Rocket Park Key lists it as a Saturn 1, not a 1B.

Looking at NASA photos, a 1B has some differences to the one in Rocket Park.

They have been wrong with their labelling before, but can anyone confirm this?

Well based on the way it loomjs it appears to be a Saturn 1. The 1st stage of the later 1's and all 1B's are essentially the same it's the upper stage that gives it away. The Saturn 1 had the S-IV stage as its upper stage the Saturn 1B had the S-IVB the same upper stage as the Saturn V. The one in the rocket park clearly appears to be an S-IV as it has no lunar module adapter and it appears to be in the launch configuration of a Saturn 1 used for the pegasus micrometeorite probe launches. The pegasus was essentially where what appears to be the service moule is with an apollo boilerplate capsule on top of it. Thee is also a Saturn 1 at Marshall in a diffrent configuration which looks like the ones used for project high water where the upper stage was inert and filled with water and only the lower stage was being tested. One other thing to notice if you ever have had or have a chance to see the one at marshall is it has no Fins on the firsy stageearly Saturn !'s did not. But again the key to the one at the sprocet center is the upper stage is S-iv not S-IV B easy way to tell no lunar module adapter below the CSM.

The one in Rocket Park is a Saturn I. It is also a replica, not an original. Basically, the only two rockets that are originals are the two laying down - the Saturn V and the Atlas (I think it's an Atlas - it's lying down, silvery, near the first stage of the Saturn V). Anything you see standing up in Rocket Park is a replica - most of them were actually built with leftover parts from those eras (the main exception is the relatively new, stand-up Saturn V), but anything that was actually capable of flight needed to be lying down and not able to be launched (separated into peices). The Titan II, when it was there, was in two peices facing each other, to show satellites or spy planes that it wasn't assembled. The reason for this has to do with international treaties that have been signed regarding missiles and such - and most of the rockets that were used in the space program were originally missiles.

Thanks for all the information!

I always love learning more about Rocket Park. I wish I lived closer to Huntsville so I could actually have enough time to go around and read all the signs at all the rockets and exhibits - there is so much information and never enough time to read and remember it all.

wait a minute the titan is gone since when?

The titan isn't gone permanently; it's just out in the back lot right now. They needed to move it while they worked on the restoration of the Saturn V - it was in the way. So they moved it out, and there's a big mud puddle where it's been. From what I understand, they plan to put it back when they're done restoring the Saturn V.

is it going to be in the same spot or somewhere new

That, I don't know. Especially because there's been talk of building a building around the Saturn V (now that they've found out they can't move it since it's a National Historic Landmark). But it will probably come back to Rocket Park eventually.

wow, when are they going to build a building around the saturn V? it makes sense, letting that thing rust for all these years was borderline criminal.

well, they're currently restoring it, and from what I understand, there's been talk (nothing definite) of building a building around it - so it's not even definite yet, but they're definitely trying to right their wrongs...

all of the plans that ive seen have some sort of permanant building around it

yeah, but at one point, plans for the stand-up Saturn V have a restaurant or a gift shop at the top - so we all know that plans aren't final until they're done.

The Saturn 1 is as real as the Saturn V. It may be made up of spare parts but those are real parts, except for the Apollo capsule which is a boiler plate, just like the one on the Saturn V and on the Mercury-Redstone for that matter. The Redstones, the Juno, and the Altas are real as well, the Titan while 'real' was never a flight worthy and is actually a walk through display, but was never set up that way. It has two pull down stair cases built into the side of it.

712

Actually the Apollo capsule on the Saturn V not the standing one but the laing down one ia not a boilerplate its one of the ilder model Block 1 capsules that never carried a crew though they were planned too but all manned block 1 flights were canceled after the Apollo 1 fire. The capsule on the saturn V is Cm-10 information can be found here http://aesp.nasa.okstate.edu/fieldguide ... m-010.html

The block 1 CM's were designed for earlt earth orbit non LM missions only they had no dockinc capability like the later block 2 capsule did. And just FYI the boilerplate on top of the Saturn 1 isBP-27 also attached to the skylab display in the rocket park is Boilerplate BP-1150. And the Apollo CM simulator in the museum is trainer JSC#4. All this info is available at the above link and more.