S67-15717 (1967) --- Apollo Spacecraft 012 Command/Service Module is moved from H-134 to east stokes for mating to the Saturn Lunar Module Adapter No. 05 in the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building. S/C 012 will be flown on the Apollo/Saturn 204 mission.
The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) played a crucial role in the development of the huge Saturn rockets that delivered humans to the moon in the 1960s. Many unique facilities existed at MSFC for the development and testing of the Saturn rockets. Affectionately nicknamed “The Arm Farm”, the Random Motion/ Lift-Off Simulator was one of those unique facilities. This facility was developed to test the swingarm mechanisms that were used to hold the rocket in position until lift-off. The Arm Farm provided the capability of testing the detachment and reconnection of various arms under brutally realistic conditions. The 18-acre facility consisted of more than a half dozen arm test positions and one position for testing access arms used by the Apollo astronauts. Each test position had two elements: a vehicle simulator for duplicating motions during countdown and launch; and a section duplicating the launch tower. The vehicle simulator duplicated the portion of the vehicle skin that contained the umbilical connections and personnel access hatches. Driven by a hydraulic servo system, the vehicle simulator produced relative motion between the vehicle and tower. On the Arm Farm, extreme environmental conditions (such as a launch scrub during an approaching Florida thunderstorm) could be simulated. The dramatic scenes that the Marshall engineers and technicians created at the Arm Farm permitted the gathering of crucial technical and engineering data to ensure a successful real time launch from the Kennedy Space Center.
Artwork Pioneer C launch data: positions of Pioneer C, 6 & 7
The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) played a crucial role in the development of the huge Saturn rockets that delivered humans to the moon in the 1960s. Many unique facilities existed at MSFC for the development and testing of the Saturn rockets. Affectionately nicknamed “The Arm Farm”, the Random Motion/ Lift-Off Simulator was one of those unique facilities. This facility was developed to test the swingarm mechanisms that were used to hold the rocket in position until lift-off. The Arm Farm provided the capability of testing the detachment and reconnection of various arms under brutally realistic conditions. The 18-acre facility consisted of more than a half dozen arm test positions and one position for testing access arms used by the Apollo astronauts. Each test position had two elements: a vehicle simulator for duplicating motions during countdown and launch; and a section duplicating the launch tower. The vehicle simulator duplicated the portion of the vehicle skin that contained the umbilical connections and personnel access hatches. Driven by a hydraulic servo system, the vehicle simulator produced relative motion between the vehicle and tower. On the Arm Farm, extreme environmental conditions (such as a launch scrub during an approaching Florida thunderstorm) could be simulated. The dramatic scenes that the Marshall engineers and technicians created at the Arm Farm permitted the gathering of crucial technical and engineering data to ensure a successful real time launch from the Kennedy Space Center.
Small light colored area within the crater is Surveyor 1 on lunar surface photographed by Lunar Orbiter III. Published in the book "A Century at Langley" by Joseph Chambers. pg. 93 Moon Lunar Orbiter-Lunar Orbiter III: The hidden or dark side of the Moon was taken by Lunar Orbiter III During its mission to photograph potential lunar-landing sites for Apollo missions. -- Photograph published in Winds of Change, 75th Anniversary NASA publication (page 94), by James Schultz. Photo Number:67-H-328 is 1967-L-04026
Marshall Space Flight Center’s (MSFC) Director, Dr. Wernher von Braun (left), studies charts depicting the status of an experiment conducted in MSFC’s Space Sciences Laboratory during a tour on August 28, 1967.
3/4 front view of Lockheed Stopped Rotor.
This is a cutaway illustration of the Saturn V launch vehicle with callouts of the major components. The Saturn V is the largest and most powerful launch vehicle developed in the United States. It was a three stage rocket, 363 feet in height, used for sending American astronauts to the moon and for placing the Skylab in Earth orbit. The Saturn V was designed to perform Earth orbital missions through the use of the first two stages, while all three stages were used for lunar expeditions. The S-IC stage (first stage) was powered by five F- engines, which burned kerosene and liquid oxygen to produce more than 7,500,000 pounds of thrust. The S-II (second) stage was powered by five J-2 engines, that burned liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen and produced 1,150,000 pounds thrust. The S-IVB (third) stage used one J-2 engine, producing 230,000 pounds of thrust, with a re-start capability. The Marshall Space Flight Center and its contractors designed, developed, and assembled the Saturn V launch vehicle stages.
Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) director, Dr. Wernher von Braun, poses a question to a technician during a visit to one of the branches of MSFC’s Space Sciences Laboratory.
S67-49969 (9 Nov. 1967) --- The Apollo 4 (Spacecraft 017/Saturn 501) space mission was launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The liftoff of the huge 363-feet tall Apollo/Saturn V space vehicle was at 7:00:01 a.m. (EST), Nov. 9, 1967. The successful objectives of the Apollo 4 Earth-orbital unmanned space mission obtained included (1) flight information on launch vehicle and spacecraft structural integrity and compatibility, flight loads, stage separation, subsystem operation, emergency detection subsystem operation, and (2) evaluation of the Apollo Command Module heat shield under conditions encountered on return from a moon mission.
This is a view of the the first test flight of the Saturn V vehicle (SA-501) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launch complex 39A, awaiting the scheduled launch on November 9, 1967. Designated as Apollo 4, this mission was the first launch of the Saturn V launch vehicle. Objectives of the unmanned Apollo 4 test flight were to obtain flight information on launch vehicle and spacecraft structural integrity and compatibility, flight loads, stage separation, and subsystems operation including testing of restart of the S-IVB stage, and to evaluate the Apollo command module heat shield.
S67-49447 (9 Nov. 1967) --- Close-up view of the charred heat shield of the Apollo Spacecraft 017 Command Module aboard the USS Bennington. The damage was caused by the extreme heat of reentry. The carrier Bennington was the prime recovery ship for the Apollo 4 (Spacecraft 017/Saturn 501) unmanned, Earth-orbital space mission. Splashdown occurred at 3:37 p.m. (EST), Nov. 9, 1967, 934 nautical miles northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii.
S67-17042 (1967) --- Apollo Spacecraft 012 is hoisted to the top of the gantry at Pad 34 during the Apollo/Saturn Mission 204 erection. S/C 012 will be mated with the uprated Saturn I launch vehicle.
N-202 Mail Library
Air Force pilot Mike Adams poses in front of X-15-#1 after flight on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Aerial view of Ames Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel complex N-227
The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) played a crucial role in the development of the huge Saturn rockets that delivered humans to the moon in the 1960s. Many unique facilities existed at MSFC for the development and testing of the Saturn rockets. Affectionately nicknamed “The Arm Farm”, the Random Motion/ Lift-Off Simulator was one of those unique facilities. This facility was developed to test the swing arm mechanisms that were used to hold the rocket in position until liftoff. The Arm Farm provided the capability of testing the detachment and reconnection of various arms under brutally realistic conditions. The 18-acre facility consisted of more than a half dozen arm test positions and one position for testing access arms used by the Apollo astronauts. Each test position had two elements: a vehicle simulator for duplicating motions during countdown and launch; and a section duplicating the launch tower. The vehicle simulator duplicated the portion of the vehicle skin that contained the umbilical connections and personnel access hatches. Driven by a hydraulic servo system, the vehicle simulator produced relative motion between the vehicle and tower. On the Arm Farm, extreme environmental conditions (such as a launch scrub during an approaching Florida thunderstorm) could be simulated. The dramatic scenes that the Marshall engineers and technicians created at the Arm Farm permitted the gathering of crucial technical and engineering data to ensure a successful real time launch from the Kennedy Space Center. This photo depicts a close up of the S-IV-B Aft Swing Arm static and lanyard carrier.
This is the official NASA portrait of astronaut Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin. Prior to joining NASA, Aldrin flew 66 combat missions in F-86s while on duty in Korea. At Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, he served as an aerial gunnery instructor. Following his assignment as aide to the dean of faculty at the Air Force Academy, Aldrin flew F-100s as a flight commander at Bitburg, Germany. Aldrin was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963 and has logged 289 hours and 53 minutes in space, of which, 7 hours and 52 minutes were spent in Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA). On November 11, 1966, he launched into space aboard the Gemini 12 spacecraft on a 4-day flight, which brought the Gemini program to a successful close. During that mission, Aldrin established a new record for EVA, spending 5-1/2 hours outside the spacecraft. July 16-24, 1969, Aldrin served as lunar module pilot for Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission. Aldrin followed Neil Armstrong onto the lunar surface on July 20, 1969, completing a 2-hour and 15 minute lunar EVA. Aldrin resigned from NASA in July 1971.
This illustration is the Lunar Module (LM) configuration. The LM was a two part spacecraft. Its lower or descent stage had the landing gear, engines, and fuel needed for the landing. When the LM blasted off the Moon, the descent stage served as the launching pad for its companion ascent stage, which was also home for the two astronauts on the surface of the Moon. The LM was full of gear with which to communicate, navigate, and rendezvous. It also had its own propulsion system, and an engine to lift it off the Moon and send it on a course toward the orbiting Command Module.
Astronaut John S. Bull wears the A6-L type Pressure Garment Assembly update to an A7-L configuration.
This September 1967 photograph shows workmen removing a mockup of the Saturn V S-IVB stage that housed the Skylab Orbital Workshop (OWS) from the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), building 4755. The mockup was shipped to McDornell Douglas in Huntington, California for design modifications. NASA used the mockup as an engineering design tool to plan structures, equipment, and experiments for Skylab, an orbiting space laboratory. The MSFC had program management responsibility for the development of Skylab hardware and experiments, including the OWS.
S67-15704 (3 Jan. 1967) --- Transfer of Apollo Spacecraft 012 Command/Service Module (CSM) for mating with the Saturn Lunar Module (LM) Adapter No.05 in the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building. Spacecraft 012 will be flown on the Apollo/Saturn 1 (204) mission. Photo credit: NASA
This photograph is a view of the Saturn V S-IC-5 (first) flight stage static test firing at the S-IC-B1 test stand at the Mississippi Test Facility (MTF), Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Begirning operations in 1966, the MTF has two test stands, a dual-position structure for running the S-IC stage at full throttle, and two separate stands for the S-II (Saturn V third) stage. It became the focus of the static test firing program. The completed S-IC stage was shipped from Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) to the MTF. The stage was then installed into the 407-foot-high test stand for the static firing tests before shipment to the Kennedy Space Center for final assembly of the Saturn V vehicle. The MTF was renamed to the National Space Technology Laboratory (NSTL) in 1974 and later to the Stennis Space Center (SSC) in May 1988.
The 1960s Star Trek television series’ cast members visit NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, now called Armstrong, in 1967. The show’s Chief Engineer Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott played by James Doohan talks with NASA Pilot Bruce Peterson.
High 3/4 top front view of model in Ames 40x80 foot wind tunnel. Bob Bishop in lower right. Delta Wing with Conard.
Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) workers fill fuel tanks with liquid hydrogen used for test firing at the S-IVB (Dynamic) Test Stand.
This cutaway drawing shows the S-IVB (third stage) of the Saturn V launch vehicle. As a part of the Marshall Space Flight Center’s (MSFC) “building block” approach to the Saturn development, the S-IVB stage was utilized in the Saturn IB launch vehicle as a second stage and, later, the Saturn V launch vehicle as a third stage. The 59 foot long and 22 feet diameter stage was powered by a single J-2 engine, initially capable of 200,000 pounds of thrust.
U.S.S. Bennington comes alongside the floating Apollo spacecraft 017 Command Module during recovery operations in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The Command Module splashed down at 3:37 p.m., November 9, 1967, 934 nautical miles northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii.
Throughout his career, Dr. von Braun received numerous awards for his contributions to space flight. On June 6, 1967, Dr. Fred L. Whipple, Director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, presented Dr. von Braun with the Smithsonian Langley Medal.
Workers at McDornel-Douglas install the Saturn IB S-IVB (second) stage for the Apollo-Soyuz mission into the company's S-IVB assembly and checkout tower in Huntington Beach, California. The Saturn IB launch vehicle was developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) as an interim vehicle in its "building block" approach to Saturn rocket development. This vehicle utilized the Saturn I technology to further develop and refine the capabilities of a larger booster and the Apollo spacecraft required for the manned lunar missions. The S-IVB stage, later used as the third stage of the Saturn V launch vehicle, was powered by a single J-2 engine initially capable of 200,000 pounds of thrust.
After the S-II (second) stage dropped away, the S-IVB (third) stage ignited and burned for about two minutes to place itself and the Apollo spacecraft into the desired Earth orbit. At the proper time during this Earth parking orbit, the S-IVB stage was re-ignited to speed the Apollo spacecraft to escape velocity, injecting it and the astronauts into a moon trajectory. Developed and manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Huntington, California, the S-IVB stage measures about 21.5 feet in diameter, about 58 feet in length and is powered by a single 200,000-pound-thrust J-2 engine with a re-start capability. The S-IVB stage was also used on the second stage of the Saturn IB launch vehicle. The fully-assembled S-IVB (third) stage for the AS-503 (Apollo 8 mission) launch vehicle is pictured in the Douglas' vertical checkout building.
Lift engine VSTOL fighter model, 3/4 lower front view showing jet engines exit vanes. Yarn tufts attached to horizontal tail.
Top-to-bottom view of the 36-story-tall Saturn Apollo 501 space vehicle with work platforms retracted. VAB, High Bay No.1.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Astronauts, left to right, Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, pose in front of Launch Complex 34 which is housing their Saturn 1 launch vehicle. The astronauts are scheduled for the Apollo Saturn 204 (Apollo 1) mission.
Desert Survival Training Pasco, Washington - Duke, Mattingly, Col. Bohart, Swigert
The Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM), designed and developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, served as the primary scientific instrument unit aboard the Skylab. The ATM contained eight complex astronomical instruments designed to observe the Sun over a wide spectrum from visible light to x-rays. This angle view is of an ATM contamination monitor meter mockup.
The 1960s Star Trek television series’ cast members visit NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, now Armstrong, in 1967. Chief Medical Officer Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy played by DeForest Kelley talks with NASA officials in one of the center’s aircraft hangar.
Dr. von Braun, Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center, listens attentively to a briefing on the metal forming techniques by Dr. Mathias Siebel of the Manufacturing and Engineering Laboratory at MSFC on October 17, 1967.
3/4 front view of model in Ames 40x80 foot wind tunnel.
This photograph was taken during the final assembly operation of the Saturn V launch vehicle for the Apollo 4 (SA 501) mission. The instrument unit (IU) was mated atop the S-IC/S-II assembly in the Vehicle Assembly Building high bay at the Kennedy Space Center. The Apollo 4 mission was the first launch of the Saturn V launch vehicle. Objectives of the unmanned Apollo 4 test flight were to obtain flight information on launch vehicle and spacecraft structural integrity and compatibility, flight loads, stage separation, and subsystems operation including testing of restart of the S-IVB stage, and to evaluate the Apollo command module heat shield. The Apollo 4 was launched on November 9, 1967 from KSC.
Charles Cochran charts the progress of a test being conducted in Marshall Space Flight Center’s (MSFC) Space Sciences Laboratory for center director, Dr. Wernher von Braun.
Vice President Hubert Humphrey Dr. von Braun during the Vice President's visit to the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) on May 22, 1967.
Lunar Orbiter was essentially a flying camera. The payload structure was built around a pressurized shell holding Eastman Kodak s dual-imaging photographic system, which used a camera with wide-angle and telephoto lenses that could simultaneously take two kinds of pictures on the same film. Men in in the picture are: Right to left Cliff Nelson, Calvin Broome, Israel Taback and Joe Mooreman. -- Published in James R. Hansen, Spaceflight Revolution: NASA Langley Research Center From Sputnik to Apollo, NASA SP-4308, p. 329.
During a nighttime training session, a multiple exposure captures the movement of the Lunar Excursion Module Simulator (LEMS). The LEMS was a manned vehicle used to familiarize the Apollo astronauts with the handling characteristics of lunar-landing type vehicle. The Apollo Program is best known for the astronaut Neal Armstrong s first step on the Moon July 20, 1969. In its earliest test period, the LEMS featured a helicopter crew cabin atop the lunar landing module. Later, the helicopter crew cabin was replaced with a stand-up rectangular cabin which was more efficient for controlling maneuvers and for better viewing by the pilot. The vehicle was designed at Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA. This multiple exposure shows a simulated Moon landing of the (LEMS) trainer at Langley s Lunar Landing Research Facility. -- Photograph published in Winds of Change, 75th Anniversary NASA publication (page 70), by James Shultz. Also published in " A Century at Langley" by Joseph Chambers, pg. 93.
X-14 NASA 704 Full Scale Airplane tests in 40x80ft. Subsonic Wind Tunnel (NORMAL MOUNTING) with Sy Sewell, NASA (left) and Ed Varette, Army (right)
AS-501, the first flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle, takes flight from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A on November 9, 1967. The unmanned mission, also designated Apollo 4, marked the first test flight of the S-IC and S-II stages, developed for the Saturn program under the direction of the Marshall Space Flight Center.
Early morning view of Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, showing Apollo 4 (Spacecraft 017/Saturn 501) unmanned, earth-orbital space mission ready for launch, with a full moon in the upper left part of the image. The 363-foot tall Apollo/Saturn V space vehicle was launched at 7:00:01 AM (EST), November 9, 1967.
This photograph is a view of the Saturn V S-IC (first) test stage being hoisted into the S-IC-B1 test stand at the Mississippi Test Facility (MTF), Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. This stage was used to prove the operational readiness of the stand. Begirning operations in 1966, the MTF has two test stands; a dual-position structure for running the S-IC stage at full throttle, and two separate stands for the S-II (Saturn V third) stage. It became the focus of the static test firing program. The completed S-IC stage was shipped from the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) to the MTF. The stage was then installed into the 124-meter-high test stand for static firing tests before shipment to the Kennedy Space Center for final assembly of the Saturn V vehicle. The MTF was renamed to the National Space Technology Laboratory (NSTL) in 1974 and later to the Stennis Space Center (SSC) in May 1988.
Dr. Wernher von Braun, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Director, was suited with a space suit and diving equipment at MSFC Neutral buoyancy Simulator (NBS).
MSFC Director, Dr. Wernher von Braun is photographed inspecting a mockup of the Skylab Orbital Workshop, a major project at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in 1967. The mockup would be used as an engineering tool to design structures, equipment and experiments for an initial mission expected to last twenty-eight days. The workshop was intended to serve as America's first Space Station.
Aerial Survey of Ames Research Center (Used in NASA/AMES publication 'Adventures in Research' A history of Ames Research Center 1940 - 1965 by Edwin P. Hartman - SP-4302)
Workmen at the Kennedy Space Center position the nose cone for the 204LM-1, an unmanned Apollo mission that tested the Apollo Lunar Module (LM) in Earth orbit. Also known as Apollo 5, the spacecraft was launched on the fourth Saturn IBC launch vehicle. Developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) as an interim vehicle in MSFC's "building block" approach to the Saturn rocket development, the Saturn IBC utilized Saturn I technology to further develop and refine a larger booster and the Apollo spacecraft capabilities required for the manned lunar missions.
S67-23078 (27 Jan. 1967) --- Three astronauts (later to be named the Apollo 9 prime crew) in Apollo spacecraft 101 Command module during Apollo crew compartment fit and function test. Left to right are astronauts James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart.
Closeup view of the interior of Apollo S/C 012 C/M, Pad 34, showing the effects of the intense heat of the flash fire which killed the Prime Crew of the A/S 204 Mission. CAPE KENNEDY, FL CAPE KENNEDY, FL
Dr. von Braun encouraged his laboratory directors and other managers at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to adopt a "hands-on" approach to managing the technical challenges they confronted in developing the Saturn rockets for the Marned Lunar Landing Program. He is shown here asking a question about welding in an MSFC manufacturing and engineering laboratory. This photograph was made on or about October 17, 1967.
This illustration shows different configurations of the Saturn V test vehicles and flight vehicle.
This photograph is a view of the Saturn V S-IC-5 (first) flight stage being hoisted into the S-IC-B1 test stand at the Mississippi Test Facility (MTF), Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Begirning operations in 1966, the MTF has two test stands, a dual-position structure for running the S-IC stage at full throttle, and two separate stands for the S-II (Saturn V third) stage. It became the focus of the static test firing program. The completed S-IC stage was shipped from Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) to the MTF. The stage was then installed into the 124-meter-high test stand for static firing tests before shipment to the Kennedy Space Center for final assembly of the Saturn V vehicle. The MTF was renamed to the National Space Technology Laboratory (NSTL) in 1974 and later to the Stennis Space Center (SSC) in May 1988.
NASA used barges for transporting full-sized stages for the Saturn I, Saturn IB, and Saturn V vehicles between the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the manufacturing plant at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF), the Mississippi Test Facility for testing, and the Kennedy Space Center. The barges traveled from the MSFC dock to the MAF, a total of 1,086.7 miles up the Tennessee River and down the Mississippi River. The barges also transported the assembled stages of the Saturn vehicle from the MAF to the Kennedy Space Center, a total of 932.4 miles along the Gulf of Mexico and up along the Atlantic Ocean, for the final assembly and the launch. This photograph shows the barge Poseidon loaded with the Saturn V S-II (second) stage passing through a bascule bridge.
Photographed are models of early rocketry: The Atlas Mercury, Atlas Centaur, and Atlas Agena.
This is a view of the Saturn V S-IVB (third) stage for the AS-209 (Apollo-Soyuz test project backup vehicle) on a transporter in the right foreground, and the S-IVB stage for AS-504 (Apollo 9 mission) being installed in the Beta Test Stand 1 at the SACTO facility in California. After the S-II (second) stage dropped away, the S-IVB (third) stage ignited and burned for about two minutes to place itself and the Apollo spacecraft into the desired Earth orbit. At the proper time during this Earth parking orbit, the S-IVB stage was re-ignited to speed the Apollo spacecraft to escape velocity and inject it and the astronauts into a moon trajectory. Developed and manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company in California, the S-IVB stage measures about 21.5 feet in diameter, about 58 feet in length, and is powered by a single 200,000-pound-thrust J-2 engine with a re-start capability. The S-IVB stage was also used on the second stage of the Saturn IB launch vehicle.
An astronaut wearing a pressurized space suit performed a work task while suspended in a “zero-gravity” simulator known as the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS) at Marshall Space Flight Center. This particular task was one of many performed by astronauts while checking out the mockup for the Apollo Telescope Mount.
The 1960s Star Trek television series’ cast members visit NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, now Armstrong, in 1967. Chief Medical Officer Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy played by DeForest Kelley and the show’s creator Gene Roddenberry receive briefing on X-15 cockpit as they view inside.
POGO is a device that uses cables connected to the ceiling to suspend an astronaut. POGO supports five-sixths of a person's weight; it mimics the one-sixth gravity of the moon. An astronaut walking around on POGO has the sensation of walking on the moon. POGO has been around since the Apollo days - in fact, the device gets its name from the way Apollo astronauts tended to bounce when suspended from it. The real name for POGO is the Partial Gravity Simulator.
AS04-01-750 (9 Nov. 1967) --- Atlantic Ocean, Antarctica, looking west, as photographed from the Earth-orbital Apollo 4 (Spacecraft 017/Saturn 501) unmanned space mission. This picture was taken when the Spacecraft 017 and the Saturn S-IVB (third) stage was orbiting Earth at an altitude of 8,628 nautical miles.
Saturn V S-1C boosters lined up in the Horizontal Assembly area of Michoud Assembly Facility. Image dated 10-5-1967.
This photograph shows a test firing of the the Saturn V S-II (second) stage at the Mississippi Test Facility's (MTF) S-II test stand. When the Saturn V booster stage (S-IC) burns out and drops away, power for the Saturn will be provided by the 82-foot-long and 33-foot-diameter S-II stage. Developed by the Space Division of North American Aviation under the direction of the Marshall Space Flight Center, the stage utilized five J-2 engines, each producing 200,000 pounds of thrust. The engines used liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants. Static test of ground test versions of the S-II stage were conducted at North American Aviation's Santa Susana, California test site. All flight stages were tested at the Mississippi Test Facility, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. MTF was renamed to the National Space Technology Laboratory (NSTL) in 1974 and later to the Sternis Space Center in May 1988.
LLTV on runway. EAFB, HOUSTON, TX
S67-43595 (26 Aug. 1967) --- The Apollo 4 (Spacecraft 017/Saturn 501) stack and its mobile launch tower atop a crawler-transporter moving from the Vehicle Assembly Building toward Pad A, Launch Complex 39.
The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) played a crucial role in the development of the huge Saturn rockets that delivered humans to the moon in the 1960s. Many unique facilities existed at MSFC for the development and testing of the Saturn rockets. Affectionately nicknamed “The Arm Farm”, the Random Motion/ Lift-Off Simulator was one of those unique facilities. This facility was developed to test the swingarm mechanisms that were used to hold the rocket in position until lift-off. The Arm Farm provided the capability of testing the detachment and reconnection of various arms under brutally realistic conditions. The 18-acre facility consisted of more than a half dozen arm test positions and one position for testing access arms used by the Apollo astronauts. Each test position had two elements: a vehicle simulator for duplicating motions during countdown and launch; and a section duplicating the launch tower. The vehicle simulator duplicated the portion of the vehicle skin that contained the umbilical connections and personnel access hatches. Driven by a hydraulic servo system, the vehicle simulator produced relative motion between the vehicle and tower. On the Arm Farm, extreme environmental conditions (such as a launch scrub during an approaching Florida thunderstorm) could be simulated. The dramatic scenes that the Marshall engineers and technicians created at the Arm Farm permitted the gathering of crucial technical and engineering data to ensure a successful real time launch from the Kennedy Space Center.
Saturn 501 - Apollo Saturn V liftoff from Complex 39A at 7 a.m. 9 November 1967 at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
CAPE KENNEDY, Fla. -- At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the 500,000th visitor to take a NASA escorted bus tour, Donald A. Jackson of Sabina, Ohio, was welcomed at the new Visitor Information Center on Merritt Island by deputy center director Albert F. Siepert, left. Jackson toured the center with his wife, Sue, and their three children, Cheryl, Craig and Doug. Jackson works for the National Cash Register Co. The 500,000th visitor was recorded less than an hour after the Visitor Information Center was officially opened to the public at 8:45 a.m. The NASA tours were begun July 22, 1966, and since that time visitors from every state in the nation and more than 60 nations have toured the space center. Photo Credit: NASA
Workmen at the Kennedy Space Center position the nose cone for the 204LM-1, an unmanned Apollo mission that tested the Apollo Lunar Module (LM) in Earth orbit. Also known as Apollo 5, the spacecraft was launched on the fourth Saturn IBC launch vehicle. Developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) as an interim vehicle in MSFC's "building block" approach to the Saturn rocket development, the Saturn IBC utilized Saturn I technology to further develop and refine a larger booster and the Apollo spacecraft capabilities required for the manned lunar missions.
This image depicts a firing of a single H-1 engine at the Marshall Space Flight Center’s (MSFC’s) Power Plant test stand. This 1950s test stand, inherited from the Army, was used to test fire engines until the Test Area was completed in the latter 1960s. The H-1 engine was the workhorse of the first Saturn launch vehicles and used in the Saturn I, Block 1 and II, and in the Saturn IB. The eight H-1 engines were attached to a thrust frame on the vehicle’s aft end in two different ways. Four engines are rigidly attached to the inboard position and canted at a three degree angle to the long axis of the booster. The other four engines, mounted in the outboard position, are canted at six degrees.
This photo was taken by Lunar Orbiter IV. In it's mission to photograph areas on the new and far side of the Moon and supplemental photography of suggested Apollo landing sites.
S67-50590 (1867) --- Astronaut Frank Borman, assigned duty as commander of the Apollo 8 mission, participates in a training exercise in the Apollo Mission simulator in the Mission Simulation and training Facility, Building 5, at the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas. Photo credit: NASA
The first stage of the Apollo 11 Saturn V (S-1C-6) rocket awaits its departure from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, LA. Image dated 11-6-1967.
Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Director, Dr. von Braun, submerges after spending some time under water in the MSFC Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS). Weighted to a neutrally buoyant condition, Dr. von Braun was able to perform tasks underwater which simulated weightless conditions found in space.
This picture shows the Saturn V vehicle (AS-501), for the Apollo 4 mission on the Crawler Transporter Vehicle. It was rolled out from the Vehicle Assembly Building and slowly (1 mph) moved to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The Apollo 4 mission was the first launch of the Saturn V launch vehicle. Objectives of the unmanned Apollo 4 test flight were to obtain flight information on launch vehicle and spacecraft structural integrity and compatibility, flight loads, stage separation, and subsystems operation including testing of restart of the S-IVB stage, and to evaluate the Apollo command module heat shield. The Apollo 4 was launched on November 9, 1967 from KSC.
Workmen at the Kennedy Space Center hoist the Saturn Lunar Module (LM) Adapter into position during assembly of the 204LM-1, an unmanned Apollo mission that tested the Apollo Lunar Module in Earth orbit. Also known as Apollo 5, the spacecraft was launched on the fourth Saturn IB launch vehicle. Developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) as an interim vehicle in MSFC's "building block" approach to the Saturn rocket development, the Saturn IB utilized Saturn I technology to further develop and refine a larger booster and the Apollo spacecraft capabilities required for the manned lunar missions.
Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Director, Dr. von Braun, is shown leaving the suiting-up van wearing a pressure suit prepared for a tryout in the MSFC Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS). Weighted to a neutrally buoyant condition, Dr. von Braun was able to perform tasks underwater which simulated weightless conditions found in space.
de Havilland augmenter wing model 3/4 front view in 40 x 80 wind tunnel. JOHN CONWAY, ALAN WHEELBAND
Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Director, Dr. von Braun, submerges after spending some time under water in the MSFC Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS). Weighted to a neutrally buoyant condition, Dr. von Braun was able to perform tasks underwater which simulated weightless conditions found in space.
S67-36022 (20 June 1967) --- Apollo Spacecraft 017 is moved into position in the Vehicle Assembly Building's high bay area for mating with the Saturn V launch vehicle. S/C 017 will be flown on the Spacecraft 017/Saturn 501 (Apollo 4) space mission.
This photograph shows the Saturn V S-II (second) stage being hoisted at the S-II-A2 test stand at the Mississippi Test Facility (MTF). When the Saturn V booster stage (S-IC) burns out and drops away, power for the Saturn will be provided by the 82-foot-long and 33-foot-diameter S-II stage. Developed by the Space Division of North American Aviation under the direction of the Marshall Space Flight Center, the stage utilized five J-2 engines, each producing 200,000 pounds of thrust. The engines used liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants. Static test of ground test versions of the S-II stage were conducted at North American Aviation's Santa Susana, California test site. All flight stages were tested at the Mississippi Test Facility, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. MTF was renamed to the National Space Technology Laboratory (NSTL) in 1974 and later to the Sternis Space Center in May 1988.
S67-47941 (1967) --- Astronaut Karl G. Henize.
This illustration shows a cutaway drawing with callouts of the major components for the S-IC (first) stage of the Saturn V launch vehicle. The S-IC stage is 138 feet long and 33 feet in diameter, producing more than 7,500,000 pounds of thrust through five F-1 engines powered by liquid oxygen and kerosene. Four of the engines are mounted on an outer ring and gimball for control purposes. The fifth engine is rigidly mounted in the center. When ignited, the roar produced by the five engines equals the sound of 8,000,000 hi-fi sets.
The Apollo/Saturn 501 spacecraft undergoes checkout in test stand within the Kennedy Space Center’s Manned Spacecraft Operations Building in preparation for the first flight of NASA’s Saturn V space vehicle in the second quarter of this year. The command module, top, was mated to the service module, and both were joined to the Spacecraft Lunar Module Adapter, the type that eventually will house a Lunar Module. The first Saturn V flight will be unmanned.
Workmen remove the Saturn IB S-IVB-206, the second flight stage for the Skylab 2 mission, from the vehicle assembly building at the Kennedy Space Center. Designed and developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center and the Douglas Aircraft Company in Sacramento, California, the stage was powered by a single J-2 engine, which produced 200,000 pounds of thrust, later uprated to 230,000 pounds for the Saturn V launch vehicle.
In Marshall Space Flight Center's Building 4755, Center Director Dr. Wernher von Braun describes a model of the proposed Orbital Workshop to Vice President Hubert Humphrey, May 22, 1967. Humphrey, chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Council, toured Center facilities where he examined several mockups related to the Apllo Applications Program.
X-15A-2 with full scale ablative and external tanks installed parked in front of hangar. In June 1967, the X-15A-2 rocket-powered research aircraft received a full-scale ablative coating to protect the craft from the high temperatures associated with hypersonic flight (above Mach 5). This pink eraser-like substance, applied to the X-15A-2 aircraft (56-6671), was then covered with a white sealant coat before flight. This coating would help the #2 aircraft reach the record speed of 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7).
This picture is a view of stacking the major components of the S-IC (first) stage of the Saturn V vehicle at the Boeing vertical assembly building at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF). The view shows the S-IC forward skirt being lowered onto the liquid oxygen (LOX) tank. The Saturn IB and Saturn V first stages were manufactured at the MAF located 24 kilometers (approximately 15 miles) east of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana. The prime contractors, Chrysler and Boeing, jointly occupied the MAF. The basic manufacturing building boasted 43 acres under one roof. By 1964, NASA added a separate engineering and office building, vertical assembly building, and test stage building. By 1966, other changes to the site included enlarged barge facilities and other miscellaneous support buildings.
The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) played a crucial role in the development of the huge Saturn rockets that delivered humans to the moon in the 1960s. Many unique facilities existed at MSFC for the development and testing of the Saturn rockets. Affectionately nicknamed “The Arm Farm”, the Random Motion/ Lift-Off Simulator was one of those unique facilities. This facility was developed to test the swing arm mechanisms that were used to hold the rocket in position until liftoff. The Arm Farm provided the capability of testing the detachment and reconnection of various arms under brutally realistic conditions. The 18-acre facility consisted of more than a half dozen arm test positions and one position for testing access arms used by the Apollo astronauts. Each test position had two elements: a vehicle simulator for duplicating motions during countdown and launch; and a section duplicating the launch tower. The vehicle simulator duplicated the portion of the vehicle skin that contained the umbilical connections and personnel access hatches. Driven by a hydraulic servo system, the vehicle simulator produced relative motion between the vehicle and tower. On the Arm Farm, extreme environmental conditions (such as a launch scrub during an approaching Florida thunderstorm) could be simulated. The dramatic scenes that the Marshall engineers and technicians created at the Arm Farm permitted the gathering of crucial technical and engineering data to ensure a successful real time launch from the Kennedy Space Center. This photo depicts a close up view of the S-IV-B aft swing arm hydraulic with drain system orifice valve.
The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) played a crucial role in the development of the huge Saturn rockets that delivered humans to the moon in the 1960s. Many unique facilities existed at MSFC for the development and testing of the Saturn rockets. Affectionately nicknamed “The Arm Farm”, the Random Motion/ liftoff Simulator was one of those unique facilities. This facility was developed to test the swing arm mechanisms that were used to hold the rocket in position until liftoff. The Arm Farm provided the capability of testing the detachment and reconnection of various arms under brutally realistic conditions. The 18-acre facility consisted of more than a half dozen arm test positions and one position for testing access arms used by the Apollo astronauts. Each test position had two elements: a vehicle simulator for duplicating motions during countdown and launch; and a section duplicating the launch tower. The vehicle simulator duplicated the portion of the vehicle skin that contained the umbilical connections and personnel access hatches. Driven by a hydraulic servo system, the vehicle simulator produced relative motion between the vehicle and tower. On the Arm Farm, extreme environmental conditions (such as a launch scrub during an approaching Florida thunderstorm) could be simulated. The dramatic scenes that the Marshall engineers and technicians created at the Arm Farm permitted the gathering of crucial technical and engineering data to ensure a successful real time launch from the Kennedy Space Center. This photo depicts a close up of the S-IV-B aft swing arm orifice on the PV 43D soloniod valve.
Workmen at the Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC's) dock on the Ternessee River unload S-IB-211, the flight version of the Saturn IB launch vehicle's first stage, from the NASA barge Palaemon. Between December 1967 and April 1968, the stage would undergo seven static test firings in Marshall's S-IB static test stand.
The Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM), designed and developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, served as the primary scientific instrument unit aboard the Skylab. The ATM contained eight complex astronomical instruments designed to observe the Sun over a wide spectrum from visible light to x-rays. This photo depicts a mockup of the ATM contamination monitor camera and photometer.
S67-50903 (9 Nov. 1967) --- The Apollo 4 (Spacecraft 017/Saturn 501) space mission was launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The liftoff of the huge 363-feet tall Apollo/Saturn V space vehicle was at 7:00:01 a.m. (EST), Nov. 9, 1967. The successful objectives of the Apollo 4 Earth-orbital unmanned space mission obtained included (1) flight information on launch vehicle and spacecraft structural integrity and compatibility, flight loads, stage separation, subsystem operation, emergency detection subsystem, and (2) evaluation of the Apollo Command Module heat shield under conditions encountered on return from a moon mission.
Desert Survival Training with Astronauts Lousma, Ling, and Pogue. PASCO, WA
NASA used barges for transporting full-sized stages for the Saturn I, Saturn IB, and Saturn V vehicles between the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the manufacturing plant at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF), the Mississippi Test Facility for testing, and the Kennedy Space Center. The barges traveled from the MSFC dock to the MAF, a total of 1,086.7 miles up the Tennessee River and down the Mississippi River. The barges also transported the assembled stages of the Saturn vehicle from the MAF to the Kennedy Space Center, a total of 932.4 miles along the Gulf of Mexico and up along the Atlantic Ocean, for the final assembly and the launch. This photograph shows the barge Orion at the MSFC dock.
This cutaway illustration shows the Saturn V S-IVB (third) stage with the callouts of its major components. When the S-II (second) stage of the powerful Saturn V rocket burnt out and was separated the remaining units approached orbit around the Earth. Injection into the desired orbit was attaineded as the S-IVB (third stage) was ignited and burnt. The S-IVB stage was powered by a single 200,000-pound thrust J-2 engine and had a re-start capability built in for its J-2 engine. The S-IVB restarted to speed the Apollo spacecraft to escape velocity injecting it and the astronauts into a moon trajectory.
This is the official NASA portrait of astronaut William Anders. Anders was commissioned in the air Force after graduation from the Naval Academy and served as a fighter pilot in all-weather interception squadrons of the Air Defense Command. Later he was responsible for technical management of nuclear power reactor shielding and radiation effects programs while at the Air Force Weapons Laboratory in New Mexico. In 1964, Anders was selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as an astronaut with responsibilities for dosimetry, radiation effects and environmental controls. He was backup pilot for the Gemini XI, Apollo 11 flights, and served as lunar module (LM) pilot for Apollo 8, the first lunar orbit mission in December 1968. He has logged more than 6,000 hours flying time.