Dear & I have now arrived at Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour Stop 2 - Apollo/Saturn V Center - standing among many visitors in a closed-door Room waiting to watch a Video presentation :

In 1961, US President John F. Kennedy announced a goal of landing a Man on the Moon by the end of the decade. And the Apollo Program was a Human Spaceflight Program undertaken by NASA during 1961 to 1975 with the goal of conducting manned Moon Landing Missions.

The Saturn V was a multistage liquid-fuel expendable Rocket used by NASA’s Apollo & Skylab Programs from 1967 to 1973. In total, NASA launched 13 Saturn V Rockets, & Saturn V remains the largest & most powerful Launch Vehicle ever brought to operational status from a height, weight & payload standpoint.

Here’s a Video on the History of United States of America Space Program up to the Launch of Apollo 11, which was the first manned Mission to land on the Moon – self-taken by ME :

After watching the above inspiring Video, Dear & I enter into an Apollo 8 Mission Control Room (or a Mock-up Firing Room as in the Launch Control Center) with actual Consoles :

Apollo 8 was the 2nd manned Space Voyage that was launched on 21st Dec 1968. Commander Frank Boman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell, & Lunar Module Pilot William Anders became the First Humans to travel beyond Earth’s Orbit & into an Orbit around the Moon. It was also the 1st manned Launch of the Saturn V Rocket.

The Crew took 3 days to travel to the Moon. They orbited 10 times over the course of 20 hours, returning to Earth on 28th Dec 1968. This successful Mission of Apollo 8 paved the way for Apollo 11 to fufill US President John F. Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the Moon before the end of the decade (1960s).

Altogether, 12 men walked on the Moon between 1969 & 1972.

Here’s a STDN (Space Flight Tracking & Data Network) Station Supplying Data inside the Control Room :

And just as we look at the below time clocks, the Countdown begins………..& soon the first Saturn V launches the Apollo to the Moon……………

Let us now watch the following Video on the Launch of Apollo 8 simulated from the Mission Control Room : 

After the end of the above amazing Video presentation, we proceed to an extremely huge room where there’s a GIANT 363-foot Saturn V Rocket -

WOW this is the Machine that brought Astronauts to the Moon, & millions of people held their breath while a single Man stepped onto the Moon’s surface – a journey that began just a short distance from where the Apollo/Saturn V Center stands now - & brought them back safely to Earth :

And Dear immediately goes “WHOA WHOA!!! This is so superb!! So superb!!! See how big the 5 Engines are!!! Amazing!!”

Here’s a pic of Apollo/Saturn V Center from my Kennedy Space Center English Visitor Guide :

Below pics show Dear with the Saturn V Rocket :

Now, let’s find out why America built Saturn V Rocket??

Well, landing men on the Moon & returning them safely to Earth required a Launch Vehicle of unprecedented strength & size. NASA responded to the challenge by developing the most powerful & most massive staged Rocket in American History.

Weighing almost 6.2 million pounds, a fully loaded Saturn V was as heavy as 7 Boeing 747 Jumbo Jets.

And the Saturn V is being compared to 9 Kennedy Space Center Tour Buses, 2 Space Shuttles, 2.4 Statue of Liberty, 4.4 Mercury Redstones, & 1 American Football Field in the illustrated diagram :

Now, how did we move such a giant V Saturn?!?!

Well, read on about how the different Stages of the Saturn V were moved, & how the Rocket was assembled :

Here’s an Exhibit on the Crawler-Transporter that was used to carry the Apollo/Saturn V Rocket (or Launch Vehicle) to the Launch Pad :

And the following pic shows the Launch Complex 39 which supports the Crawler-Transporter used for transporting Space Shuttle Vehicles :

More pics of the Saturn V Launch Vehicle in its different sections :

It’s Dear again who loves it here at the Apollo/Saturn V Center, & can’t stop asking me to snap pics of him with the humongous Saturn V Rocket :

Now, let’s find out what’s actually inside a Saturn V Rocket :

Here’s the Saturn V First Stage (S-IC) :

Saturn V Second Stage (S-II) :

Saturn V Third Stage (S-IVB) :

And the last section – Saturn V Command Module (CM) :

Constructed by North American Rockwell, the Command Module (CM) was the only Apollo/Saturn V component to return to Earth. Functioning as a Cockpit, Office, Kitchen, Bedroom & Bathroom, the CM was home to the 3 Astronauts (in Apollo 8) except when 2 of the Crew members walked the Moon in the Lunar Module.

The Launch Escape Module (LES) at the tip of the Apollo/Saturn V was designed to separate the CM from the rest of the Rocket in the event of a Launch emergency. It was jettisoned approximately 30 seconds after the ignition of the S-II Stage.

Dear & I look at more interesting Exhibits :

An Apollo Lunar Module (or Lander) :

Dear beside Exhibits on “The Moon – Exploring a New World – Lunar Experiments” :

Dear standing next to an Apollo Spacesuit display (mock-up of the original) - worn by Apollo 13 Commander James Lovell on the Odyssey Spacecraft. Had the Mission not been aborted en route to the Moon, Lovell would have worn this Spacesuit when he explored the Lunar surface :

Here’s a Rover Training Vehicle & its Exhibits Gallery :

Due to insufficient time as it’s almost 2.30pm now & we’ve yet to complete the rest of our tours in Kennedy Space Center, Dear & I decide to make a quick stop at the NASA Right Stuff Souvenir Shop located in the middle of the Apollo/Saturn V Center before making a move out of here :

We quickly made the following purchases – a most beautiful Kennedy Space Center Souvenir Photo Frame :

And my most favourite Kennedy Space Center Apollo/Saturn V Water Globe (surrounded with Apollo Logos of NASA Apollo Program, Apollo 8, Apollo 11 & Apollo 13) with NASA Astronaut holding an United States of America Flag standing on the Moon – Man’s GREATEST Achievement in History :

Heheh, though I find no more nice Souvenir Magnets, I’m glad I found the above priced Kennedy Space Center ornaments to add to my World Souvenirs Collection – I’m a real happy gal now!!

And though Dear & I can’t land on the Moon, we feel a great sense of achievement stepping into the Apollo/Saturn V Center today & seeing the GIANT Moon Rocket on Earth!!!

Now, please watch my following Slideshow as Dear & I make our way out of the Apollo/Saturn V Center to hop on the outside Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour to continue on our 3rd destination - See ya later!!