The second stop on the tram tour was at the Rocket Park. Out front, they had some older rockets which were used for early Mercury missions and to push early satellites into orbit. The big feature was inside the building, where a Saturn V rocket was on display. This is the rocket that got men to and from the moon back around the time that I was born. My photos from this part aren’t really complete, as I was engaged in some other creative work, which will show up in one of the next couple of posts. But there are pictures of people here who you know and love, so if you want to find out more about just the rocket side, there’s some good sources on the Internet.
Rocket fuselage flagThis is a picture of the lower fuselage (I’m sure there is a more ‘rockety’ term, maybe ‘Stage 1 ancillary exterior’).
Mikaela, Kiersten, and HeidiHeidi, Mikaela, and KierstenEthan, Heidi, Mikaela, Kiersten, and BrockBy this part in the tour, the younger ones were done with reading exhibits and walking slowly.
The view from near the topLooking down the length of the Saturn V rocketA couple of pictures trying to capture the size of the rocket.
Rocket factsSome facts about the Saturn V rocket.
Lori, Danaya, and DaelynnSome of my most favorite people in the world.
Lori and Daelynn look at the detailsA larger viewDanaya, Dad, and Daelynn check out the nose section of the rocketAnd to finish off this particular post, here are some pictures of us looking closeup at the rocket. These pictures were taken of the top of Stage 2 showing the fuel (or possibly oxygen) tank, as well as looking up into the next stage. I haven’t taken the time to really understand how this rocket worked, but I’m guessing that the big open space that we are looking at was where the lunar lander was located during the trip into space.
This was the second and last stop on the tram tour, I think I have two more posts and then we’ll be done with Space Center Houston.
Wow – perspective really helps. Showing people standing next to it gives me a better idea of just how big all those pieces are. Amazing! Someday I would like to see it for myself :)
Wow – perspective really helps. Showing people standing next to it gives me a better idea of just how big all those pieces are. Amazing! Someday I would like to see it for myself :)