Assembly of S-IU-200F/500F, the Facilities
Checkout/ Dynamic Test version of the Saturn V
Instrument Unit, being completed.
(Image courtesy of NASA)
are 500 feet (152 m) above the oor
and can touch a heavy object on an egg
on the oor, without breaking the shell.
The 40 MW air conditioning system can
completely replace the air in the building
in an hour.
Transport to the launch sites was
accomplished by the largest (again, of
course) vehicle in the world, a crawler
capable of carrying a Saturn V and its
umbilical tower, sitting on a Mobile
Launch Platform (MLP), the 3-4 miles to
the Launch Complex at one mile an hour.
Once the MLP was in place, the crawler
would bring an additional structure to
provide access to all parts of the vehicle.
One of the bridges on the umbilical tower
gave access to the spacecraft. When the
vehicle was fully fuelled, the vehicle was
shortened by the added weight and the
temperature of the cryogenic liquids, so
a second bridge, 10 feet (3 m) lower
down, gave access for the astronauts.
The liquid hydrogen fuel was provided
by a facility larger than all the previous
LH2 plants in North America put together.
The launch facilities had to support the
3,500 tons of the fully-fuelled Saturn
On July 16, 1969, the 363-feet tall
Saturn V rocket launches on the
Apollo 11 mission from Pad A, Launch
Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center.
(Image courtesy of NASA)
Unexpected spin-offs
Many Apollo-era technologies resulted in the invention of new products. These spin-offs were an
unintended, but welcome, benet of Apollo. From cordless power tools to reective insulation,
chances are that a bit of the space program has made its way into your home as well.
Among the most famous Apollo spin-off technologies is the Dustbuster vacuum. Apollo
astronauts needed a portable drill capable of extracting core samples as deep as 10 feet below
the lunar surface. Black and Decker rened the space technology to develop the rst cordless
miniature vacuum.
Today, NASA averages about 1,700 inventions per year and continues to transfer technology for
public benet. “The more NASA is tasked with solving difcult challenges, the greater the likelihood
that we will need to invent new solutions,” says Technology Transfer Program Executive Daniel
Lockney. “Going forward to the Moon in a sustainable way will require new technologies, and these
innovations could very well improve everything from household chores to medical procedures.”
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