KSC Visitor Complex Rocket Garden: Saturn IB

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Author	Topic: KSC Visitor Complex Rocket Garden: Saturn IB
RISPACE Member Posts: 67 From: Warwick, RI USA Registered: Jan 2006	posted 04-26-2013 01:42 PM I am wondering if anyone has any info on the possible repair and restoration of the Saturn 1B (SA-109) in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center. Is anything planned? I was there recently and it is in somewhat bad shape — birds living within, cracked paint, mold and mildew build up, etc. Reminds me of the days when the Saturn V was displayed outside the Vehicle Assembly Building.
mode1charlie Member Posts: 1169 From: Honolulu, HI Registered: Sep 2010	posted 04-26-2013 11:21 PM That's...alarming. I checked the article on Wikipedia, and it is SA-209, which was the standby that would have launched a notional Skylab 4 and later Apollo-Soyuz rescue CSM-119. It also would have launched the cancelled CSM mission to lift Skylab workshop's orbit until the Space Shuttle ready to fly. The article notes that "Due to severe corrosion, the first stage engines and Service Module were replaced with fabricated duplicates in 1993–1994." So this would seem to be the only remaining (formerly) fully launch-ready Saturn IB.
J.L Member Posts: 674 From: Bloomington, Illinois, USA Registered: May 2005	posted 04-26-2013 11:41 PM Not from 1993-94, but this photo shows the same Saturn 1B (SA-209) being fitted with mock engines before being shipped to Japan in 1978 for the Space Expo.
GACspaceguy Member Posts: 2476 From: Guyton, GA Registered: Jan 2006	posted 04-27-2013 05:17 AM Here are photos I took in 2009: While peeling paint and mildew are ugly, it is the significant amount of exfoliation corrosion happening on the lower hat section stingers that have me concerned. The last time I was there I saw even more corrosion on some of the main fittings. I cannot even imagine what is going on top side, in places where water can pool after the rain. I trust they will do something about it at some point and I hope it is not just a pressure wash and a coat of paint.
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 04-27-2013 08:19 AM From what I understand, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex's 10-year master plan, which includes the construction of the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit, the recently completed new entranceway into the complex, and the new Rocket Garden restaurant opposite the Rocket Garden, also includes work on the Rocket Garden itself.
SpaceKSCBlog Member Posts: 119 From: Merritt Island, FL Registered: Nov 2011	posted 04-27-2013 07:46 PM I've heard that some of the artifacts in the Rocket Garden actually belong to the Smithsonian, which would complicate matters as it would be their responsibility to fix them, not KSCVC.
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 04-27-2013 08:32 PM To the best of my knowledge, the rockets in the garden are NASA property and do not involve the Smithsonian.
SpaceKSCBlog Member Posts: 119 From: Merritt Island, FL Registered: Nov 2011	posted 04-27-2013 08:57 PM When the Mercury-Atlas was replaced last year by the replica, I was told the Smithsonian had recalled the original.
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 02-09-2014 10:52 AM Astronaut Tom Jones shared this photo on Facebook this week: The Saturn IB booster here at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is newly refurbished and looks ready to carry an Apollo to orbit. Come visit!
GACspaceguy Member Posts: 2476 From: Guyton, GA Registered: Jan 2006	posted 02-09-2014 11:00 AM I trust it was reworked and not just painted. I hope to go to KSC shortly and have a look for myself.
tegwilym Member Posts: 2331 From: Sturgeon Bay, WI Registered: Jan 2000	posted 02-09-2014 01:25 PM I was there before Christmas this year. They had a crew out there painting some of the rockets in the rocket garden. They looked pretty good!
dabolton Member Posts: 419 From: Seneca, IL, US Registered: Jan 2009	posted 02-09-2014 04:48 PM What was in the shroud that held the lunar module on the Saturn V launches? Was it a mass simulator?
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 02-09-2014 05:35 PM On most Saturn IB flights, the shroud (known as the Spacecraft Launch Adapter, or SLA) was empty, serving as a "structural interstage between the instrument unit atop the S-IVB stage and the service module" (to quote the Apollo 7 press kit). On Apollo 5, the SLA surrounded the first lunar module to fly in space.
Ronpur Member Posts: 1211 From: Brandon, Fl Registered: May 2012	posted 02-09-2014 06:52 PM And Apollo 5 had a nosecone atop the SLA and no CSM. ASTP had a docking module inside its SLA.
contra Member Posts: 318 From: Kiel, Germany Registered: Mar 2005	posted 02-10-2014 11:22 AM Took some photos during my last trips in October and again in December 2013. October 2013; construction fence visible October 2013; close up of first stage December 2013; construction fence gone December 2013; construction fence gone
Ronpur Member Posts: 1211 From: Brandon, Fl Registered: May 2012	posted 03-05-2014 08:18 PM I took quite a few close ups of the Saturn IB today. It looks very good. I wonder how long the paint will last. Florida sun and weather is harsh... just ask my car.
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 12-23-2014 01:52 PM Some photos from the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex's Holidays in Space 3D mapping show, running through Dec. 30, 2014:
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 07-02-2018 09:01 AM collectSPACE Restoration begins on NASA's last flight-configured Saturn IB rocket An extensive effort is underway to save NASA's last remaining flight-configured rocket of the same type that launched the first Apollo astronauts 50 years ago. The surviving, mostly-intact Saturn IB booster, which for decades has laid on its side, spanning the length of the Rocket Garden at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, is now receiving a much-needed restoration. The 220-foot-long (68-meter) artifact was never used, but briefly stood ready for a launch.
GACspaceguy Member Posts: 2476 From: Guyton, GA Registered: Jan 2006	posted 07-02-2018 02:02 PM Fantastic!!!!
Panther494 Member Posts: 402 From: London UK Registered: Jan 2013	posted 07-02-2018 02:06 PM Wonderful news.
Cozmosis22 Member Posts: 968 From: Texas * Earth Registered: Apr 2011	posted 07-02-2018 07:01 PM Yay! Good to see it gets to stay outside there with its pals in the Rocket Garden.
pupnik Member Posts: 114 From: Maryland Registered: Jan 2014	posted 07-06-2018 01:58 PM As great as it is to see them outside pointed towards the heavens, hopefully they will be able to get them indoors eventually. There's already been several cases of damage by storm. And on top of that, the coastal Florida conditions just aren't good for long term conditions. They can keep them looking outwardly good for a while but fatigue and corrosion are permanent, and only get worse with time.
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 07-06-2018 04:09 PM The Saturn IB aside, a number of the rockets in the Garden are replicas for which historical preservation is not a concern. The Mercury-Redstone and Mercury-Atlas are replicas (the center's historic Redstone is restored and preserved inside Heroes & Legends) and the Gemini-Titan is a replica constructed out of a Titan II missile. I don't know the pedigree for the Juno I, Juno II, Thor-Delta or Atlas-Agena.
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 08-11-2018 06:15 PM Here are some photos of the work underway to restore the Saturn IB at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex (taken today, Aug. 11):
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 04-04-2019 04:35 PM From Chad Emery Shores on Facebook: Early morning rocket garden visitors got quite a show today. It was great working with the S-IVB-209! Sad that folks won’t see the restored J-2 engine (J-2083) again for a while.
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 06-18-2019 12:00 AM collectSPACE Fully restored, Apollo-era Saturn IB rocket returns to NASA display NASA's last remaining, flight-configured example of the rocket that launched the first Apollo astronauts into space is back on public view, having undergone an almost year-long, extensive restoration. Construction walls spanning the length of the Rocket Garden at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida were recently taken down, revealing the mostly-original, historic Saturn IB booster on display. The forerunner to the Saturn V that launched astronauts to the moon, the Saturn IB was first used by NASA's Apollo 7 crew in October 1968. "We actually finished a little bit early," said Jennifer Mayo, senior manager of exhibits and artifacts for Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, in an interview with collectSPACE. "Our original planned finish date was going be in early July."
GACspaceguy Member Posts: 2476 From: Guyton, GA Registered: Jan 2006	posted 06-18-2019 04:26 AM I am so glad his vehicle was restored. It is truly a treasure that needs to be available for decades of visitors. Was there ever any talk of a building to preserve the preservation?
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 06-18-2019 07:40 AM Jennifer Mayo, senior manager of exhibits and artifacts for Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, was not aware of plans for a building, but she said that the restoration was conducted with the knowledge that the rocket was to be displayed outside and so it was prepared accordingly. In addition, there is now an inspection and maintenance plan in place to support the rocket on an annual schedule.
GACspaceguy Member Posts: 2476 From: Guyton, GA Registered: Jan 2006	posted 06-18-2019 11:18 AM Thanks Robert. I am sure they did the best they could, but after 40 years of providing repair data to corroded aircraft it has been my experience that you can slow it down but you cannot stop corrosion. Even hangered aircraft in a humid salt rich atmosphere still corrode. And while aircraft reach a limit of validity or economic limit at which time they are put aside, these historical vehicles do not have that option. That is if we want the next two or three generations to be able to see the "real deal." I applauded their efforts and am sure that corrosion inhibiting compound application, zinc rich paints (assuming they could not use Chromate rich paints as that is an EPA issue now) along with a dedicated inspection schedule will all help, a building should remain on the table for the future. Now if I can just win the lotto and become one of those anonymous donators you hear about from time to time, a building there will be.