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Author
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Topic: First Saturn rocket stage (S-AT) destroyed
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 48128
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-06-2022 04:49 PM
   
The first Saturn rocket stage built by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), pre-dating NASA's Apollo program, has been destroyed. The S-AT static test stage was also the first Saturn stage to be test fired.In total, it was test fired 31 times. In 2019, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, excessed the stage and offered it to any museum or educational institution for just the cost of shipping (estimated to be a quarter of a million dollars). There were no interested parties. The stage, which for years has sat at the base of the Static Test Tower, has now been scrapped. From rocket test enigneer Ashlee Spacewell (via Twitter): This should not have happened.I understand others may not value history the way some of us do, but to destroy a 1960s Saturn IB booster, one that was uniquely used for static testing, should be UNTHINKABLE. Unfortunately, this won't be the last piece of NASA history taken down. Many other structures from the Apollo era are set for demo (like the stand for this rocket). Sad reality is NASA doesn't have the money to preserve them and also work all our current/future projects.  
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SpaceAholic
Member Posts: 5046
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-06-2022 05:00 PM
The H-1 engines must have been salvageable for display given a little forethought and planning. |
Ken Havekotte
Member Posts: 3416
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 04-06-2022 05:09 PM
What a shame. It's too bad that an aerospace museum or a private facility of some sort could not have use for it. |
p51
Member Posts: 1742
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011
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posted 04-06-2022 05:40 PM
Too bad, but I'm not surprised. there's a lot of space related items in the area and it's just too darned big to move!The US Space and Rocket center has enough stuff to keep track of in a now-just-waning pandemic timeframe which brought them very few visitors and almost no Space Camp attendees. Last thing they need is another giant restoration project. quote:
Originally posted by Ken Havekotte:
What a shame. It's too bad that an aerospace museum or a private facility of some sort could not have use for it.
That's the problem. Everyone says, "Someone" needs to save it. But everyone is "someone" to someone else. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 48128
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-06-2022 05:54 PM
NASA doesn't have the money to preserve them That is really the crux of the problem. In an ideal world, NASA would have all the funding it needs to push forward on its new programs and projects while also having sufficient funds to protect its history. In reality, it hardly has enough to maintain history offices at each of its field centers. There are a lot of people within NASA who want to save pieces like this, but have no ability to do so. Were NASA funded properly, this wouldn't be a concern. |
Ken Havekotte
Member Posts: 3416
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 04-06-2022 06:08 PM
That's why I didn't mention NASA or the government having access to the old Saturn (S-AT) static first stage. Those days are no longer here as Robert is correct in what he posted above. |
MartinAir
Member Posts: 168
From:
Registered: Oct 2020
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posted 04-06-2022 06:21 PM
Sad indeed. Shouldn't public and/or private institutions like Smithsonian concentrate on preserving history? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 48128
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-06-2022 07:33 PM
The Smithsonian does what it can, but it is limited both financially and logistically. The Institution no longer has the funds needed to take ownership and then ship large objects (like this stage) around the country, nor does it have the resources to conserve objects in place (which wasn't really an option in this case, given where the stage was sitting within an active arsenal). |
Zoo Keeper
Member Posts: 31
From: Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Registered: Feb 2021
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posted 04-06-2022 08:00 PM
A large part of this unfortunate result can be attributed to the resources that nonprofits have at their disposal. Would a museum like to add such a significant Saturn stage to their collection? I'm sure there are a few who would be interested. Do those facilities have a quarter of a million dollars for shipping plus the costly process of restoration? Very rarely. In the case of the Saturn V SIC stage at the Infinity Science Center, the state underwrote the cost of moving the artifact to the museum. Most museums are not as lucky, and fundraising for a Saturn I or Saturn IB stage would be an uphill battle compared to the more popular Saturn V. |
hidaleeho
Member Posts: 73
From: Denver, Colorado, USA
Registered: Dec 2011
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posted 04-07-2022 10:09 AM
Does anyone know if they destroyed the H1 engines as well as the S-AT? I can see one in the picture, but it doesn't look damaged. |
AlanLawrie
Member Posts: 102
From: hitchin, herts, UK
Registered: Oct 2003
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posted 04-07-2022 10:48 AM
A few comments from my side. - The SA-T stage included the very first prototype H-1 engine, so it might have been helpful to have at least saved that one item even if the remainder of the stage was scrapped
- In 2004 NASA recommended this stage become a National Historic Monument. Had that taken place I guess the destruction would not have taken place.
- It is a pity that the general public never had a good chance to see this stage as it has been on MSFC property since the early 1960s, making visits almost impossible. I never really understood the reason for keeping it on private property, where outside visits were impossible, compared with moving it over to the USSRC where at least anyone could have viewed it for the past 60 years. Note that it was not the property of the Smithsonian for some reason.
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