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Author
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Topic: Saturn V - the loudest sound?
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Obviousman
Member Posts: 438
From: NSW, Australia
Registered: May 2005
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posted 12-29-2007 03:55 AM
   
A trivia piece I often hear is that the Saturn V launch was the loudest man-made sound apart from a nuclear detonation.What about the N-1? Was that any louder than the Saturn? |
bruce
Member Posts: 917
From: Fort Mill, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 12-29-2007 10:13 AM
The first time I saw The Who (in 1970) it sounded and felt like the whole arena was being launched into space! |
hlbjr
Member Posts: 481
From: Delray Beach Florida USA
Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 12-29-2007 10:23 AM
WHAT?!! |
star61
Member Posts: 294
From: Bristol UK
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 12-29-2007 10:34 AM
I believe the NERVA nuclear engine was louder. Can't remember the db involved, I'll see if I can find it. |
Lunar rock nut
Member Posts: 911
From: Oklahoma city, Oklahoma U.S.A.
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 12-29-2007 02:37 PM
I am 51 and saw an Apollo launch when I was 15. In the past 36 years I don't believe I have heard anything as loud as that launch. I have worked concerts and heard many heavy duty pyrotechnic displays civilian and military. The percussive sound and pressure waves from the Saturn five engines kept thumping my chest as the rocket went down range. I'll never forget that. |
Joe Holloway
Member Posts: 74
From: Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Registered: Jan 2007
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posted 01-03-2008 10:27 PM
Even though I posted this WAV file months ago, here it is again for your listening pleasure. This is the sound of the last Saturn V to fly, lofting the Skylab Orbital Workshop, as recorded on my Dad's Toshiba mono cassette recorder. We were standing a couple of hundred feet in front of the VAB, about 3.5 miles from L/C-39A. I remember the frustration of it flying directly into a low cloud. Dad (and his Kodak Instamatic) are very obvious, and an 8-year old "me" may be heard in the low background ("Wow...man...etc.") Seems like only yesterday, but it was 35 years ago this May! Alas... |
Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 01-04-2008 03:29 AM
The comment at the end was rather telling... That's the last one like that though, maybe forever. No more Saturn Vs. Listing to it on my headphones, the Saturn V rockets make a popping sound similar to that of the SRBs from the launch I attended (possibly at a similar decibel level). But since a Shuttle leaping off the pad accelerates faster, the sound doesn't sit there close to the ground for as long and you get a more intense effect it seems (with the sound waves shaking the VAB doors).Thanks for posting this! |
KSCartist
Member Posts: 2913
From: Titusville, FL USA
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 01-04-2008 07:13 AM
To echo Jay's comments. I have watched both Apollo 17 and shuttle launches from the same area (next to the VAB). The reason the Saturn V seems louder is because it rises more slowly (majestically) than the shuttle which in comparison leaps off the pad.A side note Doc Horowitz told me that the Ares V will resemble a shuttle launch more than a Saturn V launch in its acceleration. |
Joe Holloway
Member Posts: 74
From: Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Registered: Jan 2007
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posted 01-04-2008 04:04 PM
Yes, Jay, Dad's statement about the last Saturn V was very poignant, indeed. He was an outspoken layman-supporter of the space program; he, along with his three sons, was very sentimental about the "last days of Apollo" (to include Skylab).With the same mono recorder, "fast forward two years to 1975," and we were in almost the exact same spot for the launch of the ASTP American crew:
ASTP Saturn IB Launch Audio Obviously, at one-fifth the thrust of the Saturn V, this bird didn't give us the same pounding from 3-1/2 miles away. Yet, it was impressive, just the same. Coolest part was that Deke Slayton finally got his ride. Even at age 10, I felt honored to "be there for" the old Project Mercury veteran. Now THAT was an emotional launch...the last Apollo...period. By the way, Dad's last launch viewed in person was the Titan carrying Cassini. He passed away in 2001. |
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