Enhanced Apollo/Saturn V Center Takes Visitors Back to 1969

August 12, 2019

On the grounds of the Apollo/Saturn V Center is a stunning sculpture depicting the Apollo 11 astronauts in their space suits. A Moon Tree Garden including 12 trees grown from seeds that orbited the Moon on Apollo 14 surround the statue. Photo credit: SpaceAgeChronicle.com/Bob Granath

By Bob Granath

It was the year of the Miracle Mets. The Beatles had another No. 1 hit with “Get Back.” “True Grit” was showing in movie theaters. Nearly 400,000 people showed up for Woodstock. But on a day in July 1969, an estimated 600 million people around the world stopped to watch as, for the first time, men from planet Earth walked on the Moon.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex captures the excitement of the historic lunar landing in their revamped Apollo/Saturn V Center. This feature will focus on the new exhibits at that facility that includes a 1969 period living room recreating what life was like a half-century ago.

The “The Eagle has Landed” sculpture depicts Apollo 11 astronauts, from the left, Mike Collins, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. The trio are posed as if they are watching the latest rocket launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo credit: SpaceAgeChronicle.com/Bob Granath

Just in time for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, the enhancements were unveiled in advance of the arrival of thousands who flocked to the Florida spaceport for the anniversary celebrations.

Additions included a sculpture by George Lundeen depicting Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins and Buzz Aldrin. Titled “The Eagle has Landed,” the statue is a gift to the visitor complex from Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans. Stunning in detail, the trio are posed in space suits appearing to watch the latest rocket launch from NASA’s space center or Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

“We presented this statue to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to honor the courage and importance of the Apollo 11 crew, who achieved the impossible by landing man on the Moon and into the annals of history,” said Casey Hurbis, chief marketing officer of Rocket Mortgage, during a ceremony on July 12, 2019.

During the Apollo Program, this walkway was swing arm 9 on a launch umbilical tower. Mounted 320 feet above the launch pad's surface, it provided astronauts accessed the hatch of the command module atop the Saturn V rocket. In this display, at the end of the walkway is the white room attached to a mock-up spacecraft. Inside the capsule are simulated astronauts. — During the Apollo Program, this walkway was swing arm 9 on a launch umbilical tower. Mounted 320 feet above the launch pad’s surface, it provided astronauts accessed the hatch of the command module atop the Saturn V rocket. In this display, at the end of the walkway is the white room attached to a mock-up spacecraft. Inside the capsule are simulated astronauts. Photo credit: SpaceAgeChronicle.com/Bob Granath

Additionally, 12 trees provided by the Moon Tree Foundation surrounds the statue on the grounds at the Apollo/Saturn V Center. The Moon Tree Garden includes saplings grown from seeds that orbited the Moon on Apollo 14 in February 1971. The mission’s command module pilot, Stuart Roosa, took along the unusual tree seeds payload. Seeds chosen were from five different types: Loblolly Pine, Sycamore, Sweetgum, Redwood and Douglas Fir.

In the early 1950’s, Roosa worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a smoke jumper helping fight fires. He later joined the U.S. Air Force, becoming a test pilot. In 1966, Roosa was one of 19 selected as NASA astronauts.

At the base of the 363-foot Saturn V rocket are five F-1 engines that, together, generated 7.5 million pounds of thrust to launch Apollo crews to the Moon. Photo credit: SpaceAgeChronicle.com/Bob Granath

Roosa’s daughter, Rosemary Roosa, president and chief executive officer of the Moon Tree Foundation, explained that the organization continues to fulfill its mission by planting second-generation “Moon Trees” all over the world. The 12 trees in the Moon Tree Garden represent each piloted Apollo mission. In addition to the 11 flights, the crew who perished in the flash fire aboard Apollo 1 also are honored.

“The garden and the life-size sculpture of the Apollo 11 crew are tributes to the outstanding accomplishments of the Apollo Program,” said Therrin Protze, chief operating officer of Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

*Lunar module 9 now is on ground level with simulated space-suited astronauts working nearby. Photo credit: SpaceAgeChronicle.com/Bob Granath*

The centerpiece of the Apollo/Saturn V Center remains an actual 363-foot Saturn V rocket. Plans originally called for three more lunar landings, Apollos 18, 19 and 20. All were cancelled due to NASA budget cuts. This left the unused launch vehicles that now are on display at Kennedy, the Johnson Space Center in Houston and the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

New exhibits at the Apollo/Saturn V Center provides an opportunity to get a closer look at an authentic Apollo command module. CM 119 has steps allowing guests to peer into the tunnel used by astronauts to move between the CM and lunar module.

Lunar module 9 now is on ground level with simulated space-suited astronauts working nearby. This too is a lunar module that could have been used had the additional three missions not been cancelled.

The Treasures of Apollo Gallery includes many artifacts from that era including the Apollo 14 command module flown by Roosa, Alan Shepard and Ed Mitchell.

New exhibits at the Apollo/Saturn V Center include an opportunity to get a closer look at an authentic Apollo command/service module. The steps allow guests to peer into the tunnel used by astronauts to move between the CM and lunar module. Photo credit: SpaceAgeChronicle.com/Bob Granath

Since the Apollo/Saturn V Center opened in December 1996, visitors enter and watch a re-creation of the launch of Apollo 8 in the reconstructed Apollo era Launch Control Center Firing Room. At the other end of the center, a theater plays out the drama of the first Moon landing.

The Kennedy visitor complex is worth dedicating a day for a visit. The complex also includes more than just the Apollo/Saturn V Center. The Heroes & Legends attraction features the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. Inside are the Mercury capsule flown by astronaut Wally Schirra in 1962 and the Gemini IX spacecraft flown by Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan in 1966.

I posed with the Apollo 14 command module inside the Treasures of Apollo Gallery at the Apollo Saturn V Center during a VIP tour in 2009. Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa and Ed Mitchell flew Apollo 14 to the Moon in January and February 1971. Photo credit: SpaceAgeChronicle.com/Fred Bartlett

Inside the Space Shuttle Atlantis attraction, the orbiter is displayed with payload bay doors opened and the robotic remote manipulator system arm extended.

The bus tour of the Kennedy Space Center is included with admission and includes the stop at the Apollo/Saturn V Center.

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is open daily from 9 a.m. to closing times that vary by season.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this post are my own. I did not receive compensation for this post.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

SpaceAgeChronicle.com