Jay:Dee
You Can't Keep a Great Engine Down
This is a Rocketdyne J-2 rocket engine, mounted on a Saturn V S-IVB third stage, on display at the Kennedy Space Center. This engine was designed in the early 1960s using slide rule technology over a period of about five years, demonstrating what can be done with a solid understanding of engineering principles and "low tech'" tools. The engine performed flawlessly throughout the Apollo program... the last one flew in 1975... and the design is currently being updated for use with NASA's planned Space Launch System. Contemporary young engineers have literally crawled around engines on display in museums and blown the dust off 40 year old drawings, concluding "Gee, the original designers really knew what they were doing!"
And just to show I'm not completely biased, the Russian RD-107 engine is another great design; it took shape on the drawing board in the mid 1950s and is still in service, launching cosmonauts and astronauts to the International Space Station today!
You Can't Keep a Great Engine Down
This is a Rocketdyne J-2 rocket engine, mounted on a Saturn V S-IVB third stage, on display at the Kennedy Space Center. This engine was designed in the early 1960s using slide rule technology over a period of about five years, demonstrating what can be done with a solid understanding of engineering principles and "low tech'" tools. The engine performed flawlessly throughout the Apollo program... the last one flew in 1975... and the design is currently being updated for use with NASA's planned Space Launch System. Contemporary young engineers have literally crawled around engines on display in museums and blown the dust off 40 year old drawings, concluding "Gee, the original designers really knew what they were doing!"
And just to show I'm not completely biased, the Russian RD-107 engine is another great design; it took shape on the drawing board in the mid 1950s and is still in service, launching cosmonauts and astronauts to the International Space Station today!