From the dawn of history, man has dreamed
and planned of ways to get away from his Earth-bound
existence, to travel among the stars.
Now, for the first time, the way is open.
We know how to travel to the Moon and beyond,
and in a short time, we will, using our largest
and most advanced space rocket, the Saturn
Super Rocket.
[Music Plays]
With a successful firing of the Saturn, a
gigantic stride has been taken in the exploration
of space.
Many times I have been asked why we are exploring
beyond our Earth.
I will give you a few of the many valid reasons.
First of all, of course, is knowledge of Earth,
our solar system, and the universe.
Throughout history, new knowledge has always
improved the lot of the human race.
From the tangible, practical standpoint, mankind
will receive enormous economic benefits from
the conquest of space.
One important objective is to establish weather
satellites to ease the enormous cost to society
and lives, suffering, and property damage
caused by storms and hurricanes.
Communication s satellites can provide reliable
television, radio, and telephone service to
any point on Earth and produce a revenue to
the nation.
A navigation satellite will make transportation
by ship and aircraft safer and faster.
Achievement of our major goal of landing a
man on the Moon and returning him safely to
Earth within this decade will be of inestimable
value.
We have been given the scientific knowledge,
the technical ability, and the materials to
pursue the exploration of the universe.
To ignore these great resources would be a
corruption of a God-given ability.
[Music Plays]
Approval was given in November 1958 to start
construction of the first stage of this space
booster, the largest rocket under development
in the United States.
A team of scientists and technicians under
the leadership of Dr. Wernher von Braun planned
the system.
How to assemble, test, transport, service,
fuel, and erect the spaceship carrier, the
unique rocket development facilities of the
Marshall Space Flight Center at Huntsville,
Alabama were altered for the task ahead.
In time, fabrication started at the center,
tanks were formed from huge sheets of metal,
jigs and fixtures were developed for construction
and assembly.
Special procedures were used to assure proper
alignment of the propellant tanks, and powerful
engines and other complicated parts, so they
would perform properly and would withstand
the almost unprecedented forced they would
encounter.
At the same time, work was progressing on
the complicated guidance needed to direct
and control this monster, delicate gyroscopes
and elaborate electrical equipment were miniaturized
and tested to see if they would perform the
difficult job required.
Thousands of mathematical problems associated
with rocketry and space travel had to be solved
before final testing.
A search for materials and structures to withstand
the rigorous abuse of space flight was conducted
successfully.
The rocket development would call for the
use of special metals and structural materials.
Blueprints and plans were produced in quantities
that would stagger the imagination.
Nothing could be left to chance.
Exact specifications were required for production
of the complicated parts, down to the smallest
nuts and bolts.
Aeroballistic research, including wind tunnel
tests, continued throughout the development.
Precise studies had to be made to determine
the type of upper stages to be added to the
powerful first booster.
By the spring of 1961, the first stage of
the first flight booster was assembled and
ready for a captive firing.
It was moved the short distance to the test
area by road and placed in a specially constructed
static test tower for a captive firing.
Giant clamps would hold the rocket in place
during this vital test.
All eight powerful engines ignited to prove
that the preliminary planning an toil were
worthwhile.
[Sound of Engines Firing]
[Music Plays]
The first and later tests were completely
successful.
While work was progressing on the rocket first
stage, contractor plants in other locations
were working on the upper stages, which would
be added to make a complete space transportation
vehicle.
The same care and precision was used for this
work.
With a booster now ready for an actual test,
it was rechecked and moved to another area
to be prepared for shipment to Cape Canaveral.
Here, it incidentally passed another Saturn
being moved to the Static Test Area.
Exactly on schedule as previously planned,
the giant rocket was started on its journey
to the firing site to meet its date with destiny.
Enclosed in its enormous barge, it started
its long trip to the coast of Florida.
A few months before the boat trip started,
trouble struck in the shape of a rupture of
a Tennessee River dam, causing feverish planning
and work to enable this rocket to meet its
scheduled firing.
The barge could not get below the dam to continue
its trip.
It was necessary to unload the heavy rocket,
transport it around the dam on a newly constructed
road, and reload it on another barge.
With this crisis solved, the new barge continued
down the river with its valuable cargo.
The roundabout route followed inland rivers
for the 2,200 mile trip down the Tennessee
and Ohio, down the Mississippi to the Gulf,
and then to Cape Canaveral.
At the previously constructed launching site,
plans had been made to receive the space traveler.
The special transportation equipment and the
protective weatherproofing cover were removed.
The ponderous giant was lifted to its last
resting place on Earth.
Huge cranes delicately raised the rocket and
placed it within the enfolding arms of the
service structure.
For the first experimental test flight, dummy
upper stages were added.
Later firings would use live upper stages
for the Earth orbiting and other space missions.
The launch control center, a blockhouse with
walls twelve feet thick, was instrumented
to monitor and handle the complicated firing
procedure required to start the rocket on
its way.
Ton after ton of liquid oxygen and fuel were
added to the rocket.
For this first test, the booster carried 600,000
pounds of propellant.
The upper stages were weighted with water
for this firing.
Last-minute checks were made of the complete
system.
Everything must operate correctly in this
initial test of the rocket on which the United
States and the whole free world is depending
to give a giant step toward manned exploration
of space.
The countdown started ten hours before the
firing time.
Now, the time grew short.
People throughout the world were entranced
as they stayed glued to their television and
radios and read the newspapers.
Tension mounted in the blockhouse.
A successful firing would show that the Saturn
was on schedule.
A failure would mean months of corrective
work.
Five, four, three, two, one.
Ignition.
[Sound of Rocket Launching]
Second by second, hope grew that everything
would go as planned.
While this first firing was planned for a
trip of only 225 miles down the Atlantic Missile
Range, later firings with live upper stages
would give the space rocket orbital capabilities.
The guidance program was obviously working
as planned.
The tilt program began ten seconds after liftoff.
The rocket reached an altitude of ninety miles
on this trip.
As the Saturn continued on its path, the scientists
and technicians knew that their dreams had
not been in vain.
Rocket technology had been extended by a considerable
margin.
They could envision the later, more powerful
versions of Saturn that would take man on
the first trips around the Moon.
It was now definitely only a matter of time
until man would first set foot on the Moon,
until he would unravel the mysteries of Mars,
until the void of space becomes the highways
of the future.
