History Commons^™

The Final Journey Of The Saturn V, Andrew R. Thomas, Paul N. Thomarios

University of Akron Press Publications

The Saturn V rocket carried men to the moon, and its history reflects the US space program's rise, success, and demise. In 1961, John F. Kennedy challenged America to put a man on the moon and win the space race. Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon in 1969 in the culmination of a concerted scientific and technological effort.

A little over a decade later, the Saturn rocket was tossed aside to rot in a field near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rocket's carcass became the home to flora and fauna. Like the space program itself, the rocket …