NASA Giving Away Apollo-Era Saturn Rocket to Anyone who can Carry it
Out
Aug 14, 2019 Ian Harvey
Ever wanted your own Saturn 1 rocket? For anyone with the means to
transport it, it can be yours. Live or work in one place for a long
enough time, and you being to accumulate a growing stockpile of, well…
stuff. That's true for the average person's home, but it's equally
true for organizations, even NASA. According to news site cnet.com,
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Alabama has 'excessed' a
Saturn 1 Block 1 Booster, which is part of the Saturn rocket, and the
space organization is looking to find it a good home.
The booster itself is the bottom-most stage of the Saturn 1 rockets.
It's a beefy apparatus designed to power out of the Earth's
atmosphere, and a precursor to the Saturn V that was used for
Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins' historic trip to the moon. The MSFC
was a major player in the development of the Saturn rockets in the
1960s.
If you find yourself in the market for a rocket, there are two things
you should know about this one. The first is that it's in mint
condition and has never been used. If it had, it would be at the
bottom of the ocean somewhere, and not available for interested
parties.
The second thing you should be aware of is that even though NASA will
're-home' it for free, there is one catch. Whomever takes the rocket
has to pay the whopping $250,000 cost to have it shipped. The cost
for transporting the behemoth certainly puts most individuals out of
the running for getting it, but shouldn't be a problem for many
museums or educational institutions.
Saturn 1B rocket on display at the rocket garden of the Visitor's
Center at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: Dan
Broadbent. His article and science blog can be found here.
NASA does pre-screening for applicants who might be interested in
obtaining this piece of our nation's space history. If you either
have the cash to burn, or are part of an institution that would be
interested in having the rocket, you can start the prescreening
process here.
The agency is still in possession of a lot of equipment from both the
Apollo era and the shuttle program. Some of it can be found in the
rocket garden at the Kennedy Space center, but much of it is still in
various NASA facilities, taking up - pardon the pun - space.
They have other bits of equipment available for those that are
interested in obtaining items which have a significantly lower cost to
ship, ranging from dehydrated food packets to bits and pieces from the
shuttle program ranging from thermal blankets to strike test plates
and shuttle tiles.