F-1 Engine (Building 4205)

When I toured MSFC in fall of 2008, I noticed a fairly nice-looking F-1 (along with a nozzle extension and spare F-1 engine nozzle extension handling fixture). While this engine has subsequently been moved (see below), it was located approximately as indicated in this Google Maps link.

The engine was next to Building 4205 (the southwest corner of the building has a "4205" sign; although the southeast corner had a "4211" sign, I'm certain that 4211 is just a bay in Building 4205), also known as the Propulsion Research Development Lab. One bay in the building housed a plywood and PVC pipe full-scale mockup of the Ares I frustum, interstage, and aft end of the second stage; the mockup is used to verify that the components can be serviced in the VAB or on the pad. After the tour guide was done giving his presentation, I excused myself and photographed the F-1.

This is F-1 engine serial number F-4023; the nozzle extension is from F-5034. Alan Lawrie tells me that F-4023 was originally installed on Apollo 8 (S-IC-3) and underwent static firing with that stage. The stage was delivered to KSC for launch but the engine failed a later test and was removed in May 1968.

At that time, Alan was attempting to identify and locate the remaining F-1 rocket engines. Excited that I reported this engine's location, Alan collaborated with Robert Pearlman (of collectSPACE) to write an article about the engine. Entitled "Engine That Almost Launched Apollo 8 Moonshot Found 40 Years Later," a "teaser" version appeared on the front page of Space.com; the full story ran on collectSPACE.

The nozzle extension displayed nearby is from F-5034. This engine was the spare engine assigned to S-IC-5 (from Apollo 10). F-5036, originally installed in the stage, was removed and F-5034 was installed in its place; F-5034 ultimately went on to power the Apollo 10 mission. During the swap-out, the crew apparently retained F-5036's nozzle extension and installed it on F-5034, leaving F-5034's extension behind for us to enjoy today.

Some time circa October 2009, this engine and nozzle extension were mated and erected as a display in front of Building 4205.