| ||||
dsc00917.jpg | ||||
The sign accompanying the RL-10 engine. It reads
Even though there are several things wrong with this sign (the Centaur is a rocket stage, not a "spacecraft;" the RL-10 was used on the Saturn S-IV stage, not the S-IVB stage; and there was a single J-2 rocket engine on the S-IVB stage), but the sign still holds special significance for me: After my first visit to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in 2002, reigniting my passion for the 60s Space Race, the Museum of Science and Industry was the second museum I visited (the first being the former Michigan Space & Science Center). While I didn't know what an RL-10 was at the time, I did know that the S-IVB was powered by a single J-2. When I did an Internet search to find out the rocket using the RL-10, one of the search results was Stages to Saturn, which is a great overview of the Saturn program and which got me even more interested in the Saturn family of rockets. I contacted the museum regarding the error in the sign (including links to Stages to Saturn, but they never updated the sign. However, when they renovated the gallery and created new signage, they properly referenced the Saturn I as the rocket using the RL-10. | ||||
|
||||
|