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F-1 Engine |
When Stennis had an on-site visitor center, they displayed an F-1 rocket engine in a "hut" between the H-1 engine and the J-2 engine (Google Maps link to former location of the F-1). When the StenniSphere closed, this engine was transferred to INFINITY Science Center, along with the H-1 rocket engine. The engine is displayed diagonally on a stand, so the visitor can both walk entirely around it as well as see up the engine bell. This was one of the first stand-alone F-1 engines I'd seen. Prior to it, all of the other stand-alone F-1s I'd seen (at the USSRC, the Michigan Space & Science Center, and Kennedy) were all standing vertically on their nozzle extensions, so this method of display seemed novel. Since that time, many of the stand-alone F-1s I've seen have been on dollies (at the Omniplex, Stafford, and Marshall; the "new" F-1 at the USSRC), so it is somewhat less novel, but this method of display is probably the best of both worlds, allowing the visitor to see inside the engine bell while still allowing access to the side opposite the heat exchanger as well as part of the side of the engine with the heat exchanger. |
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