An older version of the sign next to the F-1 engine. It was replaced sometime
around 2005.
It reads
NASA Saturn F-1 Engine
America's largest and most powerful rocket engine, the F-1 was developed to
power the massive Saturn V rocket.
Each engine generated 6,700,000 Newtons (1.5 million pounds) of thrust. Still,
a total of five F-1s were needed for the Saturn V first (S-IC) stage. This engine burned liquid
oxygen and kerosene propellant at the rate of 2.58 metric tons (2.84 tons) per
second. Its burn time was 150 sec (two and one-half minutes). Combustion
temperatures reached 3,3000 degrees Celsius (5,970 degrees Fahrenheit). F-1
test-firings at Marshall Space Flight
Center in the 1960s produced such intense acoustical vibrations that
glass windows in downtown Huntsville, Alabama were damaged and rumblings could
be heard within a 145-km (90-mile) radius.
Contractors: The Boeing Company
At least two readers have emailed to point out what I'm embarrassed to say that
I failed to noticed myself: The photo on the sign actually shows J-2 engines mounted on an S-II stage.
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