US Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, AL

As we were coming up the river to Huntsville, AL, we noticed many warning/no trespassing signs on the banks.  Turns out this was the US Army Redstone Facility.  Redstone was built originally by the US Army as a place to build pyrotechnic devices and chemical compounds for WW2.  In 1945, German scientist Werner Von Braun and his 100+ member team surrendered to the US after developing rocket engines for Germany and finally realizing that the Russians would be occupying his test site. 

To give Von Braun a place to develop rocket engines for the US, Redstone was converted to a rocket engine research center.  This is where the rocket engines for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo projects were developed.

Shown above is one of the buildings of the Huntsville Space Center exhibits.  This center also has a Space Camp for young people who are interested in space flight.  We toured this facility yesterday.  

 There are two Saturn V rockets on display here.  One is standing outside and one is displayed inside.  These rockets have a total of 11 engines.

The first stage has 5 J-1 engines with 7,500,000 lbs. of thrust.  It carries 203,000 gallons of kerosene and 331,000 gallons of liquid oxygen for a 2.5 minute burn.

The first stage then falls away and the second stage kicks in:  5 J-2 engines with 1,000,000 lbs. of thrust.  260,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and 83,000 gallons of liquid oxygen for a 6 minute burn.

The third state was a single J-2 engine which could accomplish two individual burns - one to attain earth orbit and a second burn to depart for the moon.  225,000 lbs. of thrust, 63,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and 20,000 gallons of liquid oxygen for a total burn time of 7.77 minutes.

I don’t think I should complain about fueling up the boat anymore!!!!

This is the front of the rocket.  The “pod” with the black squares is the capsule where the astronauts are and the piece that enters space.  The long end on the front is a safety ejection rocket.  If there is a problem in the launch sequence this rocket can be activated, lift the capsule off the remaining engines and send the capsule back to earth.

Here is a shot of Pat in an Apollo capsule getting ready for launch. 

The space center also has an IMax theater.  We saw a film on the repair of the Hubble telescope.  Amazing what technology has afforded us.

We spent most of the day at the space museum  It is a totally incredible place and a stop not to be missed if you are in the area.

Huntsville, AL was founded in the early 1800’s.  The downtown area has an historic district with many original buildings that are very well preserved  We did a tour of this district.

One of the highlights was the Harrison Brothers Hardware Store, opened in 1897.  This building is now owned by the Huntsville Historical Society.  The store is as it was in the late 1800’s.  Many of the shelves are stocked with the original items.  I saw Gates fan belts and Fixall paint which I remember from my father’s work shop.  Pat liked the marbles and the ladders!

We also did a walking tour  of some of the historic houses in town  Again, many date to the 1800’s.  Most are pretty well taken care of with some in need of renovation  Needless to say, there is a LOT of history in Huntsville  Pat heard that Huntsville is also one of the top retirement cities in the US.

Saturday we continue our travels to Chattanooga.  We plan on one night at Goose Pond Marina in Scottsboro, AL and one night at anchor prior to Chattanooga.       Captain Ken

Pat here.....we have started to see mountains.  This is the end of the Cumberland Plateau  What beautiful scenery!!  From what folks tell us it only gets better!

In the second picture, although a little hard to see are buoys or “jugs” set out by the local fishermen.  These were made from styrofoam “noodles” used in swimming.  They are “jug fishing” for catfish!  I always learn something new.  You can either anchor your jugs or let them float.  The two guys that we stopped and talked to while out in the dinghy told me about it and due to their sometimes incomprehensible southern drawl, I had to google it just to fill in the pieces.  The guys were not having much luck with their jugs that day!  Maybe they should have floated their jugs.

Jug fishing!