Program length: 26:46. To order a copy of the program, call 1-800-463-8825.

This program was produced by Brent Davis and Rick Dowling
 

Marshall laborers work on the first stage of the Saturn V

INTRODUCTION   The United States would never have put a man on the moon if it weren’t for the efforts of the men and women of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. They were an important part of the NASA team that had been challenged by President Kennedy to reach the moon by the end of the decade. Under the direction of space scientist Wernher von Braun, the Marshall team designed, built and tested the world’s largest launch vehicle: the Saturn V rocket, that propelled man to the moon.  The Saturn V project is an example of human innovation and determination at its best. The team at Marshall accomplished what many thought to be impossible. Wernher von Braun was an ideal leader for the project: friendly, supportive, and open-minded. Von Braun described the working environment at Marshall as an "atmosphere of cooperation, resourcefulness, and enterprise."

 
INTRODUCTION
The United States would never have put a man on the moon if it weren’t for the efforts of the men and women of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. They were an important part of the NASA team that had been challenged by President Kennedy to reach the moon by the end of the decade. Under the direction of space scientist Wernher von Braun, the Marshall team designed, built and tested the world’s largest launch vehicle: the Saturn V rocket, that propelled man into space.

The Saturn V project is an example of human innovation and determination at its best. The team at Marshall accomplished what many thought to be impossible. Wernher von Braun was an ideal leader for the project: friendly, supportive, and open-minded. Von Braun described the working environment at Marshall as an "atmosphere of cooperation, resourcefulness, and enterprise."
 
PROGRAM SUMMARY
"We didn’t have a long time to start figuring out how to get to the moon," says Alex McCool, a propulsion expert at Marshall. He remembers Kennedy’s speech only a few weeks after the nation’s first astronaut, Alan Shepard, had flown on a Redstone rocket designed at Marshall. "We just put a man in sub-orbital flight. He didn’t even go in orbit. It was up and down, a ballistic flight."

By 1965, 7,500 people worked for NASA at Marshall and thousands of additional contractors were on site. Huge towers were built so the massive Saturn engines could be test-fired on the ground. When the five new, specially developed F1 engines were ignited, fire and smoke filled the sky, shock waves rolled, and the noise thundered across North Alabama.

The Saturn V was 100 times more powerful than the Redstone rocket. When fired, its five engines created a force double that which would be available if all the moving waters of North American were channeled through turbines. Despite the complexity of the huge project--the Saturn V rocket had three million parts--the Alabama workers finished the job well ahead of Kennedy’s deadline and set an incredible launch record: the Saturn V never failed in flight.
 

OBJECTIVE  After viewing students should recognize that the manned landing on the moon was not only an engineering achievement, but also required thousands of laborers, welders, electricians, machinists, office workers, clerks and others working as part of an efficient and well-organized team.  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AFTER VIEWING  What is the difference between a leader and a manager? Which was Wernher von Braun? Do you think the project would have succeeded without such creative leadership? Why did President Kennedy think it was important to go to the moon? (To encourage the young aerospace industry; to revive patriotism; to encourage a program that would create thousands of new jobs.) What were the effects of the space race with the Soviet Union? (Patriotism) How did the workers at Marshall Space Flight Center react to President Kennedy’s challenge to land men on the moon by the end of the decade? Can students name any similar national challenges?

The first stage of the Saturn V rocket on the static test fire stand at Marshall

•  Discuss the obstacles Hap Brennecke might have encountered breaking ground as one of NASA’s first female engineers.
• Though the Soviet Union sent a woman into space, NASA did not have a woman on a Mercury, Gemini, or Apollo flight. Ask the students how they feel about NASA’s flight restriction to males only.
• How did the city of Huntsville change and grow after the Marshall Space Flight Center was built there? Can you think of towns that have experienced similar growth? (Spring Hill, Tenn., home of the Saturn automobile plant, and other cities with car assembly plants might be examples.) When did your town experience significant growth?
• Talk to someone (maybe the instructor?) who witnessed the first space flight on television. (This is a "shared event" because nearly everyone saw it.) Can they remember where they were when they witnessed this event? How did they feel about this amazing human accomplishment? Are there any events like that televised today? (The operation of the Mars Rover; national tragedies such as hurricanes, earthquakes, school shootings; military and police actions.)
• Have the students talk about some of the "unbelievable things"--technological accomplishments or historical events--that have been accomplished in their lifetime. What are some technological milestones that they can look forward to?

Wernher Von Braun

At one time von Braun and some members of his team designed V-2 rockets used by the Germans during World War II. The V-2 rocket was built by slave labor and killed thousands of people in the London. He was an enemy of the U.S. and the Allied Army. What issues do the students think may have been involved in the U.S. allowing him to be a leader in its space program? NASA is being frustrated today in their efforts toward continued space exploration because of the high cost. Their goal is to cut the cost of space travel by 99% by the year 2025. In the show Hap said "instead of thinking of obstacles, you try to think of challenges." With this in mind have students  work on design concepts for the next generation space ship.

 

• Does anyone in the class know someone who overcame barriers like Hap? (A mother who was the first female in her field, etc.) Tell her story, or record an interview with her on videotape and show it to the class.
• Model rocket kits are readily available, are relatively inexpensive, and are easy to assemble. Encourage a group of your student to build and launch a model rocket and discuss rocketry principles with the other students.
• Are there any NASA astronauts from your area? If so, write a letter or contact that person. Try to arrange a class visit.

Aerospace industry- the industry concerned with the design and manufacture of aircraft, rockets, missiles, spacecraft, etc., that operate in aerospace

Ballistics- the art or science of designing projectiles for maximum flight performance.

Ballistic trajectory- the path of an unpowered object, such as a missile, moving only under the influence of gravity and possibly atmospheric friction and with its surface providing no significant lift to alter the course of flight.

Dynamic testing-in rocketry, testing a flying vehicle on a test stand while shaking and vibrating it to simulate the stresses it would encounter in flight.

Magnetic field- a region of space near a magnet, electric current, or moving charged particle in which a magnetic force acts on any other magnet, electric current, or moving charged particle

Metallurgy- the technique or science of working or heating metals so as to give them certain desired shapes or properties or the technique or science of making and compounding alloys

Payload-the load that is carried by a spacecraft.

Redstone rocket- a U.S. ballistic missile powered by a single rocket engine. It was used in Alan Shepherd's sub-orbital when he became the first American in space.

Shock wave- a region of abrupt change of pressure and density moving as a wave front at or above the velocity of sound, caused by an intense explosion or supersonic flow over a body

Static testing-testing a flying machine while it is on the ground and held still so it can be easily tested and observed.

Sub-orbital flight- a space flight that does not complete a full orbit. Early U.S. space flights, for example, were launched at Cape Canaveral and splashed down several hundred miles downrange in the Atlantic.

Produced by Brent Davis and Rick Dowling at The University of Alabama Center for Public Television & Radio, Box 870150, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, 1-800-463-8825.

For additional information about using these materials in your classroom, contact Alabama Public Television Educational Services, 1-800-239-5233.

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