There has been a good deal of focus on the Moon lately. First, the LRO sent back high-res photos of the surface, which was followed by the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 and the release of restored video footage from the Moon. Then the LRO produced the first photos of the equipment left behind from the Apollo missions and Walter Cronkite, the trusted voice who informed America about the events, passed away.
The LA Times is keeping the buzz alive with a fantastic article about the construction of the Saturn V rocket that shot the astronauts to the Moon.
“What set us apart was our ability to build a very big rocket to get us to the moon,” said Roger Launius, the Smithsonian Institution’s space historian, reflecting on the U.S.’ race with the then-Soviet Union to reach the moon first. “The Russians were never able to do that.”
If you think about it, that’s about as accurate as it gets. Our engineers who were backed by a massive budget, out-developed the Soviets with the Saturn V rocket. Well done, boys. Well done.