# Saturn V launch tower model **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 22, 2007, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saturn-v-launch-tower-model/412758 "2007-07-22T17:36:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2007, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saturn-v-launch-tower-model/412758/1 "2007-07-22T17:36:21Z")
Yes, yes. I know I’ve been posting a lot about [the Space Program](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=428918) recently. But the anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing _was_ just a couple of days ago, and I’ve been a Space Geek all of my life. Anyway, I came across this: [1/96 Apollo Saturn V Launch Umbilical Tower Model](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330147989831&indexURL=0&photoDisplayType=2#ebayphotohosting). Pretty damned impressive if you ask me, especially since it’s made of paper. They make one in [1/144 scale](http://cgi.ebay.com/Apollo-Saturn-V-Launch-Tower-LUT-Model-For-Monogram-144_W0QQitemZ330148407243QQihZ014QQcategoryZ1194QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) for the Monogram or Airfix Saturn V kits as well for $40. Hm… I may have to dig into my Big Box Of Unbuilt Models and pull out the ol’ SaturnV! (And the LEM, and the Mercury, and the Gemini…) ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2007, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saturn-v-launch-tower-model/412758/2 "2007-07-22T18:09:18Z")
Speaking of the Saturn V, I have enjoyed watching the new building go up to house the Saturn V at the Space & Rocket Center here in Huntsville. They have most of the rocket moved into place now. The building is open on one side so when you drive past on I-565 you get an excellent view of the “real” rocket lying suspended inside the building, with the full-size upright model standing nearby. Here’s the [website](http://www.spacecamp.com/saturnv/), but surprisingly it doesn’t have any recent photos. The webcam is the only thing that shows what you can see when you drive by right now. And I have one of the very cool Saturn V license plates on my car. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saturn-v-launch-tower-model/412758/3 "2007-07-22T18:26:57Z")
[QUOTE=Eleanor of Aquitaine] Speaking of the Saturn V, I have enjoyed watching the new building go up to house the Saturn V at the Space & Rocket Center here in Huntsville. They have most of the rocket moved into place now. The building is open on one side so when you drive past on I-565 you get an excellent view of the “real” rocket lying suspended inside the building, with the full-size upright model standing nearby. [/QUOTE] Very cool; I’ll have to check that out the next time I’m in Huntsville. The Saturn V remains the most impressive and powerful rocket to have been constructed and launched, and despite the production cost, it’s a dreadful shame (although understandable in the political and fiscal climate of the day) that NASA completely and irrevocably shut down production to favor the STS/Shuttle, which is much less capable. Had the Saturn V remained in production, the design would likely have been streamlined to reduce complexity and cost, and upgrades in the design of the F1 and J-2 engines would have increased payload and mission flexibility. The platform probably could readily have been expanded into Von Braun’s super-heavy lift Nova booster (with a planned payload-to-LEO of somewhere in the 200 tonne range), or the basis for using a nuclear thermal upper stage had the problematic NERVA program not been terminated. It certainly wouldn’t have left us with the gap in heavy lift capacity in the post-_Challenger_ catastrophe environment, and would probably have been a better basis for and extensible heavy lift booster family than the Atlas- and Delta-based designs that came out of the EELV program. Stranger