NASM--Apollo to the Moon--Saturn V and Launch Tower Model

SATURN V AND LAUNCH TOWER MODEL
This 1/34-scale model of the Saturn V and its Launch Umbilical Tower conveys the enormous size of the vehicle that took men to the Moon. The tower provided worker access to the 110-meter (363 feet) tall rocket, and its elevators carried the astronauts to the Apollo spacecraft at the top. The main swing arms connecting the tower with the rocket held electrical, fueling, and other cables, and retracted as the rocket was launched. This model, which took two years to build, is flyable and has motorized, moveable swing arms. Before being modified for display, it also had a functional launch escape tower controlled by an onboard computer and parachutes for spacecraft recovery.
Gift of David Gianakos

F-1 ENGINE
The F-1 engine was developed to provide propulsion for the Saturn 5 rocket used during the Apollo lunar landing missions. Developed during the early 1960s, the Saturn 5 rocket was the largest rocket in the world and the F-1 was the most powerful rocket engine.
Five F-1 engines were clustered at the base of the first stage of a Saturn 5. They developed 3,450,000 kilograms (7,610,000 pounds) of thrust at lift off, and burned 2,021,000 liters (534,000 gallons) of liquid propellants in the 2 ½ minutes before first stage burnout. By then the big rocket had reached 9660 kilometers per hour (6000 miles per hour) and an altitude of 61 kilometers (38 miles).