While Buzz Aldrin was in South Orange County, California last week for the 44th anniversary of the Moon landing, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, “revealed that one of the mighty engines he recovered from the oceans earlier this year is from the Apollo 11 mission.” This is according to CBS News.
The authenticity of the engine was confirmed using data from Marshall Space Flight Center, where the Saturn V rocket used for the Apollo 11 mission, and other Apollo missions, was built. The engine will likely head to a museum, and maybe the California Science Museum, now home of Space Shuttle Endeavor, will be the lucky recipient.
“According to collectSPACE (7/20, Pearlman), there is an agreement between NASA and Bezos regarding the engines: NASA has ‘ownership of the artifacts and will ultimately decide where they go on museum display.'”
If you have never seen an Apollo engine, I cannot recommend enough a trip to Kennedy Space Center Visitor’s Center. There is a Saturn V rocket there, pulled apart in its stages, so that its full size can be appreciated. I stood under one of the engine bells almost three years ago, and each one is more than twice my height in diameter. It is truly a sight to behold, and whichever museum gets this historic artifact will be quite lucky, indeed.
Sandy Eulitt gives scale to the colossal Saturn V rocket, by standing under one of its 12 foot wide engines
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