The launch of The Delta IV is a thing of beauty, the three engines side-by-side give it a decidedly non Saturn V look, It seems to get off out of the gate quicker and with seemingly less effort than the vaunted Saturn V, its launch seems smoother and more polished than that of the Saturn V.
But the truth be told there's nothing to match the singularly unique circumstance of watching the the throttling brunt of power as the Saturn V takes to the heavens. The vaunted Saturn V has an overpowering presence, sense of majesty unparalleled, all its very own. Watching the engines come to life, the momentary pause in reaction to the huge engines coming to life, the near impalpable devices releasing their hold as if open-armed in setting the Saturn V free, as it slowly ever so slowly rises up off the ground, the Earth trembling, shock waves rolling across the ground hundreds of miles away, is pure, raw power unleashed, an experience that has, will probably never have anything in comparison to
And then hearing it rumble outside, and rushing out in time to see, really see, it arc downrange on its way to space.
In his book White House Years Henry Kissinger wrote of a visit to Cape Canaveral and an up-close look at the S5. He said he was generally unimpressed with such scientific "gadgets", but once he was right next to it, he couldn't help but be impressed and in awe of the technology he saw there, not to mention the sheer size of it!
Top secret payload to spy on Americans, yippeeee.
I was told once that the first Saturn V worked flawlessly, straight from the board.
If true, try that today...
Saturn V could put 260,000 pounds into LEO.
That was (I don't need to point out) more than forty years ago.
Manned rockets are supposed to be slower on lift-off.
I was a kid in Cocoa Beach Florida and watched the liftoff of Apollo 13. From our school you could still feel the launch of the Saturn V in your chest as it rose.
Witnessed another Apollo launch from St. Augustine Florida a year or two later. Couldn’t hear it from that distance, but in broad daylight you could plainly see the exhaust plume from those five F1 main engines burning LOX and kerosene.
It seems to get off out of the gate quicker and with seemingly less effort than the vaunted Saturn V, its launch seems smoother and more polished than that of the Saturn V.
For a bit of fun, find the opening sequence for the old Buck Rogers TV show. They had a shuttle launch sequence, but before any shuttles had been launched. So they animated it as a slow launch like the Saturn V. But when the thing finally flew, it leaped from the pad.