One of those "odd" thoughts that pop into my head on occasions...

I know the Shuttles that are on display at the Smithsonian and whatnot are the actual Shuttles. But all of the other rockets and hardware and all that NASA has on display outside their various facilities around the U.S....Are or were they actual flight ready hardware at some point or just mock-ups of the real thing?

I still have yet to be able to visit any of the places but would like to at some point, but that is one of "those" things that I kinda always wondered about.

D. All of the above.

So much goes into the R&D and OT&E. (Research, Development, Operational Testing and Evaluation).

But even the mock ups are historically significant, as are all the people involved in every facet of the program.

Yeah, 12 guys stomped around on the moon. Were not for many thousands of people stacked one upon another's shoulders for those men to stand upon, those men would not have otherwise, touched the moon.

quote:

Originally posted by PakRatJR:
One of those "odd" thoughts that pop into my head on occasions...

I know the Shuttles that are on display at the Smithsonian and whatnot are the actual Shuttles. But all of the other rockets and hardware and all that NASA has on display outside their various facilities around the U.S....Are or were they actual flight ready hardware at some point or just mock-ups of the real thing?

I still have yet to be able to visit any of the places but would like to at some point, but that is one of "those" things that I kinda always wondered about.

The answer is "it depends".

Lots of the Apollo stuff is 'combinations', some were supposed to be flight worthy stages, some were only test articles, some are mock ups (like most of the Lunar Landers). Another thing you may see are "Boiler Plates", or capsules that were launched and recovered but never had equipment to take people up and back.

Here is an explanation of some of the unflown / mock up Saturn V's on display.

https://history.msfc.nasa.gov/..._apollo/display.html

https://airandspace.si.edu/exp.../location/saturn.cfm

Here's the one in Houston. It was flight ready but cancelled. You've got to see one in person to really appreciate the scale.

RHINO's links gots the goods.

Cool thanks

RHINOWSO thanks for the links, adding them to my favorites list

Getting around to all the various places to see everything is definitely something I want to do someday. Just a matter of figuring out when.

It's definitely worth it.

I haven't been keeping a complete list, but scrolling through the links, I've seen the Saturn Vs at KSC and Huntsville, as well as Command Modules for Apollo 8, 13, 15, 16, and Skylabs 2 & 4.

There also is a Saturn IB off a I-65 in Alabama, I always stop there for a break and a look see.

This summer I'm going to Houston and will see all of those as well.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:

This summer I'm going to Houston and will see all of those as well.

We've got the Saturn above, the Shuttle transporter 747 (wings clipped) with a non Space capable shuttle on top, and 2 others outside next to the Saturn (Mercury-Redstone & Little Joe II).

quote:

Originally posted by tigereye313:




Here's the one in Houston. It was flight ready but cancelled. You've got to see one in person to really appreciate the scale.

RHINO's links gots the goods.

Went there on a school robotics club trip for a week and took that tour. Nice tour, but it was 110, way too hot to enjoy.

Alien escape pods disguised as historical NASA rockets...

I went to cape Canaveral and toured the whole place even ate astronaut ice cream. until you are standing next to it you cant begin to believe the scale, on the other hand you wouldn't get me in the little capsule the astronauts had to sit in. state of the art technology at the time but couldn't imagine getting blasted to the moon or even out of the earths atmosphere.

quote:

Originally posted by PakRatJR:
Are or were they actual flight ready hardware at some point or just mock-ups of the real thing?

Real thing? Yes. "Flight ready?" No. Not remotely so.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:

quote:

Originally posted by PakRatJR:
Are or were they actual flight ready hardware at some point or just mock-ups of the real thing?

Real thing? Yes. "Flight ready?" No. Not remotely so.

I took "flight ready" to mean real rockets/hardware. The two Saturn 5s on display were slated to launch Apollo 18 and Apollo 19, until those missions were cancelled. So, they are 'real rockets' that could have flown at some point.

Other displays are the 'boiler plate' items. For example, we launched several such 'Apollo' capsules. There were no astronauts nor even seats - we were testing the shape, weight distribution, heat shields, aerodynamics, chutes, etc (stuff you don't need or even want a full-up expensive capsule for).

I imagine at least some stuff around NASA and museums are mock-ups. We have at the Air Force Academy an "F-16." It's not a real aircraft and never flew. It was built to test ground support equipment and train munitions loading. 99/100 visitors likely never know the difference. I believe the Air Force Museum has a "B-2" on display that is a ground test unit, as well. . .

We've also got 2 mounted T38s (I think) at the entrance to JSC, not sure if they were active flight aircraft or not.

The two at Johnson SC came from Holloman AFB and Edwards AFB.

And were "renumbered" in the livery to represent NASA birds.

quote:

Originally posted by rtquig:


Went there on a school robotics club trip for a week and took that tour. Nice tour, but it was 110, way too hot to enjoy.

The tour is nifty, but you can drive to the rocket park as well.

A place that is overlooked by many is the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas. Lots and lots of space junk there. This is where the command capsule of Apollo 13 is housed. If ever in the area it is worth the stop.

Cosmosphere

quote:

Originally posted by C L Wilkins:
A place that is overlooked by many is the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas. Lots and lots of space junk there. This is where the command capsule of Apollo 13 is housed. If ever in the area it is worth the stop.

Cosmosphere

Worth the stop but when I was there last fall, it was in definite need of an overhaul - looking at the website is seems as they are planning a 5 year / $7M revitalization, which is great.

Lots of cool stuff there but it’s definitely display like a 1980s museum with 30+ years of hard use.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:

quote:

Originally posted by PakRatJR:
Are or were they actual flight ready hardware at some point or just mock-ups of the real thing?

Real thing? Yes. "Flight ready?" No. Not remotely so.

No shit, you can’t just jump in them, fuel them up, and fly?

You get the “Master of the Obvious” award for the day.

quote:

Originally posted by tigereye313:

quote:

Originally posted by rtquig:


Went there on a school robotics club trip for a week and took that tour. Nice tour, but it was 110, way too hot to enjoy.

The tour is nifty, but you can drive to the rocket park as well.

We took something like you would see at Disney where they pick you up in the parking lot and drive you to the gate. A tractor pulling 4-5 carts that sit maybe 25-30 people with a sun shade covering you. I didn't want to leave the indoor one that had A/C lol.

I have haunted the rocket garden at KSC as well as the displays at Johnson.

My favorite tour was the 'Then and Now' and 'Behind the Scenes' - I learned so much more about the history - actually got to touch some of the boilerplate articles that were in storage at Johnson - I think next time I go I am going to try to book a private tour. Might cost a few bucks, but to not be on a bus with 50 others would be worth it.

When I was at Johnson the Saturn V was outside and rotting away - they were just finalizing plans to construct a shelter and restore it