Historic Saturn V F-1 rocket engine parts that were recovered more than two years ago by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and an international team of experts, are now fully conserved and on display at the Cosmosphere International SciEd Center and Space Museum (formerly known as the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center) in Hutchinson, Kansas. The massive artifacts found in the Bermuda…

The Seabed Worker’s unique wake trailed to the east as the morning sun glowed on the NASA vehicle assembly building in the west. After more than 40 years on the bottom of the ocean, the F-1 engines were returning to NASA and back to the famous Apollo launching grounds at Cape Canaveral. The team had […]

We had located our first engine. The engine was heavily damaged with no identifying features visible. We decided to move on to the next debris field in hopes of finding an intact engine with a serial number which would confirm the mission origin. The sonar specialist provided the corrected target position to the navigator who […]

The recovery team arrived in Bermuda a few days ahead of the ship. The hours were filled with dozens of logistical items requiring attention, including the storage of spare equipment, last minute loading of fresh food and numerous planning sessions. Team leaders met to finalize plans for operations aboard the ship. The Seabed Worker would stay in […]

Attempting to recover three massive Apollo F-1 engines in water depths over 14,000 feet or 4,300 meters is no easy feat. Marine salvage is a highly specialized skill with only a handful of experienced companies able to execute deepwater salvage. The challenge was to locate the assets which could successfully recover rocket motors potentially weighing […]

Undeniably one of last century’s greatest achievements was man stepping foot on the moon. And while technology continues marching forward, there is one famous icon of those lunar landings that has not yet been bested. The F-1 rocket engine is still the most powerful single chamber, liquid-fueled rocket engine ever developed. One of the engines which propelled Neil Armstrong […]

One single footprint represents mankind’s greatest scientific achievement. An image of that human spoor cast in lunar dust is interminably linked with Neil Armstrong’s famous quote: “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” It was not just America’s step but a leap for mankind. Such a simple movement and yet so […]