Man in Space - Saturn V Rocket and Apollo Spacecraft

[bootneck]

Man In Space - Saturn Rocket and Apollo Spacecraft

AMT 1:200

The Spacecraft

NASA's manned spaceflight program started with Project Mercury, aimed at placing an astronaut in orbital flight around the earth, and recovering him safely. The first two manned Mercury flights were sub-orbital and used Redstone rockets as the launch vehicle. The Redstone was a converted Inter-continental Balistic Missile (ICBM) and a direct decendant of the infamous German V2 rocket, which was developed purely for military use. The Redstone rocket, Mercury capsule and the escape tower totalled a height of 84 feet (25.6m).

The first U.S. Astronaut was Alan Shephard who undertook a 15 and a half minute flight, from launch to splashdown, in the Mercury Capsule 7 launched from Redstone vehicle MR-3 on 5th May 1961. This was a reactive response to the launch and orbit of Soviet astronaut Yuri Gagarin by the USSR earlier the same month.

The Redstone launch vehicle was underpowered for propelling any substantial weighted capsules into orbit so the U.S. followed this with the Mercury Atlas program. The U.S. Air Force Atlas ICBM was chosen and subsequently modified for this purpose. The main difference, between the Atlas ICBM and the Mercury/Atlas launch vehicle, was the Mercury capsule which replaced the standard warhead; plus the inclusion of an adaptor ring connecting the two pieces of hardware. This, much larger, spacecraft assembly measured a total height of 95 feet (28.96m). The first flight of the Mercury Atlas system took place on 9th September 1959 (the capsule was actually called 'Big Joe') but a manned flight did not take place until 2nd February 1962 when John Glenn flew in the capsule named 'Friendship 7' on mission MA-6. Progressive Mercury Atlas launches were undertaken with the final mission, on 15th May 1963, lasting 34 hours.

Design and technical improvements led to the Gemini Titan program. The Gemini capsule was a larger version of the Mercury craft and was fitted to accomodate two men in flight. The powerful Titan II rocket was selected as the launch vehicle to boost the Gemini spacecraft into orbit and measured approx 107 feet (32.65m) tall. The first successful, un-manned, launch into orbit of the Gemini capsule was on 8th April 1964. The first manned mission into orbit being 23 March 1965 with astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young.

The ongoing further requirements: larger crew accomodation; the need to stay in space longer; performing complex manouevres; extra-vehicular activities (EVA's) plus docking and undocking meant that much larger launch vehicles and capsules were needed. This led to the Saturn launch vehicle and the development of the Apollo space capsule. The original Saturn launch vehicle project was conceived in 1948 with the requirement to provide early capability for large payloads. The design consisted of a two-stage rocket, each stage with its own engines, with the first stage being the launch vehicle and the second being to take the capsule into space. Such a large undertaking was not without immense risk and the first ten Saturn (Saturn I) vehicles were launched for research, evaluation and development purposes with the first being launched October 1961. Each carried various test models of the command and service modules which would eventually become the Apollo spacecraft. The eleventh Saturn I launch had a new, more powerful, second stage with a single J-2 engine replacing the earlier six engined stage. This uprated Saturn I, mated to the Apollo spacecraft measured a height of 255 feet (77.75m).

The first manned launch of the Saturn I (now designated Saturn IB) took place on 8th October 1968 with the Apollo 7 spacecraft. This was the first time that three crew were carried into space, namely Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele and Walter Cunningham.

The ultimate aim, for NASA and the American Space Program, as decreed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" was to design, build and launch a spacecraft powerful enough to get to the moon and back. The final Saturn design, which NASA believed would achieve this goal was the Saturn V two-stage launch vehicle. It would carry a Lunar Excursion Module (LEM); Apollo spacecraft costing of the Service Module (SM) and Command Module (CM). The total height of this hardware was over 350 feet (107m).

The first manned Saturn V mission was with Apollo 8 on 21st December 1968 with the crew consisting of Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders. NASA finally achieved their goal when Apollo 11, carrying Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, launched on 16th July 1969 with a successful landing of the LEM on the moon on 20th July.

The Kit(s)

This is a reissue of a set of rocket kits originally produced in 1969 and subsequently reissued in 1999. The box, containing the kits, is a large cardboard 'lid and base type' which is good as the contents make it a heavy package and needs this strength for storage etc. The box lid shows the artwork of the original 1969 issue.

There are five kits in the box: Mercury/Redstone; Mercury/Atlas; Gemini/Titan II; Saturn IB/Apollo and Saturn V/Apollo and eEach kit is scaled to 1:200.

There are 6 sprues,each of softish white plastic, and these contain a total of 174 pieces which make up the 5 spacecraft. One sprue is duplicated as it has similar components for both the Saturn 1B and Saturn V models.

The first sprue has parts for the Redstone launch vehicle and a one man Mercury Capsule; the Atlas launch vehicle, also with a one man Mercury capsule; and the Titan II launch vehicle with its two man Gemini capsule.

This next sprue has the parts for the Saturn 1B stages. An additional sprue, shown below, is included and holds the parts for the capsule shroud; the Service Module and the Command Module. The Saturn 1B had a 2-stage body and these can be shown as separate items, with the engines, bulkheads and inter-stage surrounds; or it can be built as a full height model spacecraft.

The next two sprues, and the duplicated sprue with the Apollo LEM, SM & CM, hold the parts for the, much larger, Saturn V launch vehicle. The model can be built as a full standing Saturn/Apollo ready to launch, or it can be built in its component stages as the engines and bulkheads are provided to show the model in stages.

Decals

The decal sheet is an updated version of the original set, utilizing modern printing methods, and contains the U.S. logos, flags and markings for all the craft; including the LEM, in the set. There is also an A4 sheet of illustrative decal placement instructions. This will be very useful to ensure the application of the correct decal to the right model!

Card Base and Background Sheet

A rather novel inclusion with this set is a coloured base and Mobile Launch Platform (MLP), with tower, to sit a model on; although it is more representative of Pad 39 which was only used by the Saturn craft. The MLP and tower need to be assembled and will give a nice 3D stand for the kits.

Conclusion

This is quite a kit as it contains models of virtually all of the manned spacecraft used in America’s race to put a man on the Moon (the Shuttle was a space transporter used for low-orbit missions to the ISS and to launch satellites). By providing all five spacecraft together, in a constant scale of 1:200, it is possible to show the comparable sizes of these craft alongside each other, thereby showing the growth and power in vehicle sizes needed to finally achieve getting a man to the Moon and back.

sample courtesy of UK distributors for .

Edited October 11, 2012 by bootneck

[paulj]

A nice compliment to this set is the Haswegawa shuttle stack in 1:200, and the new Shuttle/SCA kit.

[kspriss]

Is this being reissued?? I do hope so!!

EDIT..Duh!! Just re-read the review...senior moment, brought on by excitement, lol

Edited September 7, 2012 by kspriss

[bootneck]

It is currently available from Hannants

Mike