{"id":12900,"date":"2025-01-15T18:04:15","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T22:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/50-years-ago-preparing-the-final-saturn-rocket-for-flight\/"},"modified":"2025-01-15T18:04:15","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T22:04:15","slug":"50-years-ago-preparing-the-final-saturn-rocket-for-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/50-years-ago-preparing-the-final-saturn-rocket-for-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"50 Years Ago: Preparing the Final Saturn Rocket for Flight"},"content":{"rendered":"

50 Years Ago: Preparing the Final Saturn Rocket for Flight<\/h2>\n

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With the historic first international space docking mission only six months away, preparations on the ground for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) intensified. At NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, workers in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) stacked the rocket for the mission, the final Saturn rocket assembled for flight. In the nearby Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB), the Apollo prime crew of Commander Thomas Stafford<\/a>, Command Module Pilot Vance Brand<\/a>, and Docking Module Pilot Donald \u201cDeke\u201d Slayton<\/a>, and their backups Alan Bean<\/a>, Ronald Evans<\/a>, and Jack Lousma<\/a> conducted vacuum chamber tests of the Command Module (CM), the final Apollo spacecraft prepared for flight.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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\"Image<\/figure>
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Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers attach fins to the Saturn IB\u2019s first stage.<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n
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\"Image<\/figure>
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In the VAB, workers secure the first stage of the Saturn IB rocket onto the milk stool, perched on Mobile Launcher-1.<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n
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\"A<\/figure>
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Workers lift the second stage of the Saturn IB rocket prior to mating with the first stage.<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n
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\"A<\/figure>
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Workers lower a boilerplate Apollo spacecraft onto the Saturn IB rocket.<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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