Mushtang visits Saturn V in Houston - and again 40 years later

[Mushtang]

When I was approx 10 years old, sometime in the mid to late 70's (no idea what year this actually was), my family stopped into the Houston Space Center as we were on a vacation drive across the country. My brother had a cheap camera and took a bunch of pictures.

About a month ago I was looking through some old photo albums at my dad's house and found them.

Back then the rocket was sitting outside exposed to the weather but in 2005 a building was constructed around it, a lot of the rust damage was repaired, and it was repainted.

Here's a picture of me the first trip, when there was no building, and me about a year ago at nearly the same location. I'll be in Houston again before the end of the year and I'm going to try and get a picture of me in the same place and pose. Don't think I'll be able to get the exact same picture because of the building.

 

[Mushtang]

There's a Little Joe rocket slightly behind and to the left of the Saturn V. My first name is Joe, and since I was the youngest one in the family everyone thought that was appropriate. I was lifted up onto the display for a picture.

Now that I'm an adult, if I saw someone put their kid up there for a picture I'd definitely think they were being jerks.

Here's me, being a jerk about 40 years ago.

 

[Mushtang]

I haven't visited the Johnson Space Center since finding these old pictures, these recent ones were taken when I've been there in the past couple of years.

Here's nearly the same view, you can see the Little Joe and a Mercury Redstone standing in the background, but now there is a building over the Saturn V.



Similar displays of Saturn V rockets exist at the Marshall Space Center in Huntsville Alabama and Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral Fl. By pure coincidence I was at all three of these within the same year about 4 years ago. This one in Houston is the only one without tons of extra information and displays all around it inside the building. There's a few hanging pieces down one wall of this one with stuff to read about each Apollo Mission, and a display to tell about the renovation, and that's about it.

 

[Mushtang]

This is the last one that I scanned at my dad's. This is another view of the three rockets from the other end. What amazed me most about this picture (other than how goofy my parents looked back then), was that the Saturn V almost looks like it's closer to the camera, but it's not. It's just so amazingly large that it's hard to tell.

 

[qquake2k]

Priceless!

 

[rstaff3]

That's cool! I haven't seen it since 1982 and never inside!

 

[NJRick]

These pictures are awesome!

 

[Steven]

Before and after photos showing the passage of time have always amazed me. Some I've found of WWII photos, others of movie locations (such as "Where Eagles Dare" and "A Clockwork Orange"). This is excellent! You REALLY do need to emulate your position next to the Saturn V as you suggested!

 

[TangoJuliet]

View attachment 313578 View attachment 313577

Dang Joe! You got a lot bigger and the Saturn V got a lot smaller! :roll:

 

[Mushtang]

Dang Joe! You got a lot bigger and the Saturn V got a lot smaller! :roll:

Well, I'm working on making myself smaller. Maybe by the time I get back to Houston I'll feel better about how I look. Doubt I'll get as small as I was when I was 10 again, haha!

 

[TangoJuliet]

Sorry, I didn't mean it that way, but good on you for attempting to get smaller. I could stand to lose about 20 pounds myself. I was referring to the perspective difference of the two images though.

 

[GregGleason]

Excellent!

Greg

 

[mpitfield]

Well, I'm working on making myself smaller. Maybe by the time I get back to Houston I'll feel better about how I look. Doubt I'll get as small as I was when I was 10 again, haha!

Sorry all I could think of when I read this was "Does this rocket make me look fat?"

 

[georgegassaway]

Really nice pictures!

There's a Little Joe rocket slightly behind and to the left of the Saturn V. My first name is Joe, and since I was the youngest one in the family everyone thought that was appropriate. I was lifted up onto the display for a picture.

Now that I'm an adult, if I saw someone put their kid up there for a picture I'd definitely think they were being jerks.

Here's me, being a jerk about 40 years ago.

View attachment 313581

Here's me and a number of other rocketeers also on the Little Joe-II pad, in 1979, NARAM-21 (Rick Gaff photo). I'm at the far end on the right, Chris Pearson next to me. Just right of the sign is Matt Steele. The person pointing at the sign is Mark Bundick. Last time I was at JSC was 1994, but I didn't think to get any photos.

At the time I had no idea I'd want to try to build high quality contest level models of that someday, but started down that road 10 years later. (ended up building a pad too in 1992).

Larger version of those pics and more on this page about my models, and at the top or it are master navigation links to various Little Joe-II data and photos that Tom Beach and I worked up.

https://georgesrockets.com/GRP/Scale/DATA/George.htm


BTW - Superb scale modeler John Pursley became so knowledgeable in his reasearch on the Saturn-V, that he was hired as a consultant for the Restoration of the JSC Saturn-V. So a lot of the accuracy of the restoration is due to him. He also later did the same with the Saturn-V at the US Space & Rocket Center when it was restored and finally had a building built to display it. More info on his website:

https://www.accur8.com/About_Me.html

 

[georgegassaway]

Here’s a 40 years apart space program related photo pair that is incredible.

July 1969, 7 year old Mike Massimino, with a Space Snoopy doll and homemade "space suit".

And him 40 years later (2009) aboard Atlantis, STS-125, final Hubble servicing/repair mission…. with the same Snoopy Doll (missing a few things).

He wrote a really good book that came out last year. “Spaceman”. Highly recommended.

https://www.collectspace.com/news/news-100416a-spaceman-book-mike-massimino.html

 

[Dave A]

Me just before my brother, sister and I had an adventure driving from GA to the Cape to see Apollo 11 liftoff. I'll never forget the delayed rumble of those 5 engines.
I, too, use to see the Saturn V at the Cape withering in the outdoors.
But now it's in it's own building hopefully to live forever.
My brother and I got to see the record holder Saturn V fly also, 40 years later.