Explaining the Apollo hardware on display at Seattle's Museum of Flight

The superb Apollo exhibit at Seattle's Museum of Flight teaches us a few things about the Apollo command module, the F-1 Rocketdyne engine, the lunar rover, and more, that we didn't know.

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[JordanOrlando]

Of all the computers ever made, from the Babbage Engine to the Apple Watch Ultra, the Apollo Guidance Computer and DSKY will always be my hands-down favorite. I think it’s indisputably the single greatest, most majestic and indelible moment in the history of electronic data processing.

[ReneSchickbauer]

I can imagine Marc going into a museum like this with a notepad, writing down which parts/modules they'll need for the next big restoration project ;-)

[scottabelli]

I was on a plane over the Pacific on my way to Viet Nam- The Aircraft pilot came on the PA system and announced that somewhere below us Apollo 11 splashed down--we all cheered-it was pretty exciting

[jlwilliams]

If I were in charge of any kind of space museum and CuriousMarc or any of his teammates showed up, I would get them a ladder or anything else they wanted, including letting them reach into the CM for unobstructed pictures! They are doing more than anyone has done in years to revive and preserve interest in the Apollo era.

[dalemettee]

I was fortunate to work for a sub-contractor that made the LEM trainer. I installed all of the interior electronic components. After everything was installed, a final check was made to make sure all was well. I sat in one of the couches and observed everything in operation. That was over 50 years ago. NEVER forgot it!

[ZPositive]

I'm sure I'm not alone in my request for even more detail. This was fantastic!

[MattMcIrvin]

I visited the Museum of Flight last year and was amazed--it's second only to the National Air and Space Museum as a collection of air and space artifacts (at least among places I've visited), and in some ways it's better. Unlike the NASM, the main building with elaborate contextual exhibits and the hangar-like facility for displaying really huge objects are right across the street from one another, instead of being many miles apart. The collection of airliners you can tour (including the first prototype 747 and LBJ's Air Force One) is amazing, as is the Space Shuttle trainer from Houston where you can walk through the completely outfitted payload bay. And I really liked this Apollo exhibit too.

[RJN]

I had many business trips to Seattle before retiring and always tried to leave one afternoon free to visit the Museum of Flight. Just seeing the SR-71, Concorde, and lunar lander was worth the admission price!

[justine]

“Too large to convert to metric.” Love it.

[antronargaiv]

Hat tip for the "Blue Danube" during the re-entry segment. I, too, have a pic of myself in the SR-71 cockpit at the Museum of Flight. It's...cozy. I can't imagine how much "fun" a 12-hour mission in a space suit would have been. I visited the Kennedy Space Center museum last year...they have the full Saturn V Apollo stack, from F1 to capsule, laid out horizontally, so you walk "up" the stack. Those engines don't look any smaller when they're 15 feet above you. That's some impressive technology, and even more impressive, as you mentioned, that it was all developed within 7 years.

[MarcelHuguenin]

Thank you so much Marc for this wonderful tour with your fine comments. I enjoy these tours very much since I won't be able to visit there myself. I wish I could.

[JulieanGalak]

I have built to-scale lego versions of all of the crewed rockets from Mercury-Redsrone to the Saturn V-Apollo, and when I put the Redstone next to the Saturn I couldn't believe I got it right. Had to get calipers out and measure, the difference in size was so staggering. And yeah, that was less than 10 years. Having them all be to-scale really makes you appreciate the amazing achievement of the Apollo program.

[pkuras]

The Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan also has an F1 engine. Theirs is mounted on a stand, and you can walk underneath the nozzle and look directly up into the combustion chamber, with the injector plate clearly visible. It's an awesome thing. Air Zoo also has an SR-71 in a very dramatic display.

[AsbestosMuffins]

The companies that built these capsules were all so proud that they carried out the refurbishments of most of these vehicles at the factories where they were made after the apollo/gemini/mercury programs to put these capsules on display shortly after the program

[Dudley]

Thanks for your narration and technical observations, Marc! 👍👍

[jimmycrider]

I was there in 2019 they had Apollo 11 Capsule on loan from The Smithsonian Museum. I love all of your content on Apollo. I was 10 years old on my birthday when they landed on the moon.

[scottmonroe]

Very cool to see the exterior finish of a command module without the scarring of re-entry.

I was there in '94, but I don't remember much, other than sitting in a F/A-18 fighter jet mock-up and seeing the first 747 sadly rotting outdoors then. It is possible that the Apollo exhibits were not much back then... Gee, will I spend a couple of days there if I ever return! Thanks for the visit!

[--Zook--]

the wife and I drove up to seatlle a few years ago to attend a concert. on the way back I stopped at this museum to burn a few hours and get some photos. We ended up spending almost 6 hours there. It is a very awesome museum with some amazing volunteers. It was soooo much more than I thought. If you are going anywhere near this museum and are a aviation or space enthusiast, It is worth a visit.

[ShainAndrews]

Imagine getting a personal tour by CuriousMac. Complete with ladders and elevator music.