Disassemble priceless space artifact, then set on fire

[Sociotard]

A really fun article on how some Nasa engineers wanted to brush up on their knowledge of liquid fueled rockets. So, they went to the Smithsonian, "borrowed" one of the F1 Rockets from a scuttled Apollo mission, and took it apart to scan it. Once it was back together, they decided to light that 40-year-old candle.

 

http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/04/how-nasa-brought-the-monstrous-f-1-moon-rocket-back-to-life/

 

(caveat, from the article, it looks like they only ran the generator portion of the F1. Still awesome)

[Tasha]

There's a company that has simplified the F1 engine getting it down from 5000parts down to 100 parts. That's due to being able to precision cast many of the parts.

 

http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/04/new-f-1b-rocket-engine-upgrades-apollo-era-deisgn-with-1-8m-lbs-of-thrust/