“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”

In the spirit of the theme not because they are easy, but because they are hard, Rockets Magazine and The Maryland Delaware Rocketry Association, MDRA, are proud to announce our support of the 40th Anniversary Moon launch of Steve’s 1:10 scale Saturn V.
 
This is a massive amateur project by any standard. The rocket will weigh over 1,600 pounds;  it will stand over 36 feet tall; and it will be powered by an array of eight 15,000ns N-Class motors and one 50,000ns P-Class motor. The estimated altitude of this single-stage effort will be between 3,000 and 4,000 feet, and the project will be recovered under multiple parachutes at apogee.

As with the original moon program, nothing of this scale has ever been attempted, and like the moon program, it will take the best that rocketry has to offer. The Saturn V will be a world-record attempt for the largest amateur rocket ever to be launched. The launch date is scheduled for the spring of 2009 to commemorate the quintessential event that has shaped many of our lives and demonstrated what is possible when the best minds and efforts are brought together for a common cause.

The first roll out of the Saturn V will occur on Saturday July 12, 2008 . This event will be taking place at the Hartville Marketplace in Hartville, Ohio. There is a large parking lot that will easily accommodate the crowd safely. The vehicle will be raised into its upright position about 5 p.m. The rocket will remain in the vertical position for about two hours and then will be disassembled and brought back to the barn. This operation will test lifting procedures as well as providing an opportunity for photography and public exposure of this world record project. This is will be the only time that the massive, 36 foot tall, 1,600 pound Saturn V will be vertical prior to the projected spring 2009 launch date.  Check back to ROCKETS Magazine website an update of this event and look forward to a full report in the upcoming issue of ROCKETS Magazine.

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