Product Description

The book focuses on the design, testing and manufacture of the F-1 engine, but also covers its incorporation into the first stage of the Saturn V and in-flight record. It concludes with an examination of what might have been, if the F-1 had not been discarded, together with the Saturn V, at the conclusion of the Apollo program. The account draws on original documents and interviews with engineers and managers, and is illustrated by many never-before-published photographs, both colour and monochrome. The intention is for this to be the definitive account of the development of this most powerful of rocket engines. As NASA is developing an evolved version of the hydrogen-burning J-2 engine for use in the forthcoming Ares launch vehicles, the author includes development of the J-2 engine within the context of the Saturn V development, thus bringing rocket engine development up to the present and thus provide this book with a long shelf life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #190604 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Review

From the reviews:

"The author provides good descriptions of engine components and manufacturing and the contributions that Rocketdyne, Boeing, and the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center made to the F-1. The book also covers engine testing, the first Saturn V stage, and the Apollo launches. … The book contains 32 excellently printed full-page color photographs and numerous black-and-white photos and diagrams. An important contribution to the history of technology and the history of space exploration. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All collections." (A. M. Strauss, Choice, Vol. 46 (10), June, 2009)

About the Author

Anthony Young's first automotive book, published in 1984, became the best-selling automotive title sold in America within three months of its publication, according to Auto Week magazine.  His first Springer-Praxis book, Lunar and Planetary Rovers: The Wheels of Apollo and the Quest for Mars will be published in the fall of 2006. He is a regular contributor to Space Times magazine and the online weekly website, The Space Review.

Customer Reviews

Interesting topic, but needs editing
I am enjoying this book and the topic interests me, however I have a few complaints.

The first is that the book contains numerous typos and grammatical errors. Really simple, glaring stuff that a cursory proof-read would have caught. Things like this for me throw into doubt the care and accuracy of the research.

The second, which is related is that I feel the book is poorly edited. Chapter after chapter many statements are repeated almost verbatim. It happens frequently enough in the first few chapters that I catch myself wondering if I'm accidentally re-reading a previous chapter.

The last (which isnt the publisher's fault) is that this book is somewhat expensive - around $54 on amazon for a paperback. The copy I received from amazon looked like it had been dropped on a hard floor. The spine was crushed and crumpled, the book bent down the middle and the corners crushed/bent. Pretty crappy experience when buying an expensive paperback in 'new' condition from amazon. I'm noticing this more and more lately though, so maybe this is just amazon getting sloppy with their handling & order fulfillment.

Overall, I find the topic & content of the book fascinating, but I feel that it really could have been better proof-read, organized & edited. Hopefully the publisher will address this for the 2nd edition.

As for amazon's part of things, the condition of the book was so bad that I'm considering returning it for a replacement.

Thank you, this nation owes you for preserving history.
Thank you!

I am one of those people still alive today who looked up at the moon in July '69 and knew there were humans on the surface looking back at us. I was in my late teens. I remember watching every televised launch of the Saturn V and following closely the development of the space program from Mercury failures and successes all the way to the present. I remember watching the development of the F-1. I was one of many very close outside observers and someone, by virtue of my birth being timed exactly right, was of sufficient age to follow and understand events as they happened.

As such a person my personal library is filled with books about space travel and hardware. I've read all the popular books that describe the Apollo program. From these I already knew much of what the author describes. However, he provides the chronology of events smoothly focused on the F-1 alone which brings into much sharper focus for me the genius that made the concept of such an engine a reality.

My enjoyment of this book, my praise for this book, and my gratitude to the author for his efforts in writing the book are very high. As I look at the photos of the "injector plate" I realize that this was not only engineering it was technical art perhaps not duplicable today. But positive as my feelings are toward this book and the subject I must admit that it reminds me of the deep sadness and sense of loss that I have felt for decades as we've watched the debacle of the Space Shuttle Program.

You wouldn't think a technical book like this one could make a person weep. I may just have to do that to discharge the emotion of loss and feelings of what might have been.

The author was kind, I think, in his final chapter describing efforts into the early 90s to resurrect the F-1 engine. He was kind to the new generation of managers at NASA who apparently cannot think outside the box far enough to realize that the best solution to future needs might have already been invented.

The author did not do as I expected and outline what the space program MIGHT have accomplished by now if the Saturn family of vehicles and engines had been retained. He failed to mention that a human colony on the moon would probably now be well over 20 years old. He failed to mention that a human landing on Mars would have probably taken place a decade ago. He failed to mention that the "International Space Station" could have been lofted into orbit by perhaps only five Saturn V vehicles or that a much larger Hubble telescope would have been providing us much better images of deep space.

He was very kind indeed in failing to mention in stronger terms the gigantic mistake that is the Space Shuttle. He was also kind in not mentioning the NIH ( not invented here ) attitude of NASA that prevented it from simply recommissioning the Saturn I and Saturn V instead of embarking upon the development of highly questionable "new" vehicles to act as surrogates. He was kind not to point out that the Aries V will use two of the Shuttle SRBs and five lower power liquid fuel mainstage engines rather than simply use five F-1s.

Ah, but those five "new" engines will not burn nasty kerosene. They will be "green" and burn pure hydrogen-never before used in a mainstage booster engine. And, they will have been invented by the current NASA regime AND they are billed as being much less expensive to build and launch compared to the old obsolete F-1s. And....for those of you old enough....remember how little the Shuttle was going to cost to turn around and low little time would be required?

He was kind indeed and that is the one thing that disappointed me about the book. As we look to the future we see a NASA struggling to use a single SRB as stand in for the flawless Saturn I-struggling with pogo effect among other potential problems.

In 1969, as I neared the end of my teen years, to look back at the technology of forty years prior was to see the late 20s and such things as radial piston engines in aircraft and rocketry in the hands of amateurs playing with glorified fireworks. But, sadly, to look back forty years today, this month, is to look back to Apollo 8 and the first Lunar orbiting visit in Devember 1968-something that we could not do today if the fate of the entire planet depended upon it.

Yes, the computers are light years faster today. Digital still and video cameras would give us better views of the exploits than forty years ago. However, as I look back these forty years I see a past technology that reached a zenith and was then abruptly discarded. And now, as the failed Shuttle system is finally about to be ended after much needless loss of life, potential, and resources I see a NASA fumbling to remake the Saturns with better computers but proven dangerous and unpredictable solid fuel rocket boosters.

So to those older readers like me....read this book with pleasure but with the knowledge that it may make you sad. To younger readers who cannot remember the successes of Apollo this book will further your ability to comprehend mistakes and failures that are almost certain to befall NASA as it attempts to reinvent launch vehicles and engines that do not need to be reinvented-they simply need to be reincarnated-they were developed decades ago by people who saw no limits to what they could imagine and build-dreamers and builders were those who made the F-1 engine!

With current computer controlled manufacturing techniques and the enormous advances in computing hardward and software the mainstage of the Saturn V could be recreated and used for perhaps a hundred years. And....it would use improved F-1 engines.

This book is an anthem written in praise of the NASA that once was-I almost felt like standing as I read it.

Nuts and Bolts
Be warned, I am not an engineer or somebody fascinated with internal combustion engines. (Are rocket engines a subset of ICE's? I know not.) I understand the importance of engines and the magnitude of the achievement by the Rocketdyne/NASA team. The biggest, most complex rocket engine of the 20th century. In 13 flights, not one of the 65 engines had a signficiant problem.

Anthony Young capably describes the heritage, design, testing, installation, and in-flight performance of the F-1. To me, a non-specialist, it appears that Young has done an excellent job. There were some engineering aspects that escaped me, and some aspects of program management that I skimmed. There are also some places where the book gets repetitious - which is why I deducted one star. All considered, I'm glad I had a chance to read it.

Finally, be aware that, in mid-2006, I evaluated the original book proposal for the publisher and, in about September 2008, received a pre-release copy, on which this review is based.