RTW to no-where in particular

[RooFlyer]

Forgot the clatter-screen

 

[RooFlyer]

It was a gruesome 4am start for me today - I always swear that I won't do flights before 9am overseas, but it never seems to work out that way. The check-out was as disinterested as the check-in. I handed over the plastic thing, said my room number and the check-out lady said 'Thanks, you are good to go.'. No questions about minibar, no offer to inspect the bill! I asked about the bill and with a bit of look she managed to print it out for me.

Walk over the the T8 Flagship lounge for a spot of brekkie. I'm sure people have posted pics of this lounge before, but here goes. It and the breakfast was pretty good (would have been better in the Flagship First dining ). Only about 6 people in the lounge up until 5:50 when I left to board.









I'm on my way to Huntsville, Alabama today, via DFW.

First flight is on a B757, in J, which is arranged herringbone 2-2, with full flat beds. Nice enough for a morning flight, but small cubby-holes for your feet and a bit narrow. Straight in front of you is the absurd space where the screen used to be, before AA took 'em out.







I declined b'fast and zoned out for most of the flight, which was incredibly smooth.

Landed a bit ahead of time at DFW and then we had one of those ridiculously long taxis, from one side of the airport to the other, dodging landing and departing aircraft and other maneuvering on the taxi-ways. I had an hour transit, which was 30 mins before boarding, and as my next flight was from a different terminal, I abandoned my plan to visit the Flagship lounge in D and caught the skytrain thing to TE. The Admiral's club there was like Admiral's clubs everywhere ...





I must say the AA app is great. Opened it for the first time in ages in the Admiral's Club, and it immediately populated my entire trip, gave me boarding passes for the 2 AA flights today & lots of other info. Shows up the Qantas app for the joke simple marketing tool that it is.

 

[RooFlyer]

Just a little CRJ700 for the 1H 50m trip to Huntsville today. 1-2 in J. Just drinks and those tiny snacks this time. A fast trip - 1H 15m and then we were in Huntsville! Its an International airport and pretty big.

I'm in Huntsville to visit the US Space and Rocket Center.

Metro Huntsville has a population of about 450,000. During WW2 it housed 3 chemical munitions plants. After the war, the plants closed down and after some political pressure, the army was 'persuaded' to relocate a rocket and missile development facility here. In 1950s about 200 German rocket scientists, including Wernher Von Braun and 800 others were relocated here. The facility grew and grew and in 1960, NASA's Marshal Space Flight Center was formed here. It developed almost all NASA's rocketry, including the Saturn V. The city is still a major technology center.

My digs are the Drury Inn, as its located over the freeway from the Space Museum and considerably cheaper than the Marriott which is right on site. There was no mistaking the location on the drive in:



The hotel is dead standard US mid range hotel. Local restaurant options are pretty dire.

 

[craven morehead]

And views around the hotel. It's pretty nifty, but a lot of unused space.

Sunken bar

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A corner filled with an old car

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A mock up of a 70s ( 60s?) apartment

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Just a corridor

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Remember Twister?

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Another challenge for the Milennials

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Is this place worth the $$$$$$ ?

 

[RooFlyer]

Is this place worth the $$$$$$ ?

For me, yes, once. It is really quite different and it has a completely different vibe than almost any other place I've been in. People clearly enjoying themselves in the bars etc. And an early morning flight adds to the usefulness of it.

 

[RooFlyer]

The Drury Inn came up with a surprise this evening. On check-in, they mentioned '5:30 kick back' which I didn't pay much attention to, but when I ventured down at 6pm, there was a buffet of tacos, hot dogs, spuds, soup, salads etc - sorta like a cheap Executive Club spread - and you got three drinks, from this menu:




The spread goes from 5:30 to 7pm and was really well attended!! Interesting tone of chatter - software engineering both sides of my table.

 

[craven morehead]

For me, yes, once. It is really quite different and it has a completely different vibe than almost any other place I've been in. People clearly enjoying themselves in the bars etc. And an early morning flight adds to the usefulness of it.

I take it the pool was heated?

 

[RooFlyer]

I take it the pool was heated?

Steaming!

 

[Katie]

The Drury Inn came up with a surprise this evening. On check-in, they mentioned '5:30 kick back' which I didn't pay much attention to, but when I ventured down at 6pm, there was a buffet of tacos, hot dogs, spuds, soup, salads etc - sorta like a cheap Executive Club spread - and you got three drinks, from this menu:


The spread goes from 5:30 to 7pm and was really well attended!! Interesting tone of chatter - software engineering both sides of my table.

I believe most Staybridge Suites have this, at least Tues-Thurs nights. Though usually just house wine for alcoholic beverages.

 

[Katie]

Just a little CRJ700 for the 1H 50m trip to Huntsville today. 1-2 in J. Just drinks and those tiny snacks this time. A fast trip - 1H 15m and then we were in Huntsville! Its an International airport and pretty big.

I'm in Huntsville to visit the US Space and Rocket Center.

Metro Huntsville has a population of about 450,000. During WW2 it housed 3 chemical munitions plants. After the war, the plants closed down and after some political pressure, the army was 'persuaded' to relocate a rocket and missile development facility here. In 1950s about 200 German rocket scientists, including Wernher Von Braun and 800 others were relocated here. The facility grew and grew and in 1960, NASA's Marshal Space Flight Center was formed here. It developed almost all NASA's rocketry, including the Saturn V. The city is still a major technology center.

Miss 13 is going to Huntsville on her Space Camp next year. Hunstville apparently has the largest number of PhD rocket scientists (or some specific qualification like that) of anywhere in the world. I think we were quoted that trivia item to reassure the parents wondering why we were sending a bunch of 13-16yo girls to Huntsville and what it had to do with space!

 

[Denali]

The Drury Inn came up with a surprise this evening. On check-in, they mentioned '5:30 kick back' which I didn't pay much attention to, but when I ventured down at 6pm, there was a buffet of tacos, hot dogs, spuds, soup, salads etc - sorta like a cheap Executive Club spread - and you got three drinks, from this menu:

The spread goes from 5:30 to 7pm and was really well attended!! Interesting tone of chatter - software engineering both sides of my table.

We had the same for our stay in Ohio (work for me, fun for hubby). Comfort Suites by memory.

Miss 13 is going to Huntsville on her Space Camp next year. Hunstville apparently has the largest number of PhD rocket scientists (or some specific qualification like that) of anywhere in the world. I think we were quoted that trivia item to reassure the parents wondering why we were sending a bunch of 13-16yo girls to Huntsville and what it had to do with space!

My friends daughter did Space Camp about 2yrs ago - loved it.

 

[RooFlyer]

Miss 13 is going to Huntsville on her Space Camp next year. Hunstville apparently has the largest number of PhD rocket scientists (or some specific qualification like that) of anywhere in the world.

My friends daughter did Space Camp about 2yrs ago - loved it.

My Uber driver mentioned 'space camp' on the drive in - I had no idea what it was, but obviously no small thing! Yes, the 'highest number/density of PhDs' is something I've heard - the place is packed with the offices of all the 'names' in aerospace (and defense) ...

Damn ... just checked the forecast. Some rain tomorrow and not above 7 degrees C (not what I expected in Alabama!) ... that jacket might get a workout after all.

 

[RooFlyer]

The weather for today's visit to the US Space & Rocket Center museum in Huntsville was cold and grey. I rugged up and walked about 20 minutes across the freeway. I'll do this in approximately the order I did the walk around, which took me a couple of hours.

Befiore you enter, you walk past the space shuttle across the car park, as is one of the 'Space Camp' 'habitats'.





Several bronzes dedicated to US forces; this is one:



Entry to the complex is impressive:



First thing you do is walk through the large shop, then get to the ticket booth. Half the first exhibit area was closed off, so I walked through the other half, with lots of exhibits re US Army and other bit & pieces not of interest to me, & exited, heading for the large hall that houses one of the 2 Saturn V rockets here.

First, a Saturn I, a 'Block 2 Dynamic Test Vehicle, SA-D5' That is, built to test its characteristics by simulation on the ground. This program was begun in the 1950s as a medium lift vehicle and marked the start of the US overhauling the Soviets in rocketry Wernher von Braun led the effort, as he did for the next couple of decades.



There's a bunch of US military weaponry parked around the site, most of it looking rather dilapidated. More on this later.

The second pic is of the army's 'Chaparal' ground-air defense missile, designed as protection of troops from air attack.

 

[snabbu]

You've left the east coast in the nick of time.... lately i've been in shorts but over the next few days its set to drop back down to -2, -4 and -5... brrrr

 

[RooFlyer]

The museum itself has had a 'colourful' history. Its own web page is hopeless and tells you nothing about the exhibits, so have a look at the Wikipedia page.

It opened in 1970 just after Apollo 12.

There is a 'Saturn V' mounted vertically; its the one you see from all around. Having visited, and looked on-line afterwards, I'm not convinced that this isn't just a mock-up (a 'real' one is inside). But it looks good:



You enter the Davidson Centre which is a relatively recent building built to house the Saturn V dynamic test vehicle on display. As luck would have it, there was some sort of trade exhibition on today, so a lot of the hall was occupied and viewing was more limited to what I would have liked. But the entry view is impressive:



The vehicle on display was basically built so the engineers could test on the ground, as best they could, things that the rocket might experience - such as shaking etc. It was taken to Alabama in 1969 and put on display in segments, in the open (!). Restoration began in 2005 and it was put on display in the new building a few years after that.

Various views of the rocket in the hall. Note the instrument ring in the second pic:









The next 2 shots are of the instrument ring and 'brain' of the Saturn V - instrumentation and, within it, the 'computer' - all 917,000 'bits' or about 112Kb of memory .





Explanation of the 'memory':

 

[RooFlyer]

You've left the east coast in the nick of time.... lately i've been in shorts but over the next few days its set to drop back down to -2, -4 and -5... brrrr

Same here ... in Alabama!! Mind you, we are pretty far north, but I never expected tomorrow's forecast of -2 deg C overnight and +1deg C at 9am!

 

[snabbu]

Same here ... in Alabama!! Mind you, we are pretty far north, but I never expected tomorrow's forecast of -2 deg C overnight and +1deg C at 9am!

Its actually been a mild winter this year with only a couple of snow days and stacks of sunshine
Enjoying the report as always good sir.

 

[RooFlyer]

Von Braun's office:



There is a nice display of the progression of development of rocket engines; this is just a sample:

H1 (1950s) 188,000 lb of thrust.



J2 engine: 230,000 lb of thrust; it used liquid oxygen and hydrogen as propellants. Going to the moon would require engines with 1.5 million lb of thrust.



Looking up the guts of the engine:



Lunar Rover, used on Apollos 15, 16 & 17. behind it is a mock up of a lunar lander - but it didn't have any signage!



Caspar, the Apollo 16 command module that returned in April 1972.





A chunk of basalt from the moon (Apollo 12) - the biggest bit I've seen on display, anywhere. Phwoar!

 

[RooFlyer]

Remember the chunk of Skylab that came down in WA? Skylab, the US's first space station was occupied between 1973 and 1974. It was boosted into a higher orbit when abandoned to delay re-entry, but it ultimately fell back to earth in July 1979, with bits falling on WA:



A large bit of oxgen tank survived, and is on display here:



There's a training version of Skylab on display.

Outside is a collection of smaller rocket and military hardware. At this stage it got a bit depressing, I was shocked at the state of most of the things on display - peeling paint, rust etc. The climate here is pretty severe - freezing to very hot, so its not unexpected that there will be effects, but it looks as though there is very little on-going maintenance. Reminded me of this sad looking WW1 or WW2 field pieces in the local public park.

A Spartan rocket on its side. A long-range ballistic interceptor rocket.



Nike Zeus on the right (1960s), 'Corporal' missile (late '50s) on the left





CH 47D Chinook helicopter:





And the saddest display of all. A lunar lander mock-up in 'the crater' - meant to depict the lunar landings. Weeds I don't think were part of it!



A nice shiny SM-65 Atlas rocket. Originally designed for an ICBM, it was used on the Mercury, Gemini, Mariner and Pioneer programs

 

[RooFlyer]

A F1 Saturn V rocket engine ... I'll let the sign do the talking:





Now to the Space Shuttle, which was also a bit of a disappointment. Its a wooden, scrap rocket parts etc fake! Only the large orange fuel tank is the real deal. 'Pathfinder' was built in 1977 to allow the practicing of lifting and other maneuvers on the ground. That's 2/2 non-space capable 'shuttles' for me this week.







A shuttle training aircraft (Gulfstream II C11A) - the coughpit instrumentation is arranged like a Shuttle's



On exit; an A2 'Oxcart'; thankfully restored.