The Saturn V F-1 Engine: Powering Apollo into History (Springer Praxis Books)

I thought the book was very comprehensive in outlining the evolution of the F1 engine from concept through which vehicles would utilize it as the country grappeled with the objective of a moon landing. Particularly interesting was the exploration of various vehicles and their configurations and the various types of moon missions they would support. The management structure to support the programs was a testament to the greatness of American technical prowess through the 1950's and 60's. Manufacturability was also discussed.What was not really gotten into was the design of the various components and how decisions were made to go with various approaches. My biggest disappointment was when they essentially ignored the combustion instability issue and how they solved it by setting off small explosive charges to test their modifications. Also, the entire ignition sequence start would have been very interesting to read about in great detail. The Haynes Saturn V Shop manual actually covers this topic way better than this book.At times, the book comes off as a cheerleader for Rocketdyne since it glosses over the test and performance failures with minimal treatment. To be sure, Rocketdyne is an awesome company, but I think telling the ins and outs of some of the engineering that it took to solve the problems would have only added to their impressive record as a premier company on the cutting edge of technology.

This is a good history of the Saturn F-1 engine, and it's derivative the F-1A, or F-1 Block II, as well as a description of the sub-assemblies that made it all work. I was blown away by the sheer power of the engine - 1,5 million pounds of sea level thrust.Chapter 1 describes the various studies of what it would take to get a payload to the Moon, and back, and the F-1 was developed to provide the thrust. There was some discussion of one huge engine, or multiple engines for thrust. The author mentions some problems that multiple engines would cause; apparently they were solved, but he never mentions them again, let alone how serious they were, and how they were solved.The author, it seems, at the beginning of each chapter, talks about how great Rocketdyne's management was, and that was the key to the success. Well, management is important, but it's the guys in the trenches who are the ultimate producers, and most companies succeed in spite of management, not because of management.I got a bit of a discount on this book because it was used. There is some writing on the front piece, and some text is circled; but overall, I didn't detect any wear, or other damage.I would have liked him to talk some about the engine the F-1 was derived from, then describe how they extrapolated it's technical details to create the F-1's design, similarly to how he described how the F-1A was derived from the F-1.He talks about how much pressure the turbo-pumps produce for the LOX and RP-1 (refined kerosene) but not why so much pressure is needed. You have to infer the pressure is needed to overcome the exhaust pressure in the thrust nozzle.I have some theoretical knowledge of rocket exhausts, but not enough to make me dangerous. However, the ideal exhaust nozzle starts wide, narrows down to a throat, then expands again. As far as I could tell, the F-1's nozzles had no throat. I'm sure there was a good reason why, but the author never mentions it, nor refers to any reference that could explain why.Finally, I found it ironic that a Democrat president, JFK, pushed the lunar program, as well as space exploration which gave rise to the F-1, and another Democrat president, William Jefferson Clinton, essentially killed the F-1A because he had no interest at all in space (and he had modeled himself, both good, and bad, after JFK.The book is printed on heavy stock, I hope acid free, and the pictures, both black and white, and color, are amazing.

For you engineering types out there who want to know the back story, this is the book. It talks at length about development, testing, production and the people behind it all. An enjoyable read about a very important engineering feat in world history. This is a moment modern man should be proud of and we should all know the story in more detail. This is the engine that took men to the moon, how sad it would be if we lost its history.

A must read for all those technically minded real space fans. Lots of info on construction etc. Only wish photos were larger & in color, tho they may not have been in color. So just the size of the photos was slightly disappointing, but it doesn't make the book a disappointment. Plus this would have added to the cost of the book as it'd have to be made larger. Read this book & watch the test firings from the Saturn V DVD- a real complement (not included w/ book). Highly recommend.

A bit pricey but contains decent detail on a massive project. It was fun to read this then go the Johnson Space Center and identify the actual parts on the F1A engine.

I love books about the history of technology but some just don't "pop". This book is a good overview of the F-1 engine, but somehow it just bogs down. About halfway through I had had enough, skimmed the rest, and wished I hadn't spent $50 on it.One thing to note is that this book is printed the you order it (at least my copy was). The quality is fine, but don't think that it is overpriced because it is a rare book or out of print or whatever.

In this easy to read book, but dense and rich information of a fantastic era of intelligence and competence in America! Very good to read! But we can not forget the genius Wernher Von Braun and your German team! In this book you see America as a fertile soil to Von Braun and his team!

If you are interested in the technical and historical details of the development of the F-1 engine as I am, you will enjoy this book. It helps to have some technical knowledge, but you don't have to be an engineer to enjoy this book. It is a great addition to your library if you are a Saturn program and manned space flight fan.

Absolutely brilliant ,rare information.A true text book.

Je suis très décu, a tel point que je me suis arrêté vers la page 50.Beaucoups trop de dates et pas assez d'informations techniques