Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced the discovery of Apollo Saturn V F-1 rocket engines from NASA's decades-ago Apollo Missions. This happens just a year after he promised that he and his team would recover the F-1 engines of the Apollo mission.
Bezos and his team finished three weeks at sea and used Remotely Operated Vehicles to help with the recovery of the wreckage. The technology used was able to work at depths of over 14,000 feet. His team found enough pieces to put two Apollo Saturn V rocket engine models on display.
"What an incredible adventure. We are right now onboard the Seabed Worker headed back to Cape Canaveral after finishing three weeks at sea, working almost 3 miles below the surface. We found so much," said Bezos on his blog, describing the discovery. On his blog, Bezos took the time to show appreciation and thank his entire team that helped with the discovery of the Apollo engines.
Restoration will begin on the twisted Apollo Saturn V engines to prevent further corrosion. The process will also stabilize the hardware and Bezos is anxious to get his findings on display.
"We want the hardware to tell its true story, including its 5,000-mile-per hour re-entry and subsequent impact with the ocean surface. We're excited to get this hardware on display where just maybe it will inspire something amazing," said Bezos.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden released a statement applauding Bezos for his Apollo Saturn V first stage engines' recovery.
"This is a historic find and I congratulate the team for its determination and perseverance in the recovery of these important artifacts of our first efforts to send humans beyond Earth orbit. We look forward to the restoration of these engines by the Bezos team and applaud Jeff's desire to make these historic artifacts available for public display," said Bolden.
Bezos was excited and determined to help NASA recover the F-1 engines that sent astronauts to the moon during the Apollo Missions of the 1960s and early 1970s. His fascination with space travel was the motivation behind his launch of Blue Origin, he said. Bezos launched the startup in 2000 to help people go into space.
