Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, May 16, 1963, Image 15

Historic Oregon Newspapers

Medford mail tribune., May 16, 1963, Image 15

Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR

About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 16, 1963)

Prev Page of 38 Next Prev Issue Next Text PDF JP2 (2.6 MB) Clip/Print Image

Return to Top

Prev Page of 38 Next Prev Issue Next

Newspaper Page TextMEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD. OREGON THURSDAY. MAY 18. 1383 B. 3 docket's Birthplace Described as Disorderly Scene By ALVIN B. WEBB Jr, United Press International Huntsville, Ala. - (UPD -The birth place o the rocket that will hurl U. S. astron auts to the moon resembles a combination of used sets from the movie "Cleopatra" and a year's supply of untidy base ments. You stand on a low hill overlooking the entire disor derly scene- and you find It difficult to imagine a more unlikely starting place for the most daring and exciting ad venture ever undertaken by man: -Inside a yawning hangar, bits and pieces of metal in nearly every conceivable shape lay helter-skelter on the floor. Lacking floor space they hang from the ceiling or protrude from the walls. -Out in a shallow valley, four massive concrete pillars jut from the red clay ground like left-overs from some Pharoah's pyramid project. -On the side of a grassy hill, an odd-looking contrap tion intermittently bellows in a loud, low moan akin to the sound of an aging cow that hasn't been milked in a week. This is the Marshall Space Flight center (MSFQ-the cha otic cradle for the fantastic machine that Is supposed to send three-man teams of as tronaut to the moon in 1968. The space center is nestled in Jhe rolling hills of green grass and red clay outside Huntsville, at the top of the "space crescent" that runs from Houston, Tex., where astronauts are trained, to the firing pads of Cape Canaver al, Fla., where they will blast off for the moon. The importance of MSFC's role in the multi-billion-dollar scheme of lunar things is un derscored by the fact that its chief is Dr. Wernher von Braun, the famed ex-German scientist who, probably more than any man alive, is respon sible for making America space-conscious. Von Braun' spearheads the bustling center's drive toward a single goal - to develop "a very fine and potent space transportation system" that will be suitable for a decade of U. S. exploration. Someone else here had a more flowery description of MSFC's job - "to find a way for man to get to heaven with out dying. The immensity of the tasks can be envisioned if you will let your imagination run ram pant for a minute, and vis ualize a string of horses 200, 000 miles long. Distill Horsepower Now consider the problem of distilling the horsepower from all those horses and squeezing it into a stack of metallic cylinders 350 feet high and 33 feet across the base. The result is the rocket ', called simply Saturn-5- the mighty "space wheels" that will propel three-man U. S. teams to the moon. And suddenly, the five years between now and then seem terribly short. Among some high officials who seem almost pathologic ally conscious of their posi tions in the U. S. space busi ness, the luxurious office has come to be a sort of status symbol. The loftier the posi tion,, the more ornate the so called "working quarters." The office of Wernher von Braun is impressive in its modesty. It is a key to the philosophy of operating the 1,600 acre Marshall Space Flight center, from the top man down through the wrench-wielding ranks: All Hard Work Forget the frills. Only hard work will buy success. In this respect, the some what austere set-up of the Marshall Space Flight center differs from some other fed eral space agency installations such as Houston (where plush offices abound) and Cape Can averal (where buildings such as Mercury control center I come with landscaping). But one doesn't argue with success. Von Braun knows what success is and, more im portantly, he knows how to get It. History is his witness. The powerfully-built rocket wizard and his small team of expatriate German scientists and technicians first stunned the world in the latter part of World War II when they built and perfected the terrifying V-2 rocket in the dying gasps of Adolf Hitler's third reich. At the war's end, they moved to White Sands, N.M., for peaceful V-2 shots that produced knowledge import- No Stamps No Gimicks No Contests Thunderbird's STORE-WIDE MSG OP Every Customer Is a CASH SAVING WINNER! FOLGERS CREST TOOTHPASTE Family Size Reg. M OC WW TV 83c Tiger Tooth Brush 33c HELENE CURTIS HAIR SPRAY With Tease 'n Curl Comb f9c Reg, $1.49 Tax Inel. FIRST QUALITY "Nude Heel" Seamless THUNDERBIRD ..Qt. Jar ISLAND PRIDE HEAVY SYRUP IffSTANT COFFEE . U -79 LIQUID bLEACH PUREX ul 49' SANI CLOR cai 39 THUNDERBIRD - SALAD DRESSING - .,33c 39c CRUSHED PINEAPPLE 4" 99c ISLAND PRIDE HALF Pineapple Slices " 4 99 'INSTANT COFFEE ,o,,;69c STEVED TOMATOES . - 5 89c MR. GOODBAR, KRACKLE IIERSHEY BARS 29c NALLEY'S POTATO CHIPS Reg- 69c 3-Bag Crt. 59c ALL PURE CANNED MILK ( T" 5.89) 8 " 99c GEBHARDT'S CHILI WITH BEANS .59c GOLD MEDAL FLOUR io lb 89c Dessert 2-lb. Pkg. 39, 77 UM-U SEEDLESS RAISINS FRENCH FRIES ;fl'29 PINEAPPLE TIDBITS -HI 599 CHEESE LOAF FISHER'S IMITATION Mb. Pkg. IS) APRICOT HALUES -1 .599 COCOA MIX Hershey's Instant 38-oz. cm 9 PORK & BEANS VanCamps 52 oz. can 39 cat food 6..,ca mm l lfSUT DIM DO - hlUII I UULUO watt rug. ui l ju GARDEN HOSE TZZZTSm ?2" HIP BOOrt'SftBn , . $7I! EVERAIN OSCILLATING LAWN SPRINKLER $066 STYRENE FOAM NYLONS I Beige-8V4 to 1 1 !REDDY-LOC . ' I TUFF-LITE 3 TUBE MEN'S SHORT SlEEVE Window Screen SPRINKLER Sport Shirt 1 Ex.end.37in. QQ. 1 . .... ..,,, Dan River W.sh 'n We.r jfcSSg 1 T 9 Reg. $1.29 UV I , " is' Ft 1 " sm-wed., ig. jgrfgJH 1. II Y Cover, up to 25 tWswSS5Ha I ' . 1 Re9-2-98 KM&IJi 1 ft. x 45 ft. .re. hM W $11 88 $H 99 MM k W SO66 nu TOMATOES srms I ', v ' VI lb. I 3 s 25c 8 1 99 2s 19 29c . 39 KE CHEST I STRAW HATS m MADE IN ITAir-lADIES' light, Sturdy 34 Qt. Cap. Keep. Thing. Cold for Hour. e Colorful Ideal for Summer Sport.weir $1199 California Field Ripened "First of the Season" 1 BERMUDA Add. Zett to Any Meal ONIONS DELICIOUS JUICY CHANGES GARDEN FRESH SUNSWEET BREAKFAST PRUNES REG. 25c HOLLYWOOD BOB PINS Rubber Tipped REG. 29c ST. JOSEPH EPSOM SALT nr l Ulll IliU'C UIIA SHAVING SOAP 2 25c PIE PORTER ... ,, ,, .... ' REG. 15c PLASTIC REG. $1.55 LILT m a MBk a S . Jhaal PERMANENT T,nc 99c bEWtKAUt lUl.lbLtKb 3'ZC 2 "25c CASTILE SOAP - - 3 "25c $1.43 VALUE SUTTON f f AO Mb. Pkg. - Each 12c DEODORANT 43c Six - Tax Inel Both OQU 99c REG. $1.98 PLASTIC COVERED Jamaica Shorts : 'SI. 29 Badminton Set -S3. 8 8 Sleeping Bag S9.97 REG. $1.29 HEP HOUSE 4 GARDEN REG. $21.95 4-QT. ELECTRIC ". WIZARD W OALLOM Insect Bomb 88c Ice Cr'm Freezer S1S.99 Charcoal Lighter .: 88c REG. 96c MEAL OR PELLET$ REG. 79c BOYS-1 00 COTTON REG. $1.91 GALLON SIZE ,-, Snarol 79c T Shirts 3 "99c Insulated Jug S1.59 REG. $5.98 4-PLAYER REG. $15.95 HIRSCH-WEIS 5-LB. CELLO-RAY BROILET CHARCOAL BRIQUETTES 20-Lb. lag 89' 100 RAYON PILI DECORATOR RUG 24 in. l 3 in. Rag 1.98 S4 99 I I5-Lb. Bh GOLDEN VIGORO Rig. $4.79. Guar. Not t. turn SJ99 BUNCH TURNIPS GREEN PEPPERS J"' "ant for $tuffing j ..lVi-lB. PKO; CASHIER WINDOW SERVICES FILM DEVELOPING e YEAR AROUND LAY-AWAY PLAN e Prat Gilt Wrapping t Graating Cards tor all occasions e Hunting and Hilling Licantat e Chicks Cashed e Monty Ordars e Postaga Stamps Bottfo Roturn e Phik TV ft Radio. Tubas at 40 Discount G-l Floor Poliihar ft Waiar Rental 77c 0a 1 Always More For Your Money ill CORNER JACKSONVILLE HIWAY AND LOZIER LANE ant to spaco research even to today. Then, In the 1950s they moved to Huntaville as ihe core of America's tore most rocket team - first un der the U. S. army, then un der the National Aeronautics and Space administration. Gormani on Job From here, the talented Ger mans generated the power lor America's thrust into the space age: -They designed and built the nation's first ballistic mis sile, the Redstone a rocket so reliable it was entrusted with the job of sending the first U.S. astronaut, Alan B. Shepard Jr., on a sub-orbital flight on May S, 1961. -From the Redstone, they built up a more powerful rocket called Jupiter-C and used It to launch America's first satellite, Explorer-1, into orbit Jan. 31, 1958. -They paced the Marshall center's design and develop ment of the mighty Saturn-1, this nation's first "super-booster"-a rocket Von Braun himself believes is twice as powerful as any Russian rocket, . On a long wooden table at the rear of von Braun's office stand models of these and other U. S. rockets. The mod el of the Pershing missile is about six inches tall. The Saturn-1 model stands a Iittla over three feet. The "real life" versions all have flown for the United States. On. Hasn't Flown All, that is, except one -the model at the extreme right of , the table. This is the Saturn-5. . The model is so tall a hole had to be cut in the celling of Wernher von Braun's offica before it could be stood up right. ' . i Two years ago, President Kennedy made the landing of men on the moon a national goal for this decade. The ma chinery for the monumental task is being forged within a metallic cave at the Marshall Space Flight center. This is the assembly build ing. It looks like a gigantic repair garage - except tnai everything seems doubled and redoubled In size. The ma chinery and parts that fill all but tne wanting space oi mi 107,000-square-foot floor re semble nothing ever belore seen. This Is the raw material for the Saiurn-5 Moonrocket. Citing Ready "We are in the process of tooling up for Saturn-9," said a space agency . spokesman. His hand flashed a confident, 180-degree sweep. "The hard ware is just beginning- to pile in." Piling- In, rolling In, lying In from all parts of the coun try, the "hardware," indeed, is getting to be a massive stack. The Marshall center's task is to make a Saturn-5 rocket from it. Its scientists and technici ans have about 1,000 days to do it. The first Saturn-5 must make its suborbital' ballistic flieht from Cane Canaveral early in 1966, If a manned lunar landing is to meet ins current target date In 1968. The assembly building nas been used to build America's present "rage" rocket, the Salurn-I. But pans ror ino last four Saturn-1 boosters al ready are being assembled, and after that production will shift to the Chrysler Corp. plant at Mlchoud, La. Saturn-1 generates i.s mil lion oounds of thrust. Tha'' Salurn-5 will turn out 7.5 mil lion pounds of thrust - a five fold increase. Or out It another way. sat urn-1 could shoot your fam ily automobile to the moon. Toward The Stirs Saturn-5 could send It clear out of the solar system to ward the stars. Your car tops a slight hill. and your eyes tell you that the spectacular sights of tha space age are not necessarily confined to missiles and ma- chinery and men flying into orbits. There. Jutting from . the ever-present red clay, stand four curved, monolithic blocks of concrete as awesome in their own stolid, silent way as any rocket that ever blazed from Cape Canaveral. They look like part oi a set from a Biblical movie or grandiose proportions, In a way, they are a stage - for the first performance of tha mighty Saturn-5 rocket. These concrete pillars, an chored 40 feet Into the ground nd rising another 70 lect above the surface, form tha base for a test stand that will rise 400 feet Into the Ala bama sky by mid-1964. To Roar In '84 On this platform, the five- barreled booster for the Saturn-5 will utter Its first thun derous sound next year. In late summer of 1964, the roar of a single one the five 1.5 million-pound thrust engines will echo across the green hill sides. And by October of 1964, all five engines will be tired up In unison while the 33-foot-diameter frame is latched ta the test stand.