« previous next »
Pages: [1]

Author Topic: Ever wonder how Saturn V "knew" exactly where it was pointing at launch?  (Read 7071 times)

Offline smartcooky

  • Uranus
  • ****
  • Posts: 1965
Ever wonder how Saturn V "knew" exactly where it was pointing at launch?
« on: March 03, 2023, 02:12:19 AM »
Well, wonder no more!

The phrase "Guidance is internal" at T minus 15 seconds was one of the most important call-outs in the Saturn V countdown, and this fascinating short video with excellent graphics explains why.




Its the minute details like this that show just how complicated it is to send rockets to the moon.
Logged
If you're not a scientist but you think you've destroyed the foundation of a vast scientific edifice with 10 minutes of Googling, you might want to consider the possibility that you're wrong.

Offline Zakalwe

  • Uranus
  • ****
  • Posts: 1598
Re: Ever wonder how Saturn V "knew" exactly where it was pointing at launch?
« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2023, 04:06:17 AM »
Excellent video!
Logged
"The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.' " - Isaac Asimov

Offline Kiwi

  • Mars
  • ***
  • Posts: 481
Re: Ever wonder how Saturn V "knew" exactly where it was pointing at launch?
« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2023, 05:56:20 AM »
Thanks, Smartcooky. I particularly enjoyed this little bit:
0:05:46  …it could align the gimbal to within one-thousandth of a degree.

I guess that's about near enough if I want to know in which way I'm pointing. :-)
Logged
Don't criticize what you can't understand. — Bob Dylan, “The Times They Are A-Changin'” (1963)
Some people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices and superstitions. — Edward R. Murrow (1908–65)
Pages: [1]
« previous next »