posted 05-08-2008 11:57 PM               

The Apollo Saturn V moon rocket, born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama, to lift men on their journeys to the moon nearly 40 years ago, is about to be named one of the "7 Wonders of America" by ABC-TV's "Good Morning America."

...ABC's Huntsville affiliate, WAAY-TV, said Wednesday that "Good Morning America" will broadcast live segments Monday from the Davidson Center for Space Exploration.

"GMA" created a panel of travelers, naturalists, scientists and others to pick the nation's seven wonders, and has revealed one choice each day over the past week, including the Grand Canyon, the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve.

A series of clues is posted on the show's Web site for viewers to guess at the remaining wonders. One clue features pictures of the Apollo command module atop the Saturn V and the voice of astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, who was a member of the "GMA" panel as well as host of the PBS series "NOVA ScienceNow" and director of the Hayden Planetarium.

He says, "That is the most wondrous piece of hardware there ever was."

Good Morning America has named our Saturn V 500D/F as one of the 7 Wonders of America. The official announcement will be broadcast on Monday, May 12, and staff from ABC Television are already here in Huntsville preparing for the show that will broadcast from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. (Eastern and Central times).

posted 05-10-2008 03:27 PM               

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Originally posted by Blackarrow:
No American should miss the opportunity to see a Saturn V, and mere foreigners like me should rush to join the queue, too.

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posted 05-13-2008 06:39 AM               

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Originally posted by Mr Meek:
Did anybody record the segments? I saw one on ABC's website, and was underwhelmed. Rather than stand the talking head next to the real deal, they stuck him in a cherry picker next to the mockup.

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Yes, I did record it, and yes, I was similarly underwhelmed.

I think I counted 15 different times, sprinkled throughout the show, that they broadcast from the USSRC. Most of those, however, where things like outtros to commercials that lasted less than a minute (several less than 30 seconds). I think the longest spot was about 5 minutes, with another one or two 3-minute spots.

Rest assured that they did put the talking head in the cherry picker in front of the Saturn V in the Davidson Center (although he was in the cherry picker in front of the mock-up again a couple more times).

Strictly speaking, the "Wonder of America" being featured was not the Saturn V itself or even the space program, but rather America's "pioneering spirit." In addition to the Saturn V, they also had footage and interviews for an underwater habitat off of Florida's south coast. One of the aquanauts had a quote, which was equally appropriate to the space program, to the effect that the reason they live underwater for extended periods is that discovery doesn't occur when things you expect happen, but rather when the unexpected happens.

I first became away of the GMA segment when Jackie Dannenberg sent an email that Konrad would be interviewed for the show. ABC moved the date around a couple of times, until finally the segment at the USSRC was announced.

After the show, I asked Jackie if Konrad would actually be on any time in the future. She said that, while they taped interviews with Konrad and other rocket engineers, she was unaware of any plans for those interviews to be aired.

posted 05-13-2008 10:02 AM            

I mean, if you ever wanted to see a physical manifestation of the country coming together as a whole, you need only find footage of a launch. It took people in just about every part of the United States doing their jobs perfectly to get an Apollo mission aloft.

The Saturn V may have been conceived in Huntsville, but it took an entire country to bring it into the world.