Apollo 11 Engine Gives Hope for Future U.S. Space Travel

The bad news is, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has lost a bunch of funding the past few years and the space shuttles have been scuttled.  Where do we go from here with space travel?  What will be the mode of space travel, if any, for the future?  This is where the Apollo 11 Engine comes in.

Like many people, I've wondered where the United States is headed with space travel for the future.  The answer may lie in our past...with the F-6049 that was the engine design for the Apollo 11.  Engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center have been resurrecting the old engine and conducting a series test-firings and using technology that hasn't been looked at in decades.  The current thinking is that improvements may possibly be made to the old engine design that could lead to a new engine; one that could be used for our future space travel.

I remember, as a 9 year-old, the United States' landing on the moon and hearing Neil Armstrong's famous words that he spoke once stepping foot on the surface of the

Earth's natural satellite.  I remember how the nation as a whole was mesmerized with the space exploration of the 60s.  There was such collective anticipation and excitement across the entire country.  Wouldn't it be wonderful to feel that enthusiastic and unifying feeling again?  Heck, just look at the books and movies that have been written and produced at the wonderment of space!

Is our space travel future linked to (almost) 50-year old technology?  Time will tell.  I'm one who hopes that we will continue our space exploration.  that anticipation and excitement is a glowing ember within me that could easily be rekindled and I'll bet that I'm not alone.