spacetoday.net: Amazon.com founder recovers Saturn 5 engines from ocean floor

Posted: Fri, Mar 22, 2013, 8:13 AM ET (1213 GMT)
F-1 engine on ocean floor (Bezos Expeditions)

An expedition sponsored by the founder of Amazon.com has recovered portions of F-1 engines from Saturn 5 rockets launched from Cape Canaveral decades ago. Jeff Bezos announced Wednesday that his Bezos Expeditions venture completed a search of the ocean floor in the Atlantic where Saturn 5 first stages plunged after being jettisoned from the rest of the rocket. Bezos, in an update posted Wednesday, reported finding "an incredible sculpture garden of twisted F-1 engines" on the ocean floor. He said they have recovered many "prime pieces" from the ocean floor using robotic vehicles, although he said a lack of serial numbers made it difficult to determine which launches the components came from. Bezos previously said that engines recovered from this effort would be donated to the Smithsonian and Seattle's Museum of Flight.