Saturn V Flame diverters

These immensely huge flame diverters fit under the launching pad. It gives an idea of the huge size of the Saturn 5 Rocket. These rockets were used in the Apollo program, that sent people to the moon. Sadly, several astronauts died before scientists learned that using pure oxygen is dangerous. There is a memorial here. The launch pad is shown at the left. You can imagine putting these flame diverters directly underneath the launch pad, and just how big everything is. It was inspiring and sobering at the same time, since this program lost several people.