A set of giant rocket engines that once propelled astronauts to
space have now been recovered from the icy depths of the
Atlantic, say a team of researchers led by Amazon.com founder
and CEO Jeff Bezos four decades after they splashed into the
ocean. "What an incredible adventure," Bezos posted on his
website from onboard his recovery ship off the Florida coast.
"We found so much," the billionaire adventurer says. "We've seen
an underwater wonderland -- an incredible sculpture garden of
twisted F-1 engines that tells the story of a fiery and violent
end, one that serves testament to the Apollo program." Photos
show workers pulling the rusty rocket parts the size of a small
car from 14,000 feet down up to the deck of the boat. F-1
engines powered the Saturn V rocket carrying Neil Armstrong and
the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, along with other space shots.
But the engines were ejected after takeoff and considered
destroyed or lost forever. Bezos said in 2012 that he planned to
recover those specific engines.