The secret 10-storey moon rocket abandoned for more than 40 years - PHOTO

10:15 | 25.02.2014
The secret 10-storey moon rocket abandoned for more than 40 years - PHOTO

The secret 10-storey moon rocket abandoned for more than 40 years - PHOTO

Sitting deep in a 150ft deep hole in the ground in the swampy Florida Everglades lies the largest solid rocket booster ever built - a relic of the American space race.

Standing 10 stories tall and about 20 feet wide, the rocket was originally intended to carry men to the moon.Aerojet General reportedly built the rocket manufacturing plant in 1963, hoping to build solid fuel rockets for the Apollo moon mission.In the end, NASA chose liquid-fueled Saturn rockets and Aeroject never got the contract. The site was abandoned in 1969, along with the rocket in its 150-foot deep testing silo, where it has remained for more than 40 years.According to science writer David Schneider, on Someplacelse.net, the United States Air Force is understood to have provided Aerojet General with $3million to build its manufacturing and testing site in Homestead, Florida.Between September 25, 1965 and June 17, 1967, three static test firings took place. According to witnesses, the flames on the second test could be seen in MiamiBy the time the rocket was tested for the third time, NASA had already made the decision to go with liquid-fueled engines for the expeditions to the moon.The plant was eventually closed in 1969, with the rocket left behind in the ground.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az

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