The Dam Collapse that could have delayed Apollo 11

On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing and moon walk, there’s a less known story that could have delayed the whole thing…

It was a site to behold back in 1961. NASA’s barge, nicknamed Palaemon, was on the Tennessee River carrying the first flight stage of a Saturn I rocket and test flight versions of the upper stage and payload from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

SOURCE: NASA

The journey would take 2,000 miles from Huntsville to Cape Canaveral where it would be assembled and eventually launched. Just 40 miles into the trip, as the crew reached Wheeler Dam, it had a major obstacle to overcome, author William Bryan reports: The dam’s lock had collapsed and the passageway was closed.

The Tennessee Valley Authority had to build new roads around the dams to allow crews to off-load the cargo and transport it around the dam.

SOURCE: TVA