I am one of the few remaining members of the first Apollo Saturn V launch team from 55 years ago, and the current Artemis SLS1 launch brings back latent memories of delays, launch and aftermath. The sheer size and complexity of “firsts” and the accompanying risks are in a special class, and delays part of the process.

Apollo Saturn 501 was moved out to Pad A in August 1967 and sat there until its launch on Nov. 9, 1967. Many tests and remedies occurred. At the time, we used a mobile service structure, and we spent long days adjusting all the systems. It was like working on a scaffold next to the Washington Monument.

The firing room during the final hours of the launch witnessed many anxious people. Especially visible were Wernher von Braun and his colleagues up at the top who had conceived and helped design what was the mother of all moon rockets.

For those of us who designed the launch systems, there was an additional excitement post-launch that is rarely discussed. A rocket that size rises slowly and wreaks havoc on its way off the launcher. For Saturn 501, no one knew what was going to be left. Assessing the damage brought a certain thrill along with fixing the problems — and there were many.

The writer was a lead system engineer for the Apollo Saturn 501 launch at General Electric’s Apollo Systems division, and was part of the Apollo 4 and subsequent Saturn V launch teams.