The book focuses on the design, testing and manufacture of the F-1
engine, but also covers its incorporation into the first stage of the
Saturn V and in-flight record. It concludes with an examination of what
might have been, if the F-1 had not been discarded, together with the
Saturn V, at the conclusion of the Apollo program. The account draws on
original documents and interviews with engineers and managers, and is
illustrated by many never-before-published photographs, both colour and
monochrome. The intention is for this to be the definitive account of
the development of this most powerful of rocket engines. As NASA is
developing an evolved version of the hydrogen-burning J-2 engine for use
in the forthcoming Ares launch vehicles, the author includes development
of the J-2 engine within the context of the Saturn V development, thus
bringing rocket engine development up to the present and thus provide
this book with a long shelf life.