Saturn V
The Saturn V was a three-stage, heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA to support the Apollo Program's goal of landing humans on the Moon. Here are some key points about this iconic rocket:
Development and Design
- Saturn V was conceived in the late 1950s by a team led by Wernher von Braun at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
- The rocket was designed to be powerful enough to send a heavy payload, including the Apollo Command and Service Module and the Lunar Module, to the Moon.
- It stands at 363 feet (110.6 meters) tall and has a diameter of 33 feet (10 meters).
- The rocket consisted of three main stages, each with its own engines and fuel tanks:
- First Stage: S-IC - Five F-1 engines producing 7.5 million pounds of thrust.
- Second Stage: S-II - Five J-2 engines with 1 million pounds of thrust.
- Third Stage: S-IVB - One J-2 engine with 200,000 pounds of thrust.
Notable Missions
- The first unmanned flight of Saturn V was Apollo 4 on November 9, 1967.
- The first manned mission was Apollo 8 in December 1968, which orbited the Moon.
- The historic Apollo 11 mission in July 1969, where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon, was powered by a Saturn V.
- It was also used for the Skylab space station launch in 1973.
Technical Specifications
- Total Mass at Launch: 6.5 million pounds (2.95 million kg)
- Lift Capacity: Capable of lifting 118,000 to 130,000 pounds (53,525 to 58,967 kg) into lunar orbit.
- Fuel: RP-1 (refined petroleum) and liquid oxygen for the first stage, liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen for the second and third stages.
Legacy
Sources