I grew up in the 1960's and the space program at that time was a source of wonder and amazement for me. Looking back on it now, its hard to believe the audacity of the Apollo moon program. The project had the full support and funding of the federal government and its success was a point of pride for most Americans, and humanity in general.
The Saturn V rocket was designed to take humans to the moon and back. Between 1967 and 1973, 13 Saturn V's were launched successfully, with the notable exceptions being problems encountered during the launch of Apollo 6 (unmanned test flight), and of course the Apollo 13 ruptured oxygen tank ("Houston, we have a problem") incident. Despite those miscues, there was no loss of crew or payload on any Saturn V mission.
To this day, the Saturn V rocket remains the most powerful machine ever made by mankind, and remains a tribute to the ingenuity and genius of its designers.
| Function | Crewed LEO and Lunar launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Boeing (S-IC) North American (S-II) Douglas (S-IVB) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Size | |
| Height | 363.0 feet (110.6 m) |
| Diameter | 33.0 feet (10.1 m) |
| Mass | 6,200,000 pounds (2,800,000 kg)[1] |
| Stages | 3 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | 260,000 pounds (120,000 kg)[1] |
| Payload to TLI | 100,000 pounds (45,000 kg) |
| Associated rockets | |
| Family | Saturn |
| Derivatives | Saturn INT-21 |
| Comparable | N1 rocket |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Decommissioned |
| Launch sites | LC-39, Kennedy Space Center |
| Total launches | 13 (including INT-21)[2] |
| Successes | 11 |
| Failures | 0 |
| Partial failures | 1 (Apollo 6) |
| First flight | November 9, 1967 (SA-501) |
| Last flight | December 6, 1972 (May 14, 1973 - INT-21)[2] |
| First Stage - S-IC | |
| Length | 138.0 feet (42.1 m) |
| Diameter | 33.0 feet (10.1 m) |
| Empty mass | 288,000 pounds (131,000 kg) |
| Gross mass | 5,000,000 pounds (2,300,000 kg) |
| Engines | 5 Rocketdyne F-1 |
| Thrust | 7,648,000 pounds-force (34,020,000 N) |
| Specific impulse | 263 sec (2580 N-s/kg) |
| Burn time | 150 seconds |
| Fuel | RP-1/LOX |
| Second Stage - S-II | |
| Length | 81.5 feet (24.8 m) |
| Diameter | 33.0 feet (10.1 m) |
| Empty mass | 80,000 pounds (36,000 kg) |
| Gross mass | 1,060,000 pounds (480,000 kg) |
| Engines | 5 Rocketdyne J-2 |
| Thrust | 1,000,000 pounds-force (4,400,000 N) |
| Specific impulse | 421 sec (4130 N-s/kg) |
| Burn time | 360 seconds |
| Fuel | LH2/LOX |
| Third Stage - S-IVB | |
| Length | 61.6 feet (18.8 m) |
| Diameter | 21.7 feet (6.6 m) |
| Empty mass | 23,000 pounds (10,000 kg)[citation needed] |
| Gross mass | 266,400 pounds (120,800 kg) |
| Engines | 1 Rocketdyne J-2 |
| Thrust | 225,000 pounds-force (1,000,000 N) |
| Specific impulse | 421 sec (4130 N-s/kg) |
| Burn time | 165 + 335 seconds (2 burns) |
| Fuel | LH2/LOX |
