Saturn V (rocket)

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Saturn V
Apollo IV Saturn V .
Stages		2 or 3
1 - S-IC	Engines	5 * F-1
Thrust		33,400 kN (7,500,000 lb) (later 33,900 kN)
Burn time		~165 s
Fuels		RP-1/LOX
2 - S-II	Engines	5 * J-2
Thrust		5,000 kN (1,125,000 lb) (later 5,100 kN)
Burn time		~380 s
Fuels		LH2/LOX
3 - S-IVB	Engines	1 * J-2
Thrust		890 kN (200,000 lb) (later 1,000 kN)
Burn time		~475 s (usually 2 burns)
Fuels		LH2/LOX
Two stage version
Payload to LEO		75,000 kg
Three stage version
Payload to LEO		118,000 kg
Payload to TLI		47,000 kg

The Saturn V (popularly known as the Moon Rocket) is a multistage liquid-fuel expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs. It was the ultimate model of the Saturn family of rockets designed under the direction of Wernher von Braun.

Table of contents

1 Introduction
2 Stages to Saturn
3 Launch Sequence

3.1 S-IC (First) Stage Sequence
3.2 S-II (Second) Stage Sequence
3.3 S-IVB (Third) Stage Sequence

3.3.1 Trans Lunar Injection

4 Non-lunar employments of the Saturn V systems
5 Saturn V Vehicles and Launches
6 Suggested Reading

Introduction

In 1961, when President Kennedy announced that America would try to get to the moon by the end of the decade, there was nothing in the United States arsenal (or in fact anywhere in the world) that could launch a manned spacecraft to the moon in one piece. The Saturn I was in development but had not flown and would require several launches to place in orbit all the components of the lunar spacecraft.

In was announced on January 10, 1962 that NASA would build the Saturn V, though at that point it was called the Saturn C-5. It would use the F-1 and J-2 rocket engines for propulsion and be designed by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

It was decided early on to attempt to use as much technology from the Saturn I program as possible. As such the S-IVB third stage of the Saturn V was based on the S-IV second stage of the Saturn I. The Instrument Unit that controlled the Saturn V was also based on that carried by the Saturn I.

Over 110 m high and 10 m in diameter, with a total mass of 3,038,500 kg and a payload capacity of 118,000 kg to LEO, the Saturn V is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, although the Soviet Energia heavy-lift booster was designed to deliver up to 120-150 tons in the Vulkan configuration, but was never flown at this capacity.

Stages to Saturn

Saturn V is composed of three-stages (click on the appropriate link to see more detail):

S-IC (First) Stage: built by Boeing
S-II (Second) Stage: built by North American Aviation
S-IVB (Third) Stage: built by Douglas Aircraft Company

An additional component was the Instrument Unit, which rode atop the S-IVB.

Launch Sequence

S-IC (First) Stage Sequence

S-IC first stage engines and von Braun

Saturn V is the vehicle that carried the Apollo astronauts to the Moon. Launched from Launch Complex 39 at the John F. Kennedy Space Center the first stage would burn for 2.5 minutes lifting the rocket to 61 km and accelerated to a speed of 8600 km/h. In the process it has used 2 million kg of propellant.

Launch of the last Saturn V rocket carrying the Skylab space station

The final act for the Saturn V rocket now is to be targeted away from the CSM and LM. At the moment it is on the same trajectory as the spacecraft and could present a hazard later in the mission. So the remaining propellant in its tanks in vented out of the engine. It can then be targeted either into a solar orbit or, as in the case of the third stages from Apollo 13 onwards directed, to impact the moon. These impacts were detected by seismometers left on the moon by previous missions and used to probe the inside of the moon.

Non-lunar employments of the Saturn V systems

Apart from manned lunar flights the Saturn V was used to launch the Skylab space station into earth orbit. Skylab was the modified third stage of the Saturn V itself and, as such, this last flown Saturn V had only two live stages.

The Space Shuttle was initially conceived of as a cargo transport to be used in concert with the Saturn V. The Shuttle would handle Space Station logistics, while Saturn V would launch components. Lack of funding for a second Saturn V production run killed this plan and left the US without a heavy-lift booster for the next 30 years (and counting).

F-1

There were also plans for a larger rocket called Nova that would have featured eight F-1 engines in its first stage allowing it to launch a manned spacecraft on a direct ascent flight to the moon. Other plans for the Saturn V called for using a Centaur as an upper stage or adding strapon boosters. These enhancements would have increased its ability to send large unmanned spacecraft to the outer planets or manned spacecraft to Mars. The second production run of Saturn Vs (had it happened) would very likely have used the F-1A engine in its first stage, providing a substantial performance boost over the first run. Other likely changes would have been the removal of the fins, since they turned out to not provide much benefit when compaired to their weight, a stretched S-IC first stage to support the more powerful F-1As, and uprated J-2s for the upper stages.

Saturn V Vehicles and Launches

Serial Number	Mission	Launch Date	Notes
SA-501	Apollo 4	November 9, 1967	First test flight
SA-502	Apollo 6	April 4, 1968	Second test flight
SA-503	Apollo 8	December 12, 1968	First manned flight of Saturn V and to Moon
SA-504	Apollo 9	March 3, 1969
SA-505	Apollo 10	May 18, 1969
SA-506	Apollo 11	July 16, 1969	First manned lunar landing
SA-507	Apollo 12	November 14, 1969
SA-508	Apollo 13	April 11, 1970
SA-509	Apollo 14	January 31, 1971
SA-510	Apollo 15	July 26, 1971
SA-511	Apollo 16	April 16, 1972
SA-512	Apollo 17	December 6, 1972	Final Apollo lunar mission
SA-513	Skylab 1	May 14, 1973	Two-stage Skylab version
SA-514	Unused
SA-515	Unused

Currently there are three Saturn Vs on display:

At the Johnson Space Center made up of first stage of SA-514, the second stage from SA-515 and the third stage from SA-513
At the Kennedy Space Center made up of S-IC-T and the second and third stages from SA-514
At the US Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama made up of S-IC-D, S-II-F/D and S-IVB-D (all test stages not meant for actual flight)

Of these three, only the one at the Johnson Space Center is fully comprised of stages that were meant to be launched. The US Space & Rocket Center has on display a full scale model of the Saturn V. The first stage from SA-515 resides at the Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, Louisiana.