The SA-9 (Saturn I Block II), the eighth Saturn I flight, lifted off on February 16, 1965. This was the first Saturn with an operational payload, the Pegasus I meteoroid detection satellite.

The Saturn family of rockets were developed to launch heavy payloads to Earth orbit and beyond. They were adopted as the launch vehicles for the Apollo program. The two most important members of the family were the Saturn IB and the Saturn V. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2274x3000, 3302 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Saturn (rocket family) ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2274x3000, 3302 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Saturn (rocket family) ... A Redstone rocket, part of the Mercury program The traditional definition of a rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving fluid from within a rocket engine. ... Description Role: Earth and Lunar Orbit Crew: 3; CDR, CM pilot, LM pilot Dimensions Height: 36. ... The Saturn IB was an uprated verson of the Saturn I, which was the first manned launch vehicle that was not directly derived from an ICBM (though its tanks were derived from the Jupiter and Redstone tanks, and its first stage engines were Navaho derived). ... This article is about the rocket. ...

Early development

The original Saturn design originated with a concept developed by Wernher von Braun in 1957. The rocket bore a striking resemblance of the German aggregate series A9-A12 (which were however never realized). He submitted a proposal to the United States Department of Defense, outlining a need to develop a heavy booster with thrust in the 1.5 million lbf (6.7 MN) range. Such a booster would be able to place a payload of 20,000 to 40,000 lb (10 to 20 t) in Earth orbit, or 6,000 to 12,000 lb (3 to 6 t) elsewhere in the Solar System. The following year, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) approved a research and development program for a booster designated Juno V (as a continuation of the Juno I and Juno II series of rockets, the satellite-launching variants of the military Jupiter-C and Jupiter IRBM). Wernher von Braun stands at his desk in the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama in May 1964, with models of rockets developed and in progress. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Aggregate series was a set of rocket designs developed in 1933–1945 by a research program of Nazi Germanys army. ... Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newtons Second and Third Law. ... Major features of the Solar System (not to scale): The Sun, the eight planets, the asteroid belt containing the dwarf planet Ceres, outermost there is the dwarf planet Pluto (the dwarf planet Eris not shown), and a comet. ... The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of new technology for use by the military. ... The Jupiter-C Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) was designed by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) The vehicle consists of a modified Redstone ballistic missile with three solid-propellant upper stages. ... Jupiter IRBM mobile missile The Jupiter Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile, first tested in 1957, was the United States second Intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM). ... MILSTAR:A Communciation Satellite A satellite is any object that orbits another object (which is known as its primary). ... The Jupiter-C Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) was designed by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) The vehicle consists of a modified Redstone ballistic missile with three solid-propellant upper stages. ... Jupiter IRBM mobile missile The Jupiter Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile, first tested in 1957, was the United States second Intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM). ...

Two approaches were considered: the first used multiple engines to reach the 1.5 million lbf (6.7 MN) mark, the second used a single engine of far greater power than had ever been conceived up to that point. Both avenues were investigated by von Braun’s team.

It was suggested that the most practical way to build a multi-engined booster was to cluster existing rocket stages together —a strategy that skeptics dubbed "Cluster's Last Stand"— but which quickly proved feasible with the construction of a non-flying test stage. Von Braun had proposed a design where eight Redstone missile stages would be clustered around a single Jupiter missile stage. Each of these nine individual rockets would be fitted with an engine derived from the S-3D engine already being used on Thor and Jupiter missiles. Rocketdyne, the manufacturer of the S-3D, received a contract to upgrade the engine from 150,000 to 188,000 lbf (670 to 840 kN) thrust. The resulting engine was designated the H-1. First launched in 1953, the American Redstone rocket was a direct descendant of the German V-2. ... Thor-Ablestar Thor was the United Statess first operational ballistic missile. ... F-1 rocket engine Rocketdyne is the premier rocket engine design and production company in the United States. ... A cluster of 8 H-1 rocket engines lifted the Saturn I from the launch pad. ...

At the same time, Rocketdyne designed a single engine that would develop the combined thrust of the clustered H-1 engines, designating it the F-1. F-1 Rocket Engine Specifications. ...

In 1959, Von Braun suggested that the name of the booster should be changed to "Saturn", one step beyond Jupiter, and ARPA approved the change. At the same time the military decided it had no immediate use for such a heavy launch vehicle, and turned the project over to the newly-formed NASA. NASA was working on its own large booster design at the time, Nova, but decided to take a serious look at von Braun's work. In the meantime, von Braun's team turned their efforts to development of the upper stages for the booster. 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... NASA logo Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... Diagram of Saturn I, Saturn V and Nova 8L rockets. ...

Silverstein Committee

A government commission, the "Saturn Vehicle Evaluation Committee" (better known as the Silverstein Committee) was assembled to recommend specific directions that NASA could take with the program. The committee recommended the development of new, hydrogen-burning upper stages for the Saturn, and outlined eight different configurations for heavy-lift boosters ranging from very low-risk solutions making heavy use of existing technology to designs that relied on hardware that had not been developed yet, including the proposed new upper stage. The configurations were: Saturn Vehicle Evaluation Committee - Chaired by NASAs Abe Silverstein and often referred to as the Silverstein Committee, the committee was composed of representatives of NASA, ARPA, DOD, and USAF. The Committee established two criteria for a successful Saturn program: development of a rocket with an early launch capability as...

• Saturn A
  • A-1 - Saturn cluster lower stage, Titan second stage, and Centaur third stage
  • A-2 - Saturn cluster lower stage, proposed Jupiter cluster second stage, and Centaur third stage

• Saturn B
  • B-1 - Saturn cluster lower stage, proposed Titan cluster second stage, proposed S-IV third stage and Centaur fourth stage

• Saturn C
  • C-1 - Saturn cluster lower stage, proposed S-IV second stage
  • C-2 - Saturn cluster lower stage, proposed S-II second stage, and proposed S-IV third stage
  • C-3, C-4, and C-5 - all based on different variations of a new lower stage using F-1 engines, variations of proposed S-II second stages, and proposed S-IV third stages.

Contracts for the development of a new hydrogen-burning engine was given to Rocketdyne in 1960 and for the development of the Saturn IV stage to Douglas the same year. Titan is a family of U.S. expendable rockets. ... The Centaur is an upper stage rocket designed for use on satellite launch vehicles, boosting the satellite into its final orbit or, in the case of interplanetary probes, to escape velocity. ... The S-IVB was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company and served as the third stage on the Saturn V and second stage on the Saturn IB. It had one J-2 engine. ... The S-IVB was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company and served as the third stage on the Saturn V and second stage on the Saturn IB. It had one J-2 engine. ... The S-II was the second stage of the Saturn V rocket. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... The Douglas Aircraft Company was founded by Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. ...

Project Apollo

The challenge that President John F. Kennedy put to NASA in May 1961 to put an astronaut on the Moon by the end of the decade put a sudden new urgency on the Saturn program. That year saw a flurry of activity as different means of reaching the Moon were evaluated. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK, John Kennedy, or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... Template:Redirect Template:Redirect U.S. Space Shuttle astronaut Bruce McCandless II using a manned maneuvering unit (MMU) outside the Challenger in 1984. ... Bulk composition of the Moons mantle and crust estimated, weight percent Oxygen 42. ...

Both the Nova and Saturn were evaluated for the mission, both of which had similar overall designs and used many of the same components. However, it was judged that the Saturn would be easier to get into production, as many of the components were deliberately designed to be air-transportable. Nova would require new factories for all the major stages, and there were serious concerns that they could not be complete in time. Saturn required only one new factory, and was selected primarily for that reason. Diagram of Saturn I, Saturn V and Nova 8L rockets. ... Diagram of Saturn I, Saturn V and Nova 8L rockets. ...

The Saturn C-5, (later given the name Saturn V), the most powerful of the Silverstein Committee's configurations, was selected as the most suitable design. At this point, however, all three stages existed only on paper, and it was realised that it was very likely that the actual lunar spacecraft would be developed and ready for testing long before the booster. NASA therefore decided to also continue development of the C-1 (later Saturn I) as a test vehicle, since its lower stage was based on existing technology (Redstone and Jupiter tankage) and its upper stage was already in development. This article is about the rocket. ... The Saturn I was Americas first large clustered rocket. ... First launched in 1953, the American Redstone rocket was a direct descendant of the German V-2. ... Jupiter IRBM mobile missile The Jupiter Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile, first tested in 1957, was the United States second Intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM). ...

Ultimately, the members of the Saturn family that made it to the launch pad were:

• Saturn I - ten rockets flown to evaluate the S-I and, in later flights, the S-IV stages.
• Saturn IB - 9 launches, a refined version of the Saturn I with a more powerful first stage (designated the S-IB) and using the Saturn V's S-IVB as a second stage. These carried the first crewed Apollo flights into orbit, and later provided the boosters for the Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz flights.
• Saturn V - 12 launches, the Moon rocket that carried Apollo astronauts to the Moon.
• Saturn INT-21 - 1 launch, used to place the Skylab space station in orbit.

The Saturn I was Americas first large clustered rocket. ... The Saturn I was Americas first large clustered rocket. ... The Saturn IB was an uprated version of the Saturn I, which was the first manned launch vehicle that was not directly derived from an ICBM (though its tanks were derived from the Jupiter and Redstone tanks, and its first stage engines were Navaho derived). ... Diagram of the S-IB first stage of the Saturn IB rocket. ... The S-IVB (sometimes S4b) was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company and served as the third stage on the Saturn V and second stage on the Saturn IB. It had one J-2 engine. ... Drawing of Skylab with components labelled Skylab was the first space station the United States launched into orbit. ... The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project was the first joint flight of the US and Soviet space programs. ... This article is about the rocket. ... This article is about the rocket. ... Drawing of Skylab with components labelled Skylab was the first space station the United States launched into orbit. ... The space station Mir A space station is an artificial structure designed for humans to live in outer space. ...

Saturn Family of Launch Vehicles		v·d·e
Early Proposals: Juno V | Saturn A-1 | Saturn A-2 | Saturn B-1
"C" series: Saturn C-1 | Saturn C-2 | Saturn C-3 | Saturn C-4 | Saturn C-5 | Saturn C-5N | Saturn C-8
Saturn 1 series: Saturn I | Saturn IB | Saturn IB-CE | Saturn IB-A | Saturn IB-B | Saturn IB-C | Saturn IB-D | Saturn INT-05 | Saturn INT-11 | Saturn INT-12 | Saturn INT-13 | Saturn INT-14 | Saturn INT-15 | Saturn INT-16 | Saturn INT-27 | Saturn LCB
Saturn II series: Saturn II | Saturn INT-17 | Saturn INT-18 | Saturn INT-19
Saturn V series: Saturn V | Saturn MLV | Saturn V ELV | Saturn INT-20 | Saturn INT-21 | Saturn INT-23 | Saturn INT-24 | Saturn INT-25 | Saturn V-3 | Saturn V-A | Saturn V-B | Saturn V-C | Saturn V-D | Saturn V-Centaur | Jarvis