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SATURN
V: AMERICA'S MOON ROCKET
The
Saturn V, developed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center under
the direction of Wernher von Braun, was the largest in a family
of liquid-propellant rockets that solved the problem of getting
to the Moon. A total of thirty-two Saturns of all types were launched; not one failed.
The
Saturn V was flight-tested twice without a crew. The first manned
Saturn V sent the Apollo 8 astronauts into orbit around the Moon
in December 1968. After two more missions to test the lunar landing
vehicle, in July 1969 a Saturn V launched the crew of Apollo 11
to the first manned landing on the Moon.
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SATURN
V
The
three-stage Saturn V was taller than a 36-story building. It was
the largest, most powerful rocket ever launched.
With
a cluster of five powerful engines in each of the first two stages
and using high-performance liquid hydrogen fuel for the upper stages,
the Saturn V was one of the great feats of 20th-century engineering.
Inside, the rocket contained three million parts in a labyrinth
of fuel lines, pumps, gauges, sensors, circuits, and switches--each
of which had to function reliably, and did.
Fifteen
Saturn Vs were built. The Museum's collection includes three Saturn
Vs exhibited at NASA visitor centers in Alabama, Florida, and Texas.
1:48 scale model
Transferred
from NASA
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Size: |
111 m (363
ft) |
Payload to
orbit: |
129,300 kg
(285,000 lb) |
Payload to
Moon: |
48,500 kg
(107,000 lb) |
Manufacturer: |
Boeing Co.
(prime) |
1st stage: |
five F-1 engines |
Propellants: |
RP-1 (kerosene)
and liquid oxygen |
Total thrust: |
33,360,000
newtons (7,500,000 lb) |
Manufacturer: |
Rocketdyne |
2nd stage: |
five J-2 engines |
Propellants:
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liquid hydrogen
and liquid oxygen |
Total thrust: |
5,560,000
newtons (1,250,000 lb) |
Manufacturer: |
Rocketdyne |
3rd stage:
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one J-2 engine |
Thrust: |
1,112,000
newtons (250,000 lb) |
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A
1:15 scale Saturn V model and launch tower and a first stage F-1 engine
are displayed in the Apollo to the Moon gallery
upstairs. |
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