Saturn V: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

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 and Arthur Rudolph.

The main payloads of the Saturn V were the Apollo Spacecraft and Skylab Space Station.

Background

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 yet flown and, due to its small size, would require several launches to place in orbit all the components of a lunar spacecraft.

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

Designers 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 shared characteristics with that carried by the Saturn I.

The Saturn V is arguably one of the most impressive machines in human history. 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 dwarfs and overpowers all other rockets ever built. The Soviets designed the Energia heavy-lift booster to deliver up to 120-150 tons in the Vulkan configuration, but it never flew at this capacity.

Wernher von Braun and others put forth proposals and conducted studies over the years for a rocket larger than the Saturn V. U.S. proposals for such a rocket from the late 1950s through the early 1980s were generally called Nova. Over thirty different large rocket proposals carried the Nova name.

Saturn V consists of three stages:

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

The Instrument Unit, built by IBM rode atop the S-IVB.

S-IC sequence

Saturn V 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 to a speed of 8600 km/h. In the process it used 2,000,000 kg of propellant.

S-II sequence

The second stage then burned for 6 minutes to propel the craft to 185 km and 24,600 km/h, nearly at orbital velocity.

S-IVB sequence

The third stage burned for a further 2.5 minutes. It burned until about 12 minutes after launch. The third stage remained attached while the spacecraft orbited the Earth two and a half times in a 'parking orbit' while astronauts examined the spacecraft and rocket to make sure everything functioned nominally.

Trans Lunar Injection

Then the third stage reignited at Trans Lunar Injection (TLI) to propel the spacecraft to the moon. It burned for over 5 minutes so that it reaches 39,400 km/h or over 10 km/s. A couple of hours after TLI the Apollo Command Service Module (CSM) separated from the third stage, turned 180 degrees, and docked with the Lunar Module (LM) which rode below the CSM during launch. The CSM and LM then separated from the third stage.

Finally, the separated third stage diverged paths from the CSM and LM. If they were to remain on the same trajectory as the spacecraft, the booster could present a hazard later in the mission, so the remaining propellant in its tanks vented out of the engine. Controllers targeted the third stage either into a solar orbit or, as in the case of the third stages from Apollo 13 onwards, directed to impact the moon. Seismometers left behind by previous missions detected the impacts, and the information helped map the inside of the moon.

Apart from manned lunar flights the Saturn V launched the Skylab space station into earth orbit. Skylab replaced the third stage of the Saturn V 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 United States without a heavy-lift booster for the next 30 years (and counting).

Wernher von Braun also had plans for a 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 was also to be the launch vehicle for the nuclear rocket stage RIFT test program and the later NERVA.

A popular, untrue urban legend, started in 1996, states that NASA has lost or destroyed the blueprints or other plans for the Saturn V. In fact, the plans still exist on microfilm at the Marshall Space Flight Center, though it seems unlikely that future engineers will find that the plans will come in handy after the subsequent 40-plus years of advances in rocket science.

The Saturn V launched day or night in foul weather or fair at the appropriate time to reach its destination as shown in this montage of all launches.

Tourists can see three Saturn Vs on display, all lying on the ground:

• 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 consists only of stages that were meant to be launched. The US Space & Rocket Center also has on display an erect full scale model of the Saturn V. The first stage from SA-515 resides at the Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, Louisiana.

• Bilstein, Roger E. (1980). Stages to Saturn: A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicles. NASA SP-4206. ISBN 0160489091.
  • Available for reading on-line: http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4206/sp4206.htm
  • and in softcover through the U.S. Government Printing Office: http://history.nasa.gov/gpo/order.html