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The Saturn V, Apollo's Moon rocket

Updated · 4 min read

The Saturn V rocket was the super-heavy launch vehicle NASA flew from 1967 to 1973 to send Apollo astronauts to the Moon. Standing 110.6 m (363 ft) tall and weighing about 2,900 metric tons (6.5 million lb) at liftoff, it flew 13 times without ever losing a payload, and it is still the only rocket to have carried humans beyond low Earth orbit.

Contents
  1. A rocket born of a political deadline
  2. Three stages, three contractors
  3. Thirteen flights, no lost payloads
  4. A record that stood for half a century
  5. What survives
  6. FAQ
  7. Sources

A rocket born of a political deadline

When John F. Kennedy set the goal in May 1961 of landing a man on the Moon "before this decade is out," no American rocket could come close. Wernher von Braun's team in Huntsville, Alabama, was already designing a family of boosters called Saturn, named because they followed the Jupiter missile, just as the planet Saturn follows Jupiter outward from the Sun. The first of the line, the Saturn I, flew in October 1961.

The decisive choice came in 1962. Instead of landing one enormous spacecraft directly on the Moon, NASA adopted lunar orbit rendezvous with a separate lunar module. That architecture made the mission possible with a single launch of a "C-5" class rocket, which became the Saturn V. In late 1963, George Mueller ordered "all-up" testing: the rocket would fly with every stage live from its very first launch rather than qualifying stages one at a time. The gamble saved years.

Three stages, three contractors

The vehicle stacked three stages built by three different companies, topped by an IBM-built Instrument Unit carrying the guidance computer. The S-IC first stage (Boeing) burned kerosene and liquid oxygen in five F-1 engines, the most powerful single-chamber liquid-fuel engines ever put into service. The S-II (North American Aviation) and S-IVB (Douglas) upper stages switched to liquid hydrogen, far more efficient but much harder to handle. Dimensions and masses for each are on the Saturn V stages page.

Thirteen flights, no lost payloads

The first launch, Apollo 4, flew on 9 November 1967; the last lifted the Skylab space station on 14 May 1973. In between, the Saturn V sent nine crewed missions to the Moon, including Apollo 11 in July 1969. Twenty-four astronauts traveled to the Moon on it, and twelve walked on the surface. The one seriously troubled flight, uncrewed Apollo 6 in 1968, exposed "pogo" oscillations that were fixed before the first crewed launch. Every flight is listed in the table of all 13 launches.

A record that stood for half a century

For five decades no rocket matched its ability to place about 140 t in low Earth orbit (a figure that counts the S-IVB stage and Apollo spacecraft in parking orbit). The Soviet N1, its direct rival, failed on all four attempts. NASA's SLS now exceeds it in liftoff thrust, and SpaceX's Starship aims far higher; the Saturn V vs SLS and Starship page sets the numbers side by side.

Despite its name, the Saturn V never launched anything toward the planet Saturn. The probes that explored it used other rockets: Cassini, for instance, left Earth in 1997 on a Titan IVB with a Centaur upper stage.

What survives

The last two Saturn Vs ordered, intended for Apollo 18 to 20, never flew after those missions were canceled. Their stages, combined with test articles, make up the three complete Saturn Vs on display in Houston, at Kennedy Space Center and in Huntsville. See where to see a Saturn V for each one and for the full-size replicas.

FAQ

How tall was the Saturn V?

It stood 110.6 m (363 ft) from the base to the tip of the launch escape tower, about 18 m taller than the Statue of Liberty including its pedestal, with a base diameter of 10.1 m (33 ft).

How many times did the Saturn V fly?

Thirteen times between 9 November 1967 (Apollo 4) and 14 May 1973 (Skylab). Two flights were uncrewed tests, ten carried Apollo crews and the last placed the Skylab station in orbit.

Did a Saturn V ever fail?

No Saturn V ever lost its payload or a crew. Apollo 6 lost two second-stage engines and failed to restart its third stage, and Apollo 13's second stage shut down its center engine early, but in each case the remaining engines compensated.

Why is it called Saturn?

The Saturn family came after von Braun's Jupiter missile, so it took the name of the next planet out from the Sun. The planet itself is named after the Roman god Saturn.

Could we build a Saturn V today?

Not as it was: the production lines were dismantled in the 1970s and many suppliers no longer exist. The drawings survive, but nearly every component would need requalifying, and NASA chose to develop the SLS instead.

Sources

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