The Saturn V Rocket Rob Petro – History of Spaceflight & Space Technology

The Saturn V RocketRob Petro – History of Spaceflight & Space Technology

“Fly me to the Moon”

The Saturn V

Few can argue there is a more exciting vehicle than the Saturn V

One of the most successful craft ever built by NASA, no payload was ever lost following launch

The pinnacle of the career of Wernher von Braun and the Marshall Space Flight Center

Marvel of Engineering

The most powerful vehicle ever created by man

7.5 Million Pounds of Thrust

36 stories tall

Pre-Launch weight of 6.4 Million Pounds

Saturn V Rocket Details

3 Stage rocket

First Stage – S-IC Second Stage – S-II Third Stage – S-IVB

Plus Instrument Ring Lunar, Command and Service Modules

Stage I-C

Powered by let 5 F-1 engines

“Maximum Thrust” Segment of flight for speeds to escape Earth Orbit

Basically a large fuel tank with attached engines

Stage I-C

Stage I-C

138 Feet long

33 feet in diameter

Fueled by 203,000 gallons of RP-1 Kero and 331,000 gallons of LOX

2.5 minutes of thrust to reach a height of 38 miles

Liftoff

See the launch here (Apollo 11)

Stage I Separation

See the Stage I separation prior to Stage II ignition.

Stage S-II

Powered by 5 J-2 Engines

Another “fuel and engine stage”

Thrusts rocket from upper atmosphere to a higher altitude in space

Stage S-II

82 Feet long

33 feet in diameter

Fueled by 260,000 gallons of Liquid Hydrogen and 83,000 gallons of LOX

6 minutes of thrust to reach a height of 115 miles

Stage S-IVB

Powered by 1 J-2 Engine

First segment to make multiple burns of the engine

Will push Apollo craft into Earth orbit, then trans-Lunar trajectory

Stage S-IVB

58 Feet 7 inches long

21 feet 8 inches in diameter (Needed an adaptor to scale down)

2.75 minutes of thrust to insert into Earth orbit, then a second 5.2 minute burn for Translunar Injection

Instrument Ring

Sat on top of the S-IVB stage

21 feet 8 inches in diameter, 3 feet in height

Carried all computer and guidance systems for the Saturn I, IB, and V programs

Manufactured by IBM

The Guidance Computer

SATURN V

1 MHz Processor

4K RAM

32K ROM

The first major project to utilize integrated circuits (IC’s) in its construction

The most advanced computer ever built at the time

TI-83

6 MHz Processor

32K RAM

24KB ROM

The most widely used graphing calculator BY STUDENTS!

Command/Service Module

The top of the Saturn I and V configurations

Housed the Astronauts and the necessary life support for the trip to the moon

Utilized in all the manned Apollo flights

Command/Service Module

SMS Engine allowed craft to enter Lunar orbit and return from Moon to Earth

One Astronaut remained during Lunar Excursion to maintain

ship and observe surface

Detached Command Module for reentry and splashdown

Lunar Module

A true spaceship, and not technically part of the Saturn V, the Lunar Module allowed landing on the moon

Two stage system (Descent and Ascent) the LM was a ferry from the CSM to the moon.

Provided key life support for Astronauts while visiting the Lunar Surface

Lunar Module

Inside the Lunar Module

References

National Air and Space Museum (April, 2010) Saturn V: America’s Moon Rocket Retrieved from http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/GAL114/SpaceRace/sec300/sec384.htm

National Air and Space Museum (April, 2010) The Apollo Program: Saturn V Retrieved from http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/imagery/apollo/saturnv.htm

National Air and Space Museum (April, 2010) The Apollo Program: Retrieved from http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/imagery/apollo/apollo.htm

Wade, Mark (2008) Saturn V Retrieved from http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/saturnv.htm

References

Baker, Brittany (April, 2007) Journey to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Guidance Computer Retrieved from http://ocw.mit.edu/NR/rdonlyres/Science--Technology--and-Society/STS-471JSpring-2007/E6FEC146-250B-4AE9-A904-2DAB3F9B6024/0/bok_rev_baker.pdf

Duncan, John (May, 2008) Saturn V Retrieved from http://www.apollosaturn.com/s5news/p2-7.htm

Ramsley, Ken (June, 2009) Design does not happen in one step Retrieved from http://kenramsley.com/2009/06/13/design-does-not-happen-in-one-step/

 Wade, Mark (2008) Saturn V Retrieved from Wade, Mark (2008) Saturn V Retrieved from http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/saturnv.htm

References

The Saturn V Launches (2010) Retrieved from http://www.chronomaddox.com/blog_support/200412/Saturn_V_launches.jpg

The Saturn V (2010) Retrieved from http://www.thekeyboard.org.uk/Saturn%20V.jpg

NASA (2010) Apollo Retrieved from http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/

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