Saturn (rocket family)

The Saturn rocket family is one of the most powerful support systems of space that were ever built. They were developed mainly by German -born scientists and engineers under the direction of Wernher von Braun for the American space agency NASA as part of the Apollo program.

• 2.1 Last -offs
• 2.2 whereabouts of the Saturn rockets

• 3.1 Saturn I
• 3.2 Saturn IB
• 3.3 Saturn V

• 5.1 S- IC sequence
• 5.2 S- II sequence
• 5.3 S- IVB sequence

Types

In the second half of 1959, several options were investigated as a new, very powerful rocket could be assembled. The name Saturn was already fixed it.

There were three principal possibilities that were based more or less on existing rockets: A Saturn, Saturn and Saturn B C. Of this, there were still eight subtypes: A-1, A-2, B- 1 and C- 1 to C-5. The development team decided to use the variant C-5 and developed in parallel with the version of C-1 on, although was not as powerful, however, would be faster. In 1962 it was decided that a stronger version of the C-1 would be needed, the C -1B. In 1963, the C was removed from the names and renamed the three missiles in Saturn I and Saturn IB and Saturn V.

The most famous and largest member of the family, the Saturn V was used for the moon landings and is also one of the largest and strongest rockets that have ever used. It consisted of three stages and carried at the head of the Apollo spacecraft, consisting of Lunar Module, Service and Command Module and the Apollo rocket apparatus (LES ).

Within the Saturn rocket family each built the next larger model on the already developed for its predecessor technology, replacing individual components by more efficient.

Saturn I

She was the basic model, which was originally developed only for test flights. To save time and development costs, their first step was (SI called ) in the center of a tank with the diameter of a Jupiter rocket, which was surrounded by eight tanks, which had the diameter of Redstone rockets. Both types of rockets were developed in previous years by Wernher von Braun for the U.S. Army. The central tank was filled with oxygen, the surrounding tanks with a smaller diameter alternately with oxygen and the Kerosinart called RP -1 ( Rocket Petrol ). At the lower end of the first stage there were very large stabilizing fins. The level assigned eight H-1 engines.

The second stage (S -IV) was newly developed. For the first time the high-energy, but difficult -to-control fuel combination hydrogen / oxygen ( LH2/LOX ) was used. As is common in present-day missiles the two tanks are separated by a well-insulated intermediate bottom. The level assigned the sum earmarked for the Centaur upper stage of the Atlas - Centaur engine RL- 10 because the originally planned large J-2-Wasserstoff/Sauerstoff-Triebwerk was still in development. Because of their enormous size compared to the Centaur, the S -IV stage six RL -10 is used instead of two as in the time planned Centaur.

First, the first step was only tested with dummies of the second stage in flight, after the entire missile. Against all expectations, all flights of the Saturn I have been successful, so that there was to test at the last test flights of the rocket nothing more. The last flights were therefore used as the first test flights of the Apollo spacecraft (without service modules ) and for the transport of the Pegasus satellites into orbit. Here, the Apollo spacecraft was mounted above the conveyor area of ​​Pegasus satellites.

Saturn IB

The Saturn IB was used to test either the entire Apollo spacecraft and the lunar module in Earth orbit. The most test flights were carried out unmanned, however, the Apollo spacecraft was with her never started along with the Lunar Module.

The first stage of the Saturn IB (S- IB) was virtually identical to the SI first stage of the Saturn I, however, had shown that the very large and heavy stabilizing fins were oversized, so they were replaced by smaller and lighter to the empty weight the lower level. They also used a revised and more powerful version of the H-1 engines.

The second stage (S- IVB ) was a heavily modified version of the S -IV second stage of the Saturn I. The diameter of the stage increased from 5.58 m at the Saturn I to 6.6 m at the Saturn IB on. She was also much longer, so that the fuel supply increased greatly. Now also stood the new, much stronger J-2-Wasserstoff/Sauerstoff-Triebwerk available, of which only one was used in each S- IVB stage.

After completion of the Apollo moon program, the Saturn IB transported three astronauts to the space station Skylab time and launched an Apollo spacecraft with a special docking port for the Apollo -Soyuz project.

Saturn V

The Saturn V was the actual flight to the moon rocket. After two unmanned test flights, the missile was declared ready and launched after that, always manned to the last flight of the space station Skylab. Only for Apollo 9 and the launch of Skylab drove her to low-Earth orbit.

S- IC

The first stage of the Saturn V S- IC, was a complete redesign, with the first stage of the Saturn I and IB except the fuel combination used had nothing in common. Stage having a diameter of 10 m and a length of 42 m. In the stage were two separate tanks. Downstairs was the tank for 810 700 liters of RP -1 ( Rocket Propellant 1) by which the oxygen lines on a straight path to the engines ran through it, and above the tank for 1.3111 million liters of liquid oxygen (LOX ). The level assigned five of the new also huge F-1 engines. The engines were arranged in their thrust stand as the five points on a cube, the four outer engines were pivoted to the control. In order to prevent the acceleration of the rocket rise too high, the average F-1 engine was shut down prematurely during the flight. The S- IC was built by Boeing in the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

S-II

The second stage ( S-II ) was also a new design with 10 m diameter. They used the fuel combination hydrogen / oxygen and had a tank, which was separated by an insulated intermediate floor into two compartments for the two fuel components. Here was located the tank for the liquid oxygen (LOX ), the denser component, below. The hydrogen tank took 1,000,000 liters and 331,000 liters of oxygen tank. The level used five J -2 engines that were just as attached as the engines of the first stage. The S-II was built by North American Aviation 's Space Division in California. This level was associated with the first stage S- IC via an intermediate ring diameter is also 10 m; this intermediate ring was dropped only after the ignition of the engines of the S -II, because he was very close to the engines and they wanted to avoid a collision with them.

The S- IC and S-II were so large that they had to be transported by sea from the south or the west coast of the United States to Florida.

S- IVB

The third stage was a slightly modified S- IVB stage, which was modified already used as the second stage of the Saturn IB. The modifications were limited to a mounted in the tanks isolation, so that the fuel remained liquid for several hours. This condition was necessary so that the stage was wiederzündbar even after several orbits of, as necessary for lunar flights. She reached 253 200 liters of hydrogen and liquid oxygen 92.500. The S- IVB was brought to the East Coast with a special plane, the " Super Guppy ", by air. On the S- IVB was located the instrument unit (IU ), one built by IBM control system, which controlled the missile during flight and also took care of the correct entry into the lunar transfer orbit.

At the start of Skylab, the Saturn V was once used only with the first two stages, the converted S- IVB was on this flight the payload.

The Saturn V was initially carry up to 120 tons of payload into earth orbit and accelerate up to 45 tonnes of payload close to the escape velocity on a trans- lunar route at a speed. The power was increased in the course of the program through various optimizations to the structure of the stages during production as well as through the systematic reduction of reserves to 133 tons into Earth orbit and 50 tons on a Trans Lunar course.

The end

Last offs

The last launch of the Saturn V took place on 14 May 1973, when the space station Skylab was launched into orbit. The last launch of a Saturn IB was on 15 July 1975 as part of the Apollo -Soyuz project.

At the end of the Apollo program were four Saturn IB rocket (SA- 211 to SA -214 ) and two Saturn V rockets (SA -514 and SA -515 ) under construction. The operational missile SA -209 was used as a substitute for the Apollo -Soyuz project.

Three Saturn V rockets are issued at the time, but they are composed of parts of different missiles, partly out of airworthy steps, part of test specimens. The only exhibit that consists entirely of airworthy modules, since 1977, is prior to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston. It now belongs to the National Air and Space Museum.

In the visitor center at the Kennedy Space Center a Saturn IB and Saturn V a are exhibited. The Saturn IB SA -209, with a dummy of the Apollo spacecraft ( Facility Verification Vehicle) was set up to check the devices and processes was used until 1968. The first stage of the Saturn V is also a test specimen, the second and the third stage, however, originate from the SA -514, which was scheduled for Apollo 18.

A third Saturn V (Dynamic Test Vehicle, SA -500D ) is in the U.S. Space & Rocket Center at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville (Alabama ). The three stages SA- 500D were used there for test firings.

Whereabouts of the Saturn rockets

Specifications

Saturn I

Note: the greater overall height of 50 m will result from additional levels adapters, including for the parking bay, which was used by the Pegasus satellites and the Apollo mothership, including the Apollo rocket apparatus.

Saturn IB

Note: the larger total height of 68 m will result from additional levels adapters, including for the parking bay of the Lunar Module and the Apollo mothership, including the Apollo rocket apparatus.

Saturn V

Note: the larger total height of 110.6 m results from additional stages adapters, including for the parking bay of the Lunar Module and the Apollo mothership, including the Apollo rocket apparatus.

Datasheet

Height specified with and without the Apollo spacecraft. Payload refers to the payload in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Sources: NASA, Technical data

The end of the mission to the moon

S- IC sequence

The Apollo missions began their journey to the Earth's satellite from Launch Complex 39 at the John F. Kennedy Space Center. After starting the first stage of the Saturn V burned for 2.5 minutes and sent the rocket to an altitude of 61 kilometers. The speed was at burnout 8600 km / h In these 2.5 minutes approximately 2,000 tonnes of fuel were burned.

S- II sequence

Immediately after the dropping of the first stage fired the second, shortly after the annular adapter has been dropped. S- II burned for six minutes, using the mixing ratio is automatically controlled so as to avoid premature depletion of only one of the two components. The end of firing took place in about 185 km altitude at a speed of 24,600 km / h over the western Atlantic.

S- IVB sequence

For further 2.5 minutes now the third stage took over the driving. It burned a total to twelve minutes after the start and was not dropped during the next two and a half times around the world up to. During this time, the spacecraft was checked for functionality until the " Go" could be given for the flight to the moon.

The third stage was ignited to launch from Earth orbit to the moon again for more than five minutes after her engine was cooled and the tanks were again experiencing nominal pressure. After burnout was the spaceship to a speed of about 38,900 km / h ( 10.8 km / s, slightly less than the escape velocity ) and on course to the moon. The exact speed was dependent on the trajectory and was different for each mission.

The Lunar Module, which lingered in the upper part of the third stage during the whole interval, has now moved to decoupling of the Apollo spacecraft and its 180 ° rotation of the stage.

Finally, the third stage had to be transferred to another path than the Apollo spacecraft through a short- ignition of the engine, so that was added afterwards any possibility of collision. Until Apollo 12 it was placed in a solar orbit, brought on a collision course with the moon on Apollo 13. The impact was recorded with the established by previous missions seismometers.

Flights of the Saturn rockets

High Water I

High Water II

Achieved goal of the Apollo -Saturn program

The only not successful Apollo moon mission

Last launch of a Saturn rocket

Trivia

The launch of a Saturn V is said to be the most widely -heard man-made noise after the explosion of an atomic bomb. In Titusville about 18 km away, broke every time you start dozens of discs and the Start bunker fell plaster from the ceiling.

44 years after the first moon landing, the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos was part of NASA rockets from the 60s and 70s recover from a depth of about three miles (about 4800 meters) from the Atlantic. This includes parts of two rocket motors of the type F-1.

Visit

Interested parties can visit one J -2 engine of a Saturn V rocket in the cafeteria of the University of Mittweida.