Saturn  i, saturn  ib, and saturn  v launch vehicle

Rees, E.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

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N64-30333  
M A N ’ S  T R A N S P O R T A T I O N  T O  S P A C E  EBERHARD REES 
Deputy Director 
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center 
As an introduction, the three launch vehicles of 
the Saturn class, namely, Saturn I, Saturn IB, and 
Saturn V, will be described briefly. They are being 
developed by NASA for extension and increase of 
the space-flight capability of the United States in 
general and for the Apollo program in particular. 
Although the Titan I1 in its application as a launch 
vehicle for the Gemini program and the Atlas 
Centaur for the Surveyor program and other possible 
scientific uses, can be considered as large-launch vehi- 
cles, we will concentrate on the Saturns. 
Figure 1 ,shows all three Saturns in their configura- 
tions with payloads for the Apollo program. The 
following data are rounded to present an idea of the 
size of the Saturn vehicles. 
The Saturn I, on the right in figure 1, is a two- 
FIGURE 1. C a t u r n  vehicles for Apollo. 
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https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19640020419 2020-03-11T17:13:23+00:00Z
46 f 1PEAC-_EFUL USES OF SPACE
stage vehicle. Its total length, including the payload,
is 190 feet. The length of the launch vehicle, itself,
including the instrument unit (IU), is 126 feet. The
takeoff weight of the launch vehicle is approximately
1,125,000 pounds, of which 950,000 pounds are
propellants. The Saturn I is capable of placing a
payload of 22,000 pounds in a 100-mile orbit.
The Saturn IB, as depicted here for its Apollo
mission, is also a two-stage vehicle with a total length,
including payload, of 224 feet. For the launch vehicle,
including the IU, the length is 141.6 feet and the take-
off weight is 1,240,000 pounds, of which 1,120,000
pounds is propellants. The Saturn IB is able to place
a payload of 32,500 pounds in a 100-mile orbit. For
missions other than Apollo we are considering a third
stage, which will be discussed later.
The three-stage Saturn V in its present configura-
tion is optimized for the Apollo program. It is
capable of injecting a payload of 90,000 pounds into
a lunar trajectory. It could also carry approximately
240,000 pounds of payload into a 100-mile Earth
orbit. The length of the total vehicle, including
payload for the three-man landing on the Moon, is
360 feet. The launch vehicle, with the IU, is 281
feet in length and at takeoff weighs 6 million pounds;
which includes 5.5 million pounds of propellants.
As can be seen in figure 1, we adhere to some
extent to the building-block concept. The first stage
of the Saturn I--that is, the S-I--appears with some
small modification as the S-IB first stage of the
Saturn IB launch vehicle. Both stages are clusters of
eight H-1 engines. These modifications are mainly
in the areas of lowering the structural weight and in
obtaining higher engine performance. Therefore, the
overall performance of the S--IB is better than that of
the S-I. We also incorporate into the S-IB as im-
provements whatever we learn from the S-I devel-
opment, insofar as the time schedule permits. The
S-I and S--IB are being produced under a prime con-
tract with the Chrysler Corporation's Space Division
at the Government-owned Michoud Plant in Louisi-
ana. The H-1 engines are produced by the Rocket-
dyne Division of North American Aviation. The
propellants are kerosene and liquid oxygen.
There is somewhat greater difference between the
S-IV stage, which is the second stage of the Saturn I,
and the S-IVB stage, which is the second stage of
Saturn IB. The S-IV has a small diameter, is shorter,
and has six Pratt & Whitney RL-10 engines which
provide total thrust of 90,000 pounds; whereas the
S--IVB is propelled by one J-2 Rocketdyne engine of
200,000 pounds thrust, using liquid hydrogen and
liquid oxygen as propellants. However, the principal
structural design, the material, the insulation concept
of the hydrogen tanks, the manufacturing methods,
tooling concepts, and many other features are exactly
the same. Again, in the development of S-IVB we
are utilizing all the knowledge and experience gained
from the S-IV. The prime contractor is Douglas
Aircraft. The S-IVB stage also is the third stage of
the Saturn V.
The instrument unit, called the IU, contains all
equipment to guide and part of the equipment to
control the launch vehicle up to insertion point, or
in the Saturn V to injection point. It also contains
such items as power supply, power distribution, cer-
tain telemetry equipment, command receivers, and
tracking transponders. This instrument unit on the
Saturn IB is quite different in design from the one
used on the Saturn I. However, a number of guidance
and control devices--for instance, the stabilized plat-
form--are being tried on the Saturn I and then
used on the Saturn IB and Saturn V. However, the
IU's on the Saturn IB and Saturn V are the same.
Of course, settings on instruments are sometimes dif-
ferent from individual launching to launching, de-
pending on the various missions. The prime con-
tractor for the IU is International Business Machines,
IBM.
The S-IC first stage of the Saturn V is under
development and production by Boeing's Launch
Systems Branch at Michoud, La. It is propelled by
the largest kerosene/liquid oxygen engine, the F-l,
which produces a thrust equal to all eight engines
of the Saturn I. In the S-IC, five F-1 engines are
used in a cluster to yield a total of 7.5 million pounds
of thrust. This engine is a product of the Rocketdyne
Division of North American Aviation, NAA.
The S-II second stage of the Saturn V, a liquid
hydrogen/liquid oxygen stage, is under contract with
the Space and-Information Division of NAA at
Downey and Seal Beach, Cal. A cluster of five J-2
engines with a total thrust of 1 million pounds pro-
pels this stage; thus the J-2, like the H-l, is used
as a common engine for two stages.
Figure 2 shows the S-IC stage, mentioned earlier,
with the two separate propellant tanks, the engine
arrangement, the heat shield, the thrust frame, the
propellant lines, and the interstages. The length is
138 feet, and the diameter is 33 feet. During the
~ ~~~ 
MAN’S TRANSPORTATION TO SPACE 47 
FIGURE 2 . C I C  stage. 
burning time of 150 seconds, more than 4 million 
pounds of propellants are consumed. When this 
stage cuts off, the Saturn V space vehicle has attained 
a velocity of approximately 7,000 feet,/second- 
almost 5,000 miles/hour. The stage is then dropped. 
The initial static testing for development and for 
acceptance of the stage will be performed at Hunts- 
ville. Later, testing will take place at the large 
Mississippi Test Facility near Michoud. 
Figure 3 depicts the S I 1  stage. The liquid hydro- 
gen and the liquid oxygen tanks are separated by a 
common bulkhead. This is a challenging assignment 
in manufacturing but provides considerable savings 
in weight. The engines are arranged with the inner 
engine mounted in fixed position, and the outer four 
engines can be deflected by hydraulic actuators to 
control the vehicle in pitch, yaw, and roll as is done 
on S-IC stage. During the $11 burning time of 
approximately 390 seconds, about 920,000 pounds of 
propellants are consumed. When this stage cuts off, 
the Saturn V vehicle has attained a velocity of approx- 
imately 20,000 feet/second, almost 14,000 miles/ 
hour. 
The four types of engines utilized in the Saturn 
launch vehicle program are shown in figure 4. As 
noted earlier, the F-1 is used in the %IC first stage 
of the Saturn V. The j-2 is used in the S-I1 second 
stage of the Saturn V and in the S-IVB, which serves 
as the third stage of the Saturn V and the second stage 
of the Saturn IB. The H-1 serves in the S I  and 
S I B  first stages of the Saturn I and the Saturn IB. 
The RL-10 serves in the second stage of Saturn I 
and in the upper stage of the Centaur. 
A few of the major considerations which guide 
the current Saturn launch vehicle program are: 
1. Building block concept 
2. Extensive test and quality assurance program 
on the ground 
3. Systems engineering 
4. All-up concept 
The building block concept is considered a vital 
element in the program since it saves time and money, 
helps build up experience and knowledge, and will 
contribute considerably to the reliability. 
An extensive test and quality assurance program 
on the ground is necessary because of the extreme 
technical complexity of each system, subsystem, and 
48 PEACEFUL USES OF SPACE 
~~ 
FIGURE 3.-S-II stage. 
component-as well as the small number of launch 
vehicles planned for development. In the develop- 
ment of guided missiles for weapons systems it was 
found expedient to plan for quite a number of 
launchings to prove such matters as design, per- 
formance, accuracy, and reliability. Only after a 
launch program of this magnitude had been con- 
ducted successfully could the military services feel 
assured that they could declare the vehicle opera- 
tional for troop use. 
This approach in the Saturn launch-vehicle develop- 
ment is completely impracticable because the conduct 
of such a program would cost an excessive amount 
of money and time. NASA must therefore restrict 
itself to very few launchings for the development 
of the vehicle. Although the primary mission of 
these few launchings is the development of the launch 
vehicle, it is necessary to carry some payload in the 
early phase of development to get maximum benefits 
from these expensive undertakings. This is especially 
true with respect to the Saturn V. Therefore, we 
must have the highest possible confidence that each 
and every launching is successful. 
This needed assurance can be obtained only by con- 
ducting a very thorough test, quality assurance, and 
reliability program at the NASA Centers, at the prime 
contractors’ plants, and at their subvendors’ plants on 
systems, subsystems, components, and vital parts. 
f i e  urgent necessity of such a program is empha- 
sized by the fact that the Saturn IB and V will have 
to transport astronauts. Man rating requires the 
highest possible reliability of all systems, and this in 
turn must be assured by these few launchings. It will 
not be possible to conduct full-fledged reliability pro- 
grams conducted prior to the first launchings. This 
will be accomplished, however, as part of the man- 
rating programs, which will be carried out by the time 
manned flights are scheduled. W e  have also planned 
the manufacturing of whole nonflying stages for 
ground testing just prior to the manufacturing of 
the first stage ready for flight. These stages are: 
Static test stages-sometimes called battleship 
stages-for the development of the overall 
propulsion system. A considerable number 
of hot firings of these are being conducted. 
MAN’S TRANSPORTATION TO SPACE 
P 
49 
FIGURE 4.-Engines for space flight. 
Structurd test stages-for complete testing of 
the overall structure to establish safety mar- 
gins and to obtain the lowest possible struc- 
tural weights. 
Dynamic test stages-for checking such matters 
as dynamic behavior, bending modes, and nat- 
ural frequencies of the total configuration. 
Fucility stages-for the checkout of launch sites- 
requiring the use of the whole launch vehicle 
with its stages as close as possible to the final 
configuration with respect to such things as 
fueling systems, compatibility with launch 
tables and their holddown devices, and the 
vehicle’s compatibility with swing arms, um- 
bilical towers, and their equipment. 
All systems stuges-complete stages with all the 
features of a final flight stage-used for ex- 
tensive static testing and a shakedown of all 
systems and subsystems and sometimes com- 
bined with the static propulsion test vehicle. 
Many test activities with these nonflight articles must 
be done concurrently if a reasonable time schedule 
is to be met. Results and experience gained from the 
testing of one stage will be applied as far as feasible 
across the board. 
Careful systems engineering is needed to assure that 
components of large systems for missions like Apollo, 
which are delivered from all over the country, are 
extremely well coordinated not only as to their 
proper delivery dates but especially as to such matters 
as their technical Compatibility with each other and 
with the necessary ground support equipment and the 
launching site. W e  came to the conclusion that 
systems like the Saturn V, even in the early develop- 
ment stage, can no longer be checked by hand- 
that is, by the methods usually applied until now. 
Therefore, we had to develop an entirely automatic 
checkout system. The design and development of 
such a system is one of the systems engineering tasks 
of the first order. This system has to be applied 
while work is still in progress at the prime con- 
tractors’ plants to match the final automatic checkout 
at the launching site. 
We switched over to an “all-up” concept for the 
Saturn IB and Saturn V, in which all stages will be 
live at the first firing, in contrast to the concept we 
applied in the development program of the Saturn I 
launch vehicle, where we tried out first the first stage 
and later both stages. This causes little trouble in the 
Saturn IB, because the first stage is already proven in 
50 PEACEFUL USES OF SPACE
the Saturn I program. It_is, however, quite a chal-
lenge for the Saturn V program. Again, the third
stages will have been tested on the Saturn IB, so we
have only two new stages. The reason we changed to
this concept is that we are trying to come to a final
man-rated configuration as fast as possible. The earlier
in the program we find shortcomings, the better.
Figure 5 shows a very crude line-up of the launch-
ing schedule. On Saturn I we have planned 10
launchings, of which we accomplished 5, all successful.
The next firing is in the immediate future. It carries
an Apollo spacecraft in its outside configuration.
Numbers 8, 9, and 10 will take payloads into earth
orbits for detection of micrometeoroids.
SATURH I
Ig61 196,2 _q63 tq64 I 1965 tq66 Tg6T _g6s: tq&q
SATURNin _
SATURN V -_
"i'L'7*"
FIGURE 5.--Summary flight schedule for
Saturn vehicles.
The first Saturn IB flight is scheduled for approxi-
mately early 1966. From flight 3 on, the launch
vehicle will have a configuration allowing for manned
flight.
The first Saturn V flight is scheduled for early.
1967, approximately. We try, also, to have the
capability for a manned flight beginning with the
third vehicle.
For future large-launch vehicles, we should first
exploit to the maximum extent what we have and
build up from that platform. The Saturn IB lends
itself extremely well to carrying a third stage. If we
consider, for instance, the Centaur as such a third
stage, we could take 35,000 pounds of payload into
an earth orbit, and inject 15,000 pounds on a lunar
mission or 7,000 to 8,000 pounds on a planetary
mission. There are other third-stage possibilities.
Refinement of the present two Saturn IB stages could
increase these payloads by approximately 20 percent
Similar refinements could be applied to the Saturn V
stages, which would improve its performance by
approximately 30 percent. Refinements in the area
of weight savings and higher engine performance,
which is in good reach, will play the largest part in
these increases.
A future step will be the application of advanced
propulsion systems. Some of these are merely in an
exploratory paper stage; others are in research; and,
again, others are already under development.


Man's transportation to space

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