-1.

6633 C A N O G A A V E N U E FOR PRESS INFCIIPMATION:

CANQGA PARK. CAtlFQRpllA 347-5651 EXT. 2213-121.8

R F ~ ~-7 .F h~~am DOC.NO.

rrrrrrb-

PROJECT S A T W
The nation's goal of landing Argerican a s t r o n a n t s on t h e moon within
t h i s decade w i l l be accomplished t h o u g h %he Saturn project, i n which t h r e e versions of the s a t u r n rocket, the l a r g e s t i n the free world, w i l l be used, These t h r e e major launch v e h i c l e s a r e t h e Saturn I, Saturn Is,

The l a t t e r t h r e e are designed and developed by Rocketdyne, a d i v i s i o n of North American Aviation, -1nc. The A-3 i s produced by P r a t t and Whitney

Division of United A i r c r a f t Corporati on. Management of the Saturn launch v e h i c l e s and t h e i r propulsion systems
is under the direcoron of the ~ a t i o h a l e r o n a u t i c b ~ and Spaee Administration's

George C. Pmshall. Space F l i g h t Center, Huntsville, Alabama, The Saturn launch vehicle family ,of t h r e e w i l l be employed i n Pro jecf Apollo, which is the next s t e p a f t e r Mercury and Gemini i n t h e U, S. maxined apace f l i g h t program. Apollo has the objective of carlying t h r e e as-kronaufs

--

x P ?

. :

f o r . e a r t h - o r b i t i n g missions, f l i g h t s i n the v i c i n i t y of t h e moon, and a landing on the moon and r e t u r n t o earth. The _ l a t t e r mission is schedt~led

l a t e i n t h i s decade, according to NASA's present timetable,

1. I I
b

.
N I

r I 'jL ' ..
' AI

5.

, -1;

.
. G

*:I

- t .a .,. -"-.
'

L7 This following chrozzology of P r o j e c t Satwn was eonpiled by t h e Public Relations DepoarLwwt of Rocketdyne, a d i v i s i o n of North American Avi Ation, , I IXPC. ) from publicatJ'..one of t h e National Aeronautics . and Space Ad.npinistration, .
I

- mre -

E v o l u t i o n of t h-e S a t u r ~ -. Pro k -.-c%

rm d .

In the s p r i n g o f l957$ iletai.led s t u d i e s were s t a r t e d by Dr. Wernher

von 13raan1s r o c k e t d.evel0pmen.t group a , t B u n t s v i l l e , Alabama, on l a r g e , c l u s t e r - e n g i n e roc!retr?.
Thj s group, then working w i t h the Army B a l l i s t i c

M i s s i l e Agency, submitted t o the Department of Defense a "Proposal f o r

a N a t i o n a l I n t e g r a t e d 142ssile and Space Vehicle Development Program."

T h i s document i n d i c a t e d t h e need f o r a b o o s t e r of 1,500,000 pounds thrust,
/

I n J u l y , 1958, DsD1s Advanced Research P r o j e c t s A g e ~ c yexpressed

i n t e r e s t i n a c l u s t e r e d b o o s t e r o f 1,500.,000 pounds t h r a n l i h a t wonld u s e r o c k c t engines a l r e a d y t e s t e d and of proven r e l i a b i l i t y . Augw t

On

15, 1958, ARP.4 Order 14-59 forlaally i n i t i a t e d wha-t wss t o become

t h e S n t w n p r o j e c t by a u t h o r i z i n g a r e s e a r c h and developnent program of a 1,500,000-pound-thrust boo sLer r o c k e t based. on t h e c l u s t e r e d engine

A s an i m e d i a t e s t e p toward d.evelopment af the clusterecl boos-ter, a

c o n t r a c t was awarded Itocketilp.e on September 11, 1958, to u . p r a t e t h e ThorJ u p i t e r engine. A f t e r r e d e s i g n , s i m p l i f i c a t i o n ; a ~ mod; f i c a t i o x ~ ,t h e d Before t h e end of t h e y e a r , t h e H-1 engine

engine w a s d e s i g n a t e d the 11-1. was s t a t i c t e s t e d a t f u l l power.

Concurrently with t h e development program o f t h e II-1 engine, s-budies

were conducted t o determine the f e a s i b i l i t y 010 b u i l d i n g a l a r g e s i n g l e chamber r o c k e t engine capable of prodncing very high t h r n s t .

On Janumy 9 ,

1959,

n m u t r a c - t was n\~arci&d Roeketd.yne t o design, develop and t e s t such an

engine, desigma t e d the F-I.*

- more -

O November 18, 1959, P,echnical d i r e c t i o n of t h e Saturn p r o j e c t wes n t r a n s f e ~ s e dfrom t h e Departmerat of Defense to NASA and on tJuly 1, 1960, t h e l l u n t s v i 1 l e dcvelopmezllt group was t r a n s f e r r e d lx MSAVsnewlyes-tablisbed Ffarshakl Spacc F l i g h t Center.

I n e a r l y 1962, NASA decided t o develop a much l a r g e r S a t u r n , the V ,

the I w i l l n o t be capable of p l a c i n g men as t h e Ayollo moon r o c k e t , s i ~ c e
0

on t h e moon,

In mid-1962, NASA decided t o p u t t o g e t h e r a socket w i t h a

.-

c a p a b i l i k y be-t,veec t h a t of t h e 1 and t h e V, t o be composed of t h e f i r s t

stage o f %he

1 and t h e t h i r d s t a k e of t h e V,

The Sntuxxl 1 v e h i c l e bas two s t a g e s Imo-mi a s t h e S-% end S-W.

C h r y s l e r CorporaLion is the prime c o n t r a c t o r f o r t h e S-l s t a g e , A i r c r a f t Corporation i s t h e prime c o n t r a c t o r f o r t h e S-117 stage, T h e S-1 i s .81,6 f e e t h i g h and has a d i ~ m e t e rof 21.6 fee%,

Douglas

It i s

powered by a c l u s t e r of e i g h t Rocke.ldync? 11-1 e ~ g i a e s , each o f which w i l l ultinzately prodiice 3188,000 pounds o f t h m s $ t give a t o t a l s t a g e t h r r ~ s l a

of l , 5 O O , O O O pounds -- e q u i v a l e n t t o 32,000,000 horsepower,

The R-l

engine, an advanced a d compact off s p r i n g of Roclretdyne s J u p i t e r and Thar engines, was s e l e c t e d because of i t s r e l a t i v e s i m p l i c i t y , ea,rby w n i i f a b i l i t y

'

an6 proven r e l i a b i l . i - t y ,

It burns W-3. (kern sene) f u e l and l i q u i d oxygen.

The f i r s t s e v e r a l Saturn I f l i g h t b o o s t e r s were produced a t t h e

Marshall Space F l i g h t Center.

Later ones w i l l be produced by C h r y ~ l . e r

Corpor8tion a t NASA's li3chou.d Operations p l a n t , New Orleans, Louisiarm,

- more -

The S-IV second s h g e e f the Saturn I i s 40 f e e t i n l e n g t h and 1 8 f e e t

i n diameter.

I t s cle.ael.opr!lru-t w a s begun f,-ct.o y e a r s ago by t h e Douglas

A i r c r a f t l i j s s i l e s and Spnce Division i n Santa bionica, C s l i f o m i a , The S-IV s t a g e i s poxarered by s i x l'j,O00-pound-tflrust hydrogen-liquid RT1-104-3 liqxid

oxygen engines, developed by P r a t t and Whitney Division

of United A i r c r a f t Corporation, f o r a t o t a l s t a g e t h r u s t of 90,000 pounds.

The S-IV i s i n advanced development by Douglas.

S-rims flown i n i l a s t hall" of 1963, b

The f i r s t " l i v e n

The S a t u r n J w i l l be capzble of launching about 20,000 pounds i n t o a lo-hr-earth o r b i t .

T t w i l l be used t o p l a c e the tbree-aaq Apollo s p a c e c r a f t

i n t o e a r t h o r b i t o f up t Lwo weelrs duration. o

To d a t e , t h e S-T sLage has been f l i g h t t e s t e d f o u r times

T J ~

%h d-wgi.

upper s-tnges a n d oncp with an o p e r a t i n g second s t a g e a t Cape IC@nnt\dy, Florida,

These Lal~acheswere o October 27, 3.961, A p r i l 25, 1962, m

and J a n u a r y 29, 1964.
SA-2,

November 16, 1952, November 28, 1%3 p e r f e c t flights were d c s i p p - t e d SA-I,

The f i v e

Sk-3,

SPA--?& B J I ~ SA-5e,

A t o t a l . of ten S a t w n J v e h i c l e s a r e t o be launched i n t h e rcscarch

and development posbtion of t h e program. simulated three-stage The f i r s t four in t h i s program

r o c k e l s , b u t o n l y t h e first s t a g e w a s powered.

S a t u r n I f l i g h t s w i t h two L i r e s l a g e s began w i t h

%-5.

Both t h e l i v e

second s t a g e and a dumy Apol1.0 s p a c e c r a f t were placed i n e a r t h o r b i t on t h e $4-5 fli@t.

Wfaile t h e primary purpose of t h e f i r s t t e a f l i g h t s i s t o

prove t h e v e h i c l e , f l i g h t SA-6 ~ n d beyond have secondary. nlissioms o f testing eat.1~ versio:ls of the Apal.Lo three4uan s g s c e c r a f t .
-,

more

The Saturn I B , which w i l l be used t o t e s t the Apollo s p a c e c r a f t i n earth o r b i t , w i l l bc Sahrrn V, The f i r s t s t a g e o f t h e Saturn I w i l l be mated w i t h t h e t h i r d of the i n t e r i m s t e p between t h e p r e s e n t S a t w n I axid t h e

Sa-turn V t o form t h e S a t u r n XB, a v e h i c l e capable of orbili-ng 16 tons.

The Saturn I B wi1.P p l a c e the ApolPo i n t o e,wth o r b i t f o r aqualifi c a t i o n t e s t s , i n c l u d i ~ gLhe L r a n e f e r of two a s t ~ o n a u t sfrom t h e com~anr9module t h e Itmar excursiori model. o r b i t i n p r e p m a t i o n fo;: T h i s malaeaves w i l l ~Lt~inrdte1.y done i n lmar be

l.unar landing,

F i r s t s t a g e of t h e Saturn I D w i l l be powered by a c l u s t e r of eigl1-t Rocketdyne H-9: eazgines fat= a tioLal -t;3.zur;t o f 1,500,OCQ pcunds,

The

second s t a g e of- t h e v e h i c l e will be pswc?p.ed by a s i n g l e Rocfretdpc hydrogenf u e l e d 5-2 engine Saturn V devefopirrg 200,000 pounds of t h r u s t .

. s o " -

Tbe t h i r d and l a r g e s t launch v e h i c l e in' t h e Srt-turn progrnB;.,.m s the i

S a t w a V, which will beeom t h e workhorse of the. Apollo progaarn,
be composed of t h r e e s t a g e s , S-IC,

I t will!.

S-I1 and S-TV13. Prime con-kactors f o r

t h e s e s t a g e s are a s follows:

Boeing Company (s-Ic) , Space and Information

Systems Division of North American A v i a t i o n , Inc. (s-IT), and Douglas

.

A i r c r a f t Company (s-NIB).

The S-IC s t a g e s t a n d s 138 f e e t high, has a d i a m t e r of 33 f e e t , and will weigh ~ l e ~ w 5,000,000 pounds a t l i f k o f f . ly
1% will be powered by a

clusLer of f i v e Rocketdyne F-T engines f o r a t o t a l stag& tlmxsl o f 7,5C!9,000 pounds ( f i v e t i m e s t h a t of t.hs Saturn I ) ,

The 1,500,000-pound-thsust

F-l

i s t h e mast powerful known s o c k e t engine.

F i r s t t e s t of t h e complete engine a t approximate f l i g h t d u r a t i o n of two and

a h a l f minutes a t i t s f u l l t1m1s-L of

l,5OO,QQQ

pounds occurred on May 26,

1962, a t NASA's High T h r u s t T e s t Area, Edwards, C a l i f o r n i a ,

The F-I u s e s kerosene and l i q ~ l i doxygen 'as p r o p e l l a n t s .
engine was d e l i v e r e d to K A U by Rocketdymc i n October, 3.963. The S-IC s t a g e w i l l be assembled a t t h e NASA hlichoud Operations p l a n t , New Orleans, Louisiana, S t a t i c t e s t i n g w i l l be conducted a t .the NASA The f i r s t

Mississippi Test F a c i l i t y ,

35 m i l e s e a s t of New Orleans, and a t t h e NASA

lh.ssha.ll. Space F l i g h t C e n t e r

, I-luntsvill e , Alabcma,
This

The S-14: s t a g e of %he Saturn TJ i s 82 f e e t t a l l and 33 f e e t wide.

s t a g e will. bc powered by a c l u s t e r of f i v e 200,000-pou~rl-Lhruat 1iquj.d oxygen-hydrogen J-2 e n g i n ~ s ,h u i l L by Rocketdyne f o r s t o t a l s h g e t h r u s t

o f 1,008,000 palmds.
A major, m i l e s t o n e i n the development of t h e 5-2 occrrrred October 4,

1962, when it undervifent i t s f i r s t long-duration

s-tatic t e s t a t f u l l thrust. was

The t e s t , which took place a t Rocketdyne's Pzropulsion F i e l d Lahora'ory,

a complete success w i t h a l l o b j e c t i v e s aich.ieved.

production engine simulator t o NASA was made i.n

F i r s t d e l i v e r y of a 5-2

1963. The f i r s t f i r e a b l e

production engine was d e l i v e r e d i n the s p r i n g of 1.964. The S-11 i s t h e l a r g e s t hydrogen s t a g e t h u s f a r attempted by t h e

Unites S t a t e s .

I t c a r r i e s c l o s e t o 1,000,000 pounds of l i q u i d oxygen and

S u f f i c j . e n t propulsive power can be obtained i f only The so-called engine-out c a p a b i l i t y

l i q u i d hydrogen f u e l .

f o u r of the f i v e engines a r e o p e r a t i v e ,

( i f one of t h e e n g i n e s f a i i s i a f l i g h t , a l l t h e p r o p e l l a n t i n '%be s t a g e w i l l
be eons~unedby t h e other engines w i t h e a ~ s n t i a l l y l a s s x pcr:formnce) no i a
'

g r e a t l y e ~ h n a c e st h e r e l i a b i l i t y o f t h e s L a g e .

- more -

The S-IVB s t a g e i s 21-i f e e t i n diameter and i s n e a r l y 60 f e e t high, Douglas was s e l e c t e d t o develop and prochce t h e S-KB i n order t o u t i l i z e t h e same desiga concept and much of fne same t o o l i n g end t e s t equipment developed f o r t h e S-IV s t a g e , already b e i ~ g

The S-IVB w i l l be powered by

a s i n g l e 200,00f3--pouad-tlxk.ust J-2 hydrogen-fueled engine, Tlle three-slage and escape tower, Sa-turn V will s t a ~ d about 350 f e e t high w i t h payload

I t w i l l have a take-off weight of more than 6,000,000

pounds, which 5s eyual t o t h e weight of about 25 fnll~r-loaded. 704 j e t aircraft,.

It wi1.1 be a b l e -to h u r l i n t o a 300-mile earth. o r b i t about 220,000

pounds

- almost

the eq11ivalen-t o f one 707 a i r c r a f t .

Only two s t a g e s w i l l

be used f o r ea.?*-t6ho r b i t a l missiopls, whereas t h r e e s t a g e s w i l l be nasded fox escape v e l o c i t y o r moon missions,

The S n t w n V w i l l be a b i e t o h u r l

about 90,080 pounds t o escape v e l o c i t y and lunar o r b i t , The u l t i m a t e mission of $he Se,t.um V w i l l be t o launch t h e Apollo spacecraft i r l t o a l m a r orbit. Descent t o t h e rnooa w i l l then be made by

two of tho t b z e e a s t r o n a u t s i n t h e 1m.m excursion module

(E!, LJ)

F l i g h t t e s t i n g of the Saturn V launch v e h i c l e i s expected t o start l a t e i n t h e mj.d-1960's.

The f l i g h t t e s t program w i l l be an i n t e n s i v e one

i n crdw t o develop t h e high r e l i a b i l i t y r e q u i r e d f o r e a r t h o r b i t r e n d e z v o u s

and s u b s e q ~ e a tL~mnrniissi o n s .
be accomplished w i t h Saturn V.

The f i r s t rdanned circuralimar missions w i l l

GHll R e v . 03/06/6lr