Manufacturer | Douglas |
---|---|
Country of origin | USA |
Used on | |
General characteristics | |
Height | 17.81 m (58 ft, 5 in) |
Diameter | 6.60 m (21 ft, 8 in) |
Gross mass | 271,000 pounds (123,000 kg) |
Propellant mass | 241,300 lb (109,000 kg) |
Empty mass | 29,700 lb (13,500 kg) |
Launch history | |
Status | Retired |
Total launches | 21 |
Successes (stage only) | 20 |
Other | Restart failure (Apollo 6) |
First flight | February 26, 1966 |
Last flight | July 15, 1975 |
S-IVB 200 series | |
Powered by | 1 J-2 |
Maximum thrust | 200,000 pounds-force (890,000 N) |
Specific impulse | 420 s (4.1 km/s) |
Burn time | 480 s |
Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
S-IVB 500 series | |
Powered by | 1 J-2 |
Maximum thrust | 232,250 pounds-force (1,033,100 N) |
Specific impulse | 421 s (4.13 km/s) |
Burn time | 500 s |
Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
The S-IVB (pronounced "S-four-B") was the third stage on the Saturn V and second stage on the Saturn IB launch vehicles. Built by the Douglas Aircraft Company, it had one J-2 rocket engine. For lunar missions it was fired twice: first for Earth orbit insertion after second stage cutoff, and then for translunar injection (TLI).