Saturn V

Saturn V

The launch of Apollo 11 on Saturn V SA-506, July 16, 1969
Function	Launch vehicle of Apollo program and Skylab
Manufacturer	Boeing (S-IC) North American (S-II) Douglas (S-IVB)
Country of origin	United States
Project cost	US$6.417 billion[1] (equivalent to $50 billion in 2023)
Cost per launch	US$185 million[2] (equivalent to $1.451 billion in 2023)
Size
Height	111 m (363 ft)
Diameter	10 m (33 ft)
Mass	2,822,000 to 2,965,000 kg (6,221,000 to 6,537,000 lb)[3]
Stages	3
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Altitude	170 km (90 nmi)
Orbital inclination	30°
Mass	141,136 kg (311,152 lb)[a][4][5]
Payload to TLI
Mass	52,759 kg (116,314 lb)[6]
Associated rockets
Family	Saturn
Derivative work	Saturn INT-21
Comparable	Historic: N1 (never operational) Energia SLS
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Kennedy Space Center, LC-39
Total launches	13
Success(es)	12
Partial failure(s)	1 (Apollo 6)
First flight	November 9, 1967 (AS-501 Apollo 4)[b][7]
Last flight	May 14, 1973 (AS-513 Skylab)[8]
First stage – S-IC
Height	42 m (138 ft)
Diameter	10 m (33 ft)
Empty mass	137,000 kg (303,000 lb)[9]
Gross mass	2,214,000 kg (4,881,000 lb)[9]
Powered by	5 × F-1
Maximum thrust	34,500 kN (7,750,000 lbf) sea level [10]
Specific impulse	263 s (2.58 km/s) sea level
Burn time	168 seconds
Propellant	LOX / RP-1
Second stage – S-II
Height	24.8 m (81.5 ft)
Diameter	10 m (33 ft)
Empty mass	40,100 kg (88,400 lb)[c]
Gross mass	496,200 kg (1,093,900 lb)[c]
Powered by	5 × J-2
Maximum thrust	5,141 kN (1,155,800 lbf) vacuum
Specific impulse	421 s (4.13 km/s) vacuum
Burn time	360 seconds
Propellant	LOX / LH2
Third stage – S-IVB[d]
Height	18.8 m (61.6 ft)
Diameter	6.6 m (21.7 ft)
Empty mass	15,200 kg (33,600 lb)[e][11]
Gross mass	123,000 kg (271,000 lb)[e]
Powered by	1 × J-2
Maximum thrust	1,033.1 kN (232,250 lbf) vacuum
Specific impulse	421 s (4.13 km/s) vacuum
Burn time	165 + 335 seconds (2 burns)
Propellant	LOX / LH2
[edit on Wikidata]

The Saturn V^[f] is a retired American super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA under the Apollo program for human exploration of the Moon. The rocket was human-rated, had three stages, and was powered by liquid fuel. Flown from 1967 to 1973, it was used for nine crewed flights to the Moon, and to launch Skylab, the first American space station.

As of 2024,^[update] the Saturn V remains the only launch vehicle to have carried humans beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). The Saturn V holds the record for the largest payload capacity to low Earth orbit, 311,152 lb (141,136 kg), which included unburned propellant needed to send the Apollo command and service module and Lunar Module to the Moon.

The largest production model of the Saturn family of rockets, the Saturn V was designed under the direction of Wernher von Braun at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama; the lead contractors for construction of the rocket were Boeing, North American Aviation, Douglas Aircraft Company, and IBM. Fifteen flight-capable vehicles were built, not counting three used for ground testing. A total of thirteen missions were launched from Kennedy Space Center, nine of which carried 24 astronauts to the Moon from Apollo 8 (December 1968) to Apollo 17 (December 1972).

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