Saturn I

Saturn I

The first Saturn I was launched October 27, 1961.
Function	Medium-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Chrysler (S-I) Douglas (S-IV) Convair (S-V)
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	55 m (180 ft)
Diameter	6.60 m (21 ft 8 in)
Mass	510,000 kg (1,124,000 lb)
Stages	2 or 3 (3rd stage flew, but never in an active configuration)
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Altitude	185 km (115 mi)
Orbital inclination	28°
Mass	9,100 kg (20,000 lb) (2 stages)
Payload to TLI
Mass	2,200 kg (4,900 lb) (2 stages)
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Cape Canaveral, LC-37 Cape Canaveral, LC-34
Total launches	10
Success(es)	10
First flight	27 October 1961 (SA-1)
Last flight	30 July 1965 (AS-105)
Type of passengers/cargo	Boilerplate Apollo CM, Pegasus
First stage – S-I
Powered by	8 × H-1
Maximum thrust	6,700 kN (1,500,000 lbf)
Burn time	~150 seconds
Propellant	LOX / RP-1
Second stage – S-IV
Powered by	6 × RL10
Maximum thrust	400 kN (90,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	421 s (4.13 km/s) vacuum
Burn time	~482 seconds
Propellant	LOX / LH2
Third stage – S-V (flew inactively)[1]
Powered by	2 × RL10
Maximum thrust	133 kN (30,000 lbf)
Burn time	~430 seconds
Propellant	LOX / LH2
[edit on Wikidata]

The Saturn I^[a] was a rocket designed as the United States' first medium lift launch vehicle for up to 20,000-pound (9,100 kg) low Earth orbit payloads.^[2] Its development was taken over from the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in 1958 by the newly formed civilian NASA. Its design proved sound and flexible. It was successful in initiating the development of liquid hydrogen-fueled rocket propulsion, launching the Pegasus satellites, and flight verification of the Apollo command and service module launch phase aerodynamics. Ten Saturn I rockets were flown before it was replaced by the heavy lift derivative Saturn IB, which used a larger, higher total impulse second stage and an improved guidance and control system. It also led the way to development of the super-heavy lift Saturn V which carried the first men to landings on the Moon in the Apollo program.

President John F. Kennedy identified the Saturn I, and the SA-5 launch in particular, as being the point where US lift capability would surpass the Soviets, after being behind since Sputnik.^[3][4]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).