Saturn V

Saturn V

The launch of the historic Apollo 11 mission 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 (equivalent to $33.6 billion in 2023)
Cost per launch	US$185 million (equivalent to $969 million in 2023)
Size
Height	111 m (363 ft)
Diameter	10 m (33 ft)
Mass	2,822,171 to 2,965,241 kg (6,221,823 to 6,537,238 lb)
Stages	3
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Altitude	185 km (115 mi)[1]
Mass	140,000 kilograms (310,000 lb)[a]
Payload to TLI
Mass	43,500 kg (95,900 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	Saturn
Derivative work	Saturn INT-21
Comparable	Historic: N1 (never operational) Energia Falcon Heavy Long March 9 SLS Starship
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Kennedy Space Center, LC-39[2]
Total launches	13
Success(es)	12
Partial failure(s)	1 (Apollo 6)
First flight	November 9, 1967 (AS-501 Apollo 4)[b]
Last flight	May 14, 1973 (AS-513 Skylab)
First stage – S-IC
Height	42 m (138 ft)
Diameter	10 m (33 ft)
Empty mass	137,000 kg (303,000 lb)
Gross mass	2,214,000 kg (4,881,000 lb)
Powered by	5 × F-1
Maximum thrust	33,000 kN (7,500,000 lbf) at sea level
Specific impulse	260 s (2.5 km/s) (minimum) at sea level[3]
Burn time	150 seconds
Propellant	LOX / RP-1
Second stage – S-II
Height	24.87 m (81 ft 7 in)
Diameter	10 m (33 ft)
Empty mass	43,000 kg (95,000 lb)[c]
Gross mass	470,000 kg (1,037,000 lb)[c]
Powered by	5 × J-2
Maximum thrust	4,400 kN (1,000,000 lbf) vacuum
Specific impulse	424 s (4.16 km/s) (427 s (4.19 km/s) at 5:1 mixture ratio.)[4]
Burn time	395 seconds
Propellant	LOX / LH2
Third stage – S-IVB[d]
Height	17.86 m (58 ft 7 in)
Diameter	6.60 m (21 ft 8 in)
Empty mass	15,200 kg (33,600 lb)[e]
Gross mass	120,500 kg (265,600 lb)[e]
Powered by	1 × J-2
Maximum thrust	1,000 kN (225,000 lbf) vacuum
Specific impulse	424 s (4.16 km/s) (427 s (4.19 km/s) at 5:1 mixture ratio.)
Burn time	165 + 312 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, 310,000 lb (140,000 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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