| Astronauts | Saturn 1-B | Saturn V | Missions | Patches | History |
Saturn 1B Rocket
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The Saturn series of launch
vehicles are large-scale rockets developed for NASA's Apollo lunar
landing program. This type of rocket was originally proposed by
Wernher Von Braun in 1957, who at that time was assigned to the Army
Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA). Following its establishment in
1958, Von Braun and other U.S. Army scientists were transferred to
NASA, with the Saturn rocket development program subsequently
becoming a NASA endeavor. The initially developed Saturn I adopted cluster of 8 engines essentially the same as used in the Jupiter rocket. Test firing of the Saturn I began in 1961. From 1966, the Saturn IB was developed, incorporating the hydrogen fuel J-2 engine for the rocket second stage. In 1968, this rocket was used for the first manned flight under the Apollo Program, placing Apollo 7 into Earth orbit. The Saturn IB version was also used to launch the manned Skylab 2,3 and 4 missions in 1972 and 73, and for the Apollo-Soyuz Program carried out jointly with the Soviet Union in 1975. The most famous of the Saturn Missiles is the Saturn V, that launched man to the moon. |