Saturn V

Saturn V
	The launch of the 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$6.4 billion (equivalent to $34.5 billion in 2024)
Cost per launch	US$185 million (equivalent to $995 million in 2024)
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)
Mass	140,000 kg (310,000 lb)
Payload to TLI
Mass	43,500 kg (95,900 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	Saturn
Derivative work	Saturn INT-21
Comparable	Energia; Falcon Heavy; Long March 9; N1 (never operational); SLS; Starship;
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Kennedy Space Center, LC-39
Total launches	13
Success(es)	12
Partial failure	1 (Apollo 6)
First flight	November 9, 1967 (AS-501 Apollo 4)
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
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)
Gross mass	470,000 kg (1,037,000 lb)
Powered by	5 × J-2
Maximum thrust	4,400 kN (1,000,000 lbf) in vacuum
Specific impulse	424 s (4.16 km/s) (427 s (4.19 km/s) at 5:1 mixture ratio)
Burn time	395 seconds
Propellant	LOX / LH2
Third stage – S-IVB
Height	17.86 m (58 ft 7 in)
Diameter	6.60 m (21 ft 8 in)
Empty mass	15,200 kg (33,600 lb)
Gross mass	120,500 kg (265,600 lb)
Powered by	1 × J-2
Maximum thrust	1,000 kN (225,000 lbf) in 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

The Saturn V 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 liquid-fueled. Thirteen Saturn V vehicles were launched, from 1967 to 1973, all from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39, nine of which launched 24 astronauts toward the Moon from Apollo 8 to Apollo 17. Its final launch was Skylab, the first American space station, converted from its own third stage.

The Saturn V was the first launch vehicle to carry humans beyond low Earth orbit (LEO), with the only other to do so being the Space Launch System (SLS) for the Artemis II lunar flyby in 2026. The Saturn V holds the record for the largest payload capacity to low Earth orbit, 140,000 kg (310,000 lb), which included the S-IVB third stage with remaining propellant to send the Apollo command and service module and Lunar Module to the Moon. At 34.5 meganewtons, it is the fourth most powerful rocket by thrust at launch and the second most powerful to carry humans, after SLS at 39 meganewtons.

The largest production model of the Saturn family of rockets, the Saturn V was designed at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama. The program was managed by American George Mueller; technical design was led by scientists relocated from Nazi Germany, most notably Wernher von Braun, as well as Kurt Debus and Arthur Rudolph. This group had developed the first US launch vehicles, the Redstone rocket family, under the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. All engines were built by Rocketdyne. Boeing built the kerolox S-IC first stage powered by five F-1 engines; these remain the most powerful single chamber liquid-fuelled engines ever built. North American Aviation the hydrolox S-II second stage, and Douglas Aircraft Company the hydrolox S-IVB third stage, powered by five and one J-2 engines respectively. IBM and MSFC designed the rocket's instrument unit.

The rocket first launched in the November 1967 Apollo 4 test flight. Two unused Saturn Vs were built, originally designated for Apollo 19 and 20; three ground test articles were also built. Unrealized follow-on concepts included the Saturn II, Saturn MLV, and Saturn V ELV vehicles, which could include UA120 solid rocket boosters, the Saturn C-5N using a NERVA nuclear thermal rocket third stage, and the Saturn-Shuttle. Further flights were proposed for the Skylab B space station, Voyager Mars orbiters and landers, Prospector lunar rover, and a manned Venus flyby.