Vehicle / SINCE 1966

Saturn IB

NASA Discontinued
ABOUT

The Saturn IB (pronounced "one B", also known as the Uprated Saturn I) was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the Apollo program. It replaced the S-IV second stage of the Saturn I with the much more powerful S-IVB, able to launch a partially fueled Apollo Command/Service Module (CSM) or a fully fueled Lunar Module (LM) into low Earth orbit for early flight tests before the larger Saturn V needed for lunar flight was ready.

SPECIFICATIONS 9
Length 43.2 m
Diameter 6.61 m
Launch Mass T 590
Leo Capacity 21,000 kg
Thrust 7,100 kN
Reusable No
Total Launches 10
Successful Launches 9
Maiden Flight 1966-02-26