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Saturn

Saturn was NASA’s family of expendable launch vehicles developed for the Apollo era. Saturn I established the technology, Saturn IB supported Earth-orbital Apollo and station missions, and Saturn V carried Apollo lunar missions and launched Skylab.

Saturn
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Identity

Aliases
Saturn rocket familySaturn launch vehicle family
Family Name
Saturn
Full Name
Saturn
Status
retired
Type
rocket

Details

Description
Saturn was NASA’s family of expendable launch vehicles developed for the Apollo era. Saturn I established the technology, Saturn IB supported Earth-orbital Apollo and station missions, and Saturn V carried Apollo lunar missions and launched Skylab.
First Flight Year
1,961
Last Flight Year
1,975
Manufacturer
Operator
Propulsion Configurations
  • Entries
    • Count
      8
      Placement
      core
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
      Stage
      first-stage
      Variant Notes
      Eight H-1 engines in the S-IB first-stage cluster.
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      upper
      Propulsion System
      Role
      upper-stage
      Stage
      second-stage
      Variant Notes
      Single J-2 engine on the S-IVB second stage.
    Name
    Saturn IB
    Notes
    Exact two-stage Saturn IB propulsion: eight H-1 engines on the S-IB first stage and one J-2 on the S-IVB second stage.
  • Entries
    • Count
      5
      Placement
      core
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
      Stage
      first-stage
      Variant Notes
      Five F-1 engines on the S-IC first stage.
    • Count
      5
      Placement
      upper
      Propulsion System
      Role
      upper-stage
      Stage
      second-stage
      Variant Notes
      Five J-2 engines on the S-II second stage.
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      upper
      Propulsion System
      Role
      upper-stage
      Stage
      third-stage
      Variant Notes
      Single J-2 engine on the S-IVB third stage.
    Name
    Saturn V
    Notes
    Exact three-stage Saturn V propulsion: five F-1 engines on S-IC, five J-2 engines on S-II, and one J-2 engine on S-IVB.
Rocket Specs
Reusability
expendable

Links

Official Url
https://www.nasa.gov/history/60-years-ago-first-launch-of-a-saturn-rocket/
Wikipedia Url
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_(rocket_family)

Assets & Meta

Creation Time
April 26, 2026 at 15:30:27 UTC
Updated Time
August 1, 2026 at 10:08:02 UTC
Image
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