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Man in Space A National Historic Landmark Theme Study

Rear View of 1st Stage of Saturn V Space Vehicle, 1984.
(Courtesy of Alabama Space and Rocket Center)

Saturn V Space Vehicle

The Saturn V Space Vehicle is in the Rocket Park of the Alabama Space and Rocket Center and consists of three tank-type propellant stages and payload. The vehicle is exhibited horizontally, one stage on a trailer, others on cradles.

Primary materials: aluminum alloys, stainless steel and titanium.

Length: 365 feet.

Weight: 6,200,000 pounds.

First Stage: 33 feet diameter by 138 feet; five F-1 engines.
Assembled by Marshall Space Flight Center and Boeing Aircraft Corporation

Second Stage: 33 feet diameter by 81 feet; five J-2 engines.
Assembled by North American Rockwell.

Third Stage: 22 feet diameter by 59 feet; 1 J-2 engine.
Assembled by McDonnell-Douglas.

Pay Load:

(1) Apollo Command Module - cone-shaped, 10 feet 7 inches high, 12 feet 10 inches diameter

Habitable volume - 210 cubic feet.
Weight - 13,000 pounds.

(2) Service Module: Cylinder-shaped, 22 feet 7 inches high, 12 feet 10 inches diameter.

Weight - 55,000 pounds.

Assembled by North American Rockwell.

Cost: $15,010,000.00 [1]

On July 16, 1969, a Saturn V Space Vehicle rose from the launch pad carrying astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin, and Michael Collins toward mankind's first expedition to the surface of the moon. Because stages of the Saturn V are not recovered after use, a Saturn which has actually flown a mission will never be available to the public. The test stages located at the Alabama Space and Rocket Center are full operational units of the actual flight stages and provide a realistic view of the vehicle which carried the first men to the moon and placed the first U.S. space station into orbit.

The decision to develop the Saturn V was officially announced on January 10, 1962. It was the first large vehicle in the U.S. space program to be conceived and developed for a specific purpose--the lunar landing. NASA formally assigned the task of developing the Saturn V to the Marshall Space Flight Center on January 25, 1962. Launch responsibility was given to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Marshall Center designers decided that a three-stage vehicle would best serve the immediate needs for a lunar landing mission and also serve as a general purpose space exploration vehicle. The Saturn V provided the U.S. with the capability to put into earth orbit some 280,000 pounds of payload or send 95,000 pounds to the moon. During a seven-year period, a total of 13 Saturn V vehicles were launched, including two unmanned test flights; ten Apollo flights; and one flight which carried the Skylab space station to earth orbit. The Saturn V performed successfully in all missions. [2]

There are three remaining examples of the Saturn V space vehicle in existence. One is found at the Kennedy Space Center, one is at the Johnson Manned Space Flight Center, and the last is found at the Alabama Space and Rocket Museum in Huntsville, Alabama, adjacent ot the Marshall Space Flight Center.

The Saturn V at the Alabama Space and Rocket Museum was chosen to represent the class of Saturn V's as a National Historic Landmark for several reasons.

1. The Saturn V at Huntsville is closely associated with its site. The design, development, and manufacture of the Saturns was the responsibility of the NASA-Marshall Space Flight Center at Huntsville, Alabama, which at the time, was under the leadership of Dr. Werner von Braun. Dr. von Braun headed a nationwide team drawn from industry, government, and the educational community which provided the expertise to produce the Saturn.

2. The Saturn V on display at the Alabama Space and Rocket Museum is the actual test rocket that was used in dynamic testing of the Saturn facilities at Huntsville. The stages of this rocket were used to check out all of the Saturn V facilities at Huntsville. Thus, while the rocket was not intended to be flown, it was a working vehicle that prepared the way for the Saturn V rockets that were flown and eventually destroyed.

3. The Saturn V at the Alabama Space and Rocket Museum is also the best preserved example of this space vehicle. It has been maintained since it went on exhibit in 1969 and is in mint condition. Both the Saturn V's at the Kennedy Space Center and the Houston Manned Space Flight Center exhibit extensive deterioration due to the elements.

4. Finally the Saturn V at the Alabama Space and Rocket Center has the best remaining integrity of the class. Its three principal stages and instrument unit are intact thus representing all the necessary parts to the Saturn V that launched the American exploration of the moon.

In a letter to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, Michael Collins, Director of the National Air and Space Museum and participant in the Apollo 11 mission that first landed men on the moon, said the following about the Saturn V at the Alabama and Rocket Museum:

This letter is written in response to the application by the Alabama Space and Rocket Center recommending listing of the Saturn V space launch vehicle on the National Register of Historic Places.

The uniqueness of the Saturn V, the high level of technology that it represents and the successful role that it played in making possible man's landing on the Moon seems to qualify for national recognition by placement on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, the location is adjacent to the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center which was responsible for the design and development of this vehicle.

For these reasons we concur in the application for listing made by the Alabama Space and Rocket Center.

The Saturn V Space Vehicle was a unique engineering masterpiece that formed the key link in the chain that enabled Americans to travel to the moon. The success of the Saturn V made possible the success of the American Space Program.

1. Edward O. Buckbee, "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Saturn V Space Vehicle Huntsville" (Alabama, Alabama Space and Rocket Center, 1977), p. 2.

2. Ibid., 3.

Bilstein, Roger E. Stages to Saturn: A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicles. Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1980.

Brooks, Courtney G., Grimwood, James M., and Swenson, Loyd S. Jr. Chariots for Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft. Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1979.

Buckbee, Edward O. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Saturn V Space Vehicle Huntsville". Alabama: Alabama Space and Rocket Center, 1977.

(click on the above photographs for a more detailed view)

Last Modified: Mon, Jan 8 2001 10:00:00 am PDT
man-in-space/space12.htm