How does the Saturn V release system work? Find out in this article revealing some rare facts about the mighty Saturn V rocket. With the Saturn V rocket’s construction, it became necessary to develop a system for restraining the rocket until after all checks and engine thrust buildup were completed.
They used 12 pins to bolt down the Saturn V to the launch pad, and the combined engine thrust would pull the pins through a die, gradually releasing itself from the pad, thus preventing a jolt when the hold-down arms released.
The restraining system is on a link pinned to rotate enough to release the rocket. There are three links in the restraining system designed so that with a small force provided by a pneumatic separator mechanism, the large loads of the vehicle can be restrained.
To restrain the rocket until after thrust buildup requires that the hold-down arms hold a vertical up-load equal to the vehicle thrust minus weight of the rocket, plus the overturning moment due to wind. This load’s value is 444,822 newtons (100,000 pounds) per hold-down arm for the Saturn I.
How Does The Saturn V Controlled Release System Work?
The hold-down arm upper link system will restrain the Saturn V rocket until launch commit and programmed release of hold-down linkage. Link is pivoted quickly away, releasing the restraining force at a rate which, at launch, the upper 342 without design refinement, could create unallowable stresses in the vehicle structures.
Release devices were designed. To provide a smooth, controlled release of the vehicle, control The controlled release mechanism consists basically of a bracket, bolted to the hold-down arm base, and a draw pin connected to the bracket and to the vehicle through a die.
And at launch, the pin is drawn through the die for the first 15.2 centimeters (six inches) of the rocket’s travel. See Figure. The die is fastened to the rocket, and as the pin is drawn through the die at launch, the force decreases from 3.3 X 105 newtons (75,000 pounds) to zero after 15.2 centimeters (six inches) of travel.
Thanks for reading this short article. If you want to know more interesting facts about the Saturn V and how it could survive its own weight on the launch pad, then head over to this article named: How Was Saturn V Supported On Launchpad?
Do you want to know why they used two different fuels for the Saturn V (kerosene and liquid hydrogen) to burn with liquid oxygen? Well, head over to this article about Saturn V’s fuel.