What Are The Origin Names of Apollo Space Rockets?

Introduction

Curious to know the origin names of Apollo space rockets? Read on to discover the backstory behind Saturn I, Saturn IB, and Saturn V rockets and their connection to Roman mythology.

The ambitious Apollo Program was a monumental achievement that sought to safely transport humans to the Moon and back to Earth, requiring the use of six powerful rockets that were developed under the Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 missions.

To accomplish this feat, NASA engineers employed two types of rockets, the Saturn IB and the Saturn V, each with distinct designs and capabilities. Interestingly, the initial Apollo flight made use of the Saturn IB rocket, which had only two stages, a notable departure from its more complex and powerful successor, the Saturn V.

One intriguing aspect of the Apollo Program is the inspiration behind the names of these rockets.

Delving into classical mythology, NASA turned to the revered figure of Apollo, a prominent deity in both Greek and Roman mythologies, for inspiration.

As the god of music, prophecy, and archery, Apollo was a fitting symbol for the ambitious goals of the Apollo Program, which sought to push the boundaries of human knowledge and achievement.

The Apollo program used a variety of rockets to launch spacecraft into space, including the Saturn I, Saturn IB, and Saturn V rockets.

Here are the names of each of Saturn rockets:

1. Saturn I: The name “Saturn” was chosen to honor the Roman god of agriculture, who was associated with the abundance and fertility of the earth. The number “I” indicates that this was the first version of the Saturn rocket.
2. Saturn IB: The “B” in Saturn IB stands for “Block,” indicating that this was a modified version of the original Saturn I rocket. The Saturn IB was developed to carry the Apollo spacecraft into Earth orbit during test missions.
3. Saturn V: The name “Saturn V” indicates that this was the fifth version of the Saturn rocket. The “V” stands for the Roman numeral “5.” The Saturn V was the largest and most powerful rocket ever built and was used to launch the Apollo spacecraft on their missions to the moon.

How are rockets named?

Military services and ancient mythology have inspired the names of most rockets used in space exploration.

The U.S. Department of Defense initially turned to mythology for names of ballistic missiles and space boosters. However, NASA avoided using the term “booster” in its civilian space program because of its association with military missiles.

Today, the term “booster” has made a comeback in the Space Age and is often used interchangeably with “launch vehicle.”

However, different countries use varying terms to refer to rockets. For instance, Russia and several other countries use the term “Carrier rocket” instead of “Launch vehicle.” In fact, there are at least 13 different ways of naming rockets worldwide.

(see below).

Here are 13 different ways of naming rockets

1. Name only – e.g., Titan III.
2. Designation number and name – e.g., PGM-17 Thor
3. Designation number only – e.g., R-36.
4. Appending the word Rocket in parenthesis – e.g., Redstone (Rocket)
5. Appending the word Rocket without parenthesis – e.g., Delta rocket.
6. Appending the word missile in parenthesis – e.g., Atlas (missile)
7. Appending the word missile without parenthesis – e.g., Blue Streak missile.
8. Appending the term launch vehicle – e.g., Soyuz launch vehicle (note this is incorrect, see below).
9. Appending the name rocket family in parenthesis – e.g., Titan (rocket family).
10. Appending the word launcher in parenthesis – e.g., Vega (launcher)
11. Appending the term launch vehicle family in parenthesis – e.g., Delta II/III Launch Vehicle Family.
12. Appending the term sounding Rocket – e.g., Zenit sounding rocket.
13. Appending the term Rocket of the country – e.g., Orion (Rocket of Argentina)

The Recommendation is to use the name only. Consequently, the recommended naming practice would be to use the name followed by the term rocket in parentheses. It can be used in conjunction with the name-only format where relevant. 

NASA’s six launch vehicles 1971-74

In 1971-74 NASA managed six launch vehicles in the National Launch Vehicle Program: 

1. Scout
2. Thor-Delta. (Also known as Delta DM-19 or just Delta)
3. Atlas-Centaur
4. Saturn IB
5. Saturn V 
6. Titan-Centaur

In 1974, the Titan-Centaur combination successfully launched its inaugural satellite into orbit. The performance capacity of these vehicles varied significantly, ranging from the small experimental payloads launched by Scout to the crewed Apollo missions sent into a circumlunar flight via Saturn V.

In the early 1980s, NASA introduced the reusable Space Shuttle, which was intended to replace many expendable boosters for both orbiting satellites and human-crewed missions.

How many Apollo rockets are there?

The primary objective of the Apollo program was to safely land humans on the Moon and bring them back to Earth. Of the total missions conducted under the program, six (Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17) successfully achieved this goal.

However, Apollo 7 and 9 were dedicated Earth-orbiting missions, primarily aimed at testing the Command and Lunar Modules, and did not gather any data related to the Moon.

Soviet spacecraft call signs

Unlike the individual names assigned to spacecraft used in many space missions, Russian space missions typically identify their spacecraft by a call sign that relates to the type of spacecraft and its mission number.

Moreover, Russian cosmonauts are assigned individual call signs, which are not revealed to the public until their launch. Interestingly, the same call sign continues to be used for a cosmonaut across multiple missions or spacecraft, even if they pilot different spacecraft over time.

Saturn I

The naming convention for the Saturn family of launch vehicles was one of the most complex undertakings associated with NASA.

It all began on August 15, 1958, when the Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) approved initial work on a multistage launch vehicle that used clustered engines to produce 6.7 million newtons of thrust in its first stage.

The designers at the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) developed this rocket, which was informally referred to as “Juno V.” (Juno III and Juno IV were proposed for future space rockets after Juno II, but they were never built.)

In October 1958, Dr. Wernher von Braun, the Director of ABMA’s Development Operations Division, proposed renaming Juno V “Saturn.” ARPA officially approved this name change on February 3, 1959.

The name Saturn was important for three reasons

1. Planet Saturn looked brighter than a first-magnitude star, so this name’s association with such a powerful new booster seemed fitting.
2. Saturn was the next planet after Jupiter. Hence the progression was similar to ABMA’s progression from missile and space systems called “Jupiter”; 
3. Saturn was the name of an antique Roman god. Therefore the name was in keeping with the U.S. military’s custom of naming missiles after mythological heroes and gods.

The latter half of 1959 saw more refined studies on the potential upper stages for the new Saturn rocket, with the interagency Saturn Vehicle Evaluation Committee assessing various design concepts. This evaluation eventually led to the shortlisting of three design concepts: “Saturn A,” “Saturn B,” and “Saturn C.”

Following the Committee’s recommendation, NASA authorized the construction of ten research and development models of the first “C” version, which was initially known as the ”Saturn C-1” design proposal. Therefore, the booster was referred to as ”Saturn C-1” at that time.

By this time, the Saturn rocket had become a crucial component of NASA’s Project Apollo, which aimed to land humans on the moon. In 1962, NASA determined that a more powerful version of the Saturn C-1 rocket would be necessary to launch Apollo lunar rockets into earth orbit to prepare and train for human-crewed missions to the moon in the 1960s.

NASA named this new launch vehicle “Saturn C-1B.” However, in February 1963, NASA changed the names of these vehicles. At the suggestion of the NASA Project Designation Committee, Saturn C-1 became “Saturn I,” and Saturn C-1B was renamed “Saturn IB.”

The Saturn IB rocket consisted of two stages: the S-IB first stage, which was a modified version of the S-1 first stage and could generate 7.1 million newtons (1.6 million pounds) of thrust by 1973, and the S-IVB second stage, which was an improved version of the S-IV stage and could generate 1 million newtons (230,000 pounds) of thrust.

On June 9, 1966, NASA decided to rename the Saturn IB rocket to “Uprated Saturn I.” Dr. George E. Mueller, NASA Associate Administrator for Human-crewed Space Flight, proposed the name change to the Project Designation Committee, which agreed with him that the booster was essentially an upgraded version of the Saturn I and should be named accordingly.

In December 1967, NASA decided to simplify the name of the rocket and return to calling it “Saturn IB.” This proposal was put forth by the Office of Human-Crewed Space Flight and approved by Administrator James E. Webb. The Saturn IB rocket successfully launched the first human-crewed Apollo spacecraft, Apollo 7, on October 11, 1968. After completing the Apollo program, three missions were launched to man the Skylab Orbital Workshop in 1973. It was also planned to launch the American crew in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project docking mission in July 1975.

The name Saturn V

In January 1962, NASA commenced the development of a massive launch vehicle to carry out Project Apollo’s crewed lunar flight. The Saturn C-5 was selected after six months of evaluating the relative strengths of three designs, namely Saturn C-3, C-4, and C-5, all based on a first stage with a cluster of engines but with different combinations of upper stages.

The numerical designation for the Saturn C-5 followed the sequence established with the Saturn C-1. Initially referred to as “Advanced Saturn” in 1962, it was renamed the following year.

Numerous name proposals were submitted to the NASA Project Designation Committee, and after considering many alternatives, “Kronos” emerged as the leading contender for some time.

In early 1963, the Saturn C-5 rocket underwent a significant rebranding. After much deliberation, the NASA Project Designation Committee settled on the name “Saturn V,” which was recommended by George L. Simpson, Jr., an Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs, and then approved by Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr., NASA Associate Administrator.

The final configuration of the Saturn V consisted of the S-IC first stage, which produced 34 million newtons (7.7 million pounds) of thrust, the S-II second stage with 5.1 million newtons (1.2 million pounds) of thrust, and the S-IVB stage of the Saturn IB.

On 21 December 1968, the Saturn V launched the Apollo 8 spacecraft, which became the first crewed spacecraft to escape Earth’s gravitational field and enter lunar orbit. The Saturn V continued to play a vital role in the Apollo program, launching a total of 27 astronauts into lunar orbit and twelve of them onto the moon, with its final mission being Apollo 17 in late December 1972.

In addition to its role in the Apollo program, the Saturn V also launched the first U.S. experimental space station, Skylab 1 Orbital Workshop, on 14 May 1973. The station was operated by three successive three-person crews.

That’s it. I hope you enjoyed this article. If you want to know more about Saturn V, head over to this article named: Why Are The Interstage Rings of Saturn V Corrugated?

FAQ

1. What is the origin of the names of Apollo space rockets? The names of the Apollo space rockets, Saturn I, Saturn IB, and Saturn V, were inspired by Roman mythology. The name “Saturn” was chosen to honor the Roman god of agriculture, associated with the abundance and fertility of the earth. The numbers and letters following “Saturn” indicate the version and modifications of the rocket.
2. How were rockets named in the Apollo Program? The names of the rockets used in the Apollo Program were inspired by military services and ancient mythology. The U.S. Department of Defense initially turned to mythology for names of ballistic missiles and space boosters. However, NASA avoided using the term “booster” in its civilian space program because of its association with military missiles.
3. What were the different versions of the Saturn rockets used in the Apollo Program? The Apollo Program used three versions of the Saturn rocket: Saturn I, Saturn IB, and Saturn V. Saturn I was the first version of the Saturn rocket. Saturn IB, where “B” stands for “Block,” was a modified version of the original Saturn I rocket, developed to carry the Apollo spacecraft into Earth orbit during test missions. Saturn V, where “V” stands for the Roman numeral “5,” was the largest and most powerful rocket ever built and was used to launch the Apollo spacecraft on their missions to the moon.
4. How many Apollo missions were there, and what were their objectives? The primary objective of the Apollo program was to safely land humans on the Moon and bring them back to Earth. Of the total missions conducted under the program, six (Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17) successfully achieved this goal. However, Apollo 7 and 9 were dedicated Earth-orbiting missions, primarily aimed at testing the Command and Lunar Modules, and did not gather any data related to the Moon.
5. What was the role of the Saturn V rocket in the Apollo Program? The Saturn V rocket played a vital role in the Apollo program, launching a total of 27 astronauts into lunar orbit and twelve of them onto the moon. Its final mission was Apollo 17 in late December 1972. In addition to its role in the Apollo program, the Saturn V also launched the first U.S. experimental space station, Skylab 1 Orbital Workshop, in 1973.