The famous Apollo rocket “Saturn” was proposed by Wernher von Braun in October 1958 as a logical successor to the Jupiter series and the Roman god’s powerful position. So in October 1958, Dr. Wernher von Braun, the Director of ABMA’s Development Operations Division, proposed the Juno V be renamed “Saturn.” On 3 February 1959, ARPA officially accepted the name change.
The Name “Saturn” Was Meaningful For Three Reasons
- Saturn looked brighter than a first-magnitude star, so this name’s association with such a powerful new booster seemed appropriate.
- Saturn was also the next planet after Jupiter, so the progression was analogous to ABMA’s progression from missile and space systems called “Jupiter.”
- Saturn was also the name of a Roman god. The name was in agreement with the U.S. military’s custom of naming missiles after mythological heroes and gods.
Furthermore, the nomenclature evolution for the Saturn family of launch vehicles was one of all NASA-associated names’ most complexes. The historical Saturn program was named for the next planet after Jupiter.
So, its design originated from the designs of the Jupiter series of space rockets. And as the success of the Jupiter series became clear, the Saturn series appeared. And between 1960 and 1962, the (MSFC) Marshall Space Flight Center designed a series of Saturn rockets to deploy for different Earth orbit or Moon missions.
“Saturn A,” “Saturn B,” and “Saturn C”
During the second half of 1959, studies were made of potential upper stages for the new Saturn vehicle. The interagency Saturn Vehicle Evaluation Committee viewed many combinations, narrowing the choice to design concepts labeled “Saturn A,” “Saturn B,” and “Saturn C.”
In December 1959, following the Committee’s recommendation, NASA authorized building ten development and research models of the first “C” version, or ”Saturn C-1 ” design suggestion. For the time being, the booster was named ”Saturn C-1.”
Saturn became a NASA project and had become a vital link with the Nation’s manned Moon program, Project Apollo. In 1962, NASA decided they would need a more powerful version of the Saturn C-1 to take Apollo lunar spacecraft into earth orbit, train, and prepare for human-crewed flights to the Moon later in the 1960s.
“Saturn C-1B”
NASA named this launch vehicle “Saturn C-1B.” And in February 1963, NASA renamed those vehicles. At the NASA Project Designation Committee’s suggestion, Saturn C-1 became “Saturn I” and the Saturn C-1B, “Saturn lB.”
The Saturn IB was comprised of the S-IB first stage. It was a modified version of the S-1 first stage that could produce 7.1 million newtons or 1.6 million pounds of thrust by 1973, the second stage (S-IVB), an uprated version of the S-IV stage, could produce 1 million newtons or 230 000 pounds of thrust.
“Uprated Saturn I”
On 9 June 1966, NASA replaced the Saturn IB’s name with “Uprated Saturn I.” The redesignation was proposed to the Project Designation Committee by Dr. George E. Mueller. He was NASA’s Associate Administrator for Human-crewed Space Flight. The Committee concurred with Dr. Mueller that the booster is an uprated Saturn I and should be so-called. In December 1967, though, NASA decided to return to using the simpler term, “Saturn lB.” The suggestion was made by the Office of Manned Space Flight and accepted by Administrator James E. Webb.
The Saturn IB launched the first human-crewed Apollo spacecraft, Apollo 7, on successful flight 11 October 1968. After completing the Apollo program, launched three missions to man the Skylab Orbital Workshop in 1973. It was scheduled to launch the American astronauts in the July 1975 U.S. U.S.S.R. Apollo-Soyuz Test Project docking mission.
Called”Saturn V”
In January 1962, NASA initiated the development of the enormous launch vehicle for Project Apollo’s crewed lunar flight. The vehicle selected was the Saturn C-5. It was chosen after six months of investigating the relative merits of Saturn C-3, C-4, and C-5 designs.
Those designs were all based on a big clustered-engine first stage but with different combinations of upper stages. The digital designation followed the sequence established with the Saturn C-1, where the name “Saturn” is also explained).
Alternately assigned to in 1962 as “Advanced Saturn,” the Saturn C-5 was renamed early the following year. Nominations were presented to the NASA Project Designation Committee as well as recommended by the Committee members themselves.
After viewing many alternative names-the leading contender for a while was “Kronos”-the Committee recommended, through Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs George L. Simpson, Jr., to NASA Associate Administrator, Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr., that the new name be “Saturn V.” The new name was chosen early in February 1963.
The Saturn V’s Final Configuration
- The S-IC first stage with 34-million-newton or 7.7-million-pound thrust
- The S-11 second stage with 5.1-million-newton or 1.2-million-pound thrust
- The S-IVB stage of the Saturn lB
On 21 December 1968, Saturn V launched Apollo 8, the first human-crewed Apollo spacecraft to escape Earth’s gravitational field into orbit the Moon.
Saturn V launches put twenty-seven astronauts into lunar orbit. And twelve of them landing on the Moon to explore the lunar surface. And on 14 May 1973, the Saturn V orbited the first U.S. experimental space station, the Skylab 1 Orbital Workshop, crewed by three consecutive three-man crews.
The Saturn Family
- Saturn I – Ten rockets flew. It was five development flights and five launches of boilerplate Apollo spacecraft and Pegasus micrometeoroid satellites.
- Saturn IB – nine launches. It was a refined version of the Saturn I with a more powerful first stage (designated the S-IB) and using the Saturn V’s S-IVB as a second stage. These carried the first Apollo flight crew, plus three Skylab and one Apollo-Soyuz crew, into Earth orbit.
- Saturn V – Thirteen launches. The Moon rocket took the Apollo astronauts to the Moon and carried the Skylab space station into orbit.
Thanks for reading this article about the origin of the name of the Apollo 11 rocket. If you want to know more fascinating things about Saturn V, head over to this article named: Why Are The Interstage Rings of The Saturn V Corrugated?