Saturn V TestIn 1967, a Saturn V rocket was launched, unmanned, into Earth orbit, on its first successful test flight for this, the most powerful rocket NASA had made. Smaller rockets, the Saturn 1 and 1B were used to launch humans into earth orbit, but it would take the larger Saturn V to go beyond Earth and to the moon. As a Heavy Lift Vehicle, it was a three-stage rocket able to launch about 130 tons into Earth orbit, or 50 tons to the moon. This first test flight, the Apollo 4 flight, was termed perfect, from launch until 8-hr 37-min later when the Command Module splashed down. The CM was quickly retrieved by divers from a carrier vessel. The aft heat shield was heavily charred. The charring on the crew compartment shield was less than expected, and the spacecraft windows were undamaged.« |
