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Stages to Saturn
NASA SP-4206
Stages to Saturn
A Technological History of the
Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicles
Roger E. Bilstein
The NASA History Series
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA History Office
Washington, DC 20546
1996
Original publication date: 1980
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Bilstein, Roger E.
Stages to Saturn.
(The NASA history series) (NASA SP: 4206)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
Supt. of Docs, no.: NAS 1.21:4206
1. Project Saturn. 1. Title. II. Series: United
States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
NASA history series. III. Series: United States.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA SP: 4206.
TL781.5.S3B54 629.47'522 79-607154
For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office
Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328
ISBN 0-16-048909-1
To
Wernher von Braun
1912-1977
and the men and women
who built the Saturn
Contents
Page
FOREWORD xi
PREFACE xv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xix
I. PROLOGUE 1
1 . Concepts and Origins 3
II. THE SATURN BUILDING BLOCKS 23
2. Aerospace Alphabet: ABMA, ARPA, MSFC 25
3. Missions, Modes, and Manufacturing 57
III. FIRE, SMOKE, AND THUNDER: THE ENGINES 87
4. Conventional Cryogenics: The H-l and the F-l 89
5. Unconventional Cryogenics: RL-10 and J-2 129
IV. BUILDING THE SATURN V 155
6. From the S-IV to the S-IVB 157
7. The Lower Stages: S-IC and S-II 191
8. From Checkout to Launch: The Quintessential Computer . . . 235
V. COORDINATION: MEN AND MACHINES 259
9. Managing Saturn 261
10. The Logistics Tangle 293
VI. STEP BY STEP 321
1 1 . Qualifying the Cluster Concept 323
12. The Giant Leap 347
vii
STAGES TO SATURN
Page
VII. EPILOGUE 379
13. Legacies 381
APPENDIX A — SCHEMATIC OF SATURN V 405
APPENDIX B — SATURN V PRELAUNCH- LAUNCH SEQUENCE 407
APPENDIX C— SATURN FLIGHT HISTORY 413
APPENDIX D— SATURN R&D FUNDING HISTORY 421
APPENDIX E — SATURN V CONTRACTORS 423
APPENDIX F — LOCATION OF REMAINING SATURN HARDWARE — 439
APPENDIX G — NASA ORGANIZATION DURING APOLLO-SATURN ... 441
APPENDIX H — MSFC PERSONNEL DURING APOLLO-SATURN 449
NOTES 457
SOURCES AND RESEARCH MATERIAL 493
INDEX . 501
Illustrations
Page
Frontispiece — the Saturn V at LC-39 ii
Seven photos of Apollo 1 1 mission 6
Photo of Robert Goddard 10
Photo of German rocket pioneers 10
Four photos of early rockets in the U.S 16
Wernher von Braun with the first seven astronauts 20
Launch of Alan Shepard on Mercury-Redstone 20
Scale comparison of U.S. manned space flight vehicles 20
Development of Saturn concepts 28
Saturn I with Mercury-Redstone and Juno II 30
President Eisenhower with first NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan and
Deputy Administrator Hugh Dryden 32
Wernher von Braun with his ABMA senior staff 38
President Eisenhower dedicates the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center 43
Abe Silverstein tours rocket facility 46
Two summary charts from the Silverstein Report 49
Early versions of the Saturn C- 1 and C-5 60
The stable of NASA launch vehicles 61
John Houbolt and Lunar Orbit Rendezvous 64
President Kennedy at MSFC 68
Four aerial views of MSFC 71
Photos of Michoud Operations and Mississippi Test Facility ,75
Saturn I design and manufacture 82
Saturn IB design and manufacture 84
viil
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Page
Saturn engine applications 90
Turbopump for the H- 1 engine 94
Specifics and systems of the H-l engine 100
Firing and manufacture of the H-l engine 105
Specifics and schematic of the F- 1 engine 110
Engine start sequence for the S-IC stage Ill
F-l engine injector plate and turbopump 117
F-l thrust chamber and brazing furnace 122
F-l test stand 125
F-l engine production line 126
Centaur stage with two RL-10 engines 136
RL-10 engine specifics and systems; engine cluster mounted in the S-IV
stage of Saturn I 139
J-2 engine specifics, systems, assembly, and testing 151
Saturn S-IV stages 161
Seven photos of manufacturing the S-IVB stage 169
Comparison of S-IVB stages of Saturn IB and V 179
S-IVB stage rollout and testing 187
S-IC stage Saturn V launch vehicle 197
Five photos of skin fabrication for the S-IC stage 204
Six photos of assembly and testing of the S-IC stage 208
Seven photos of fabrication and assembly of the S-II stage 220
The mission control center at KSC 236
ST-124 inertial guidance platform 244
Instrument unit specifics, systems, and assembly 246
Wernher von Braun is briefed by Mathias Siebel 262
Saturn program major sites 268
Saturn contractors 268
Two organization charts of Saturn V program 272
Photo of Arthur Rudolph 273
NASA Office of Manned Space Flight Management Council 277
Manned Space Flight Awareness Program 279
Photo of MSFC's Saturn V program control center 286
S-IC flight stage at MSFC on its transporter 300
S-II stage on its transporter 303
Five photos of the NASA barge fleet 306
Four photos of Saturn air transport 316
USNS Point Barrow 319
Saturn transportation equipment 319
Three views of Saturn I test flights 326
Two views of Pegasus payloads for Saturn I 333
Cutaway drawing and two views of the Saturn IB launch vehicle 342
AS-501, first flight-ready Saturn V 343
Launch Complex 39 356
Mobile Service Structures at LC 39 365
Apollo 8 367
Apollo 11 in flight; control room after launch; Astronaut Edwin Aldrin
prepares to step onto lunar surface; lunar sample chest 373
Apollo 1 7 lunar roving vehicle 377
Commonality of Saturn hardware 380
Two photos of Saturn and Skylab 385
Two views of Saturn and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Mission 389
Four photos of Huntsville, Alabama 395
ix
Foreword
Few of man's technological endeavors compare in scope of signifi-
cance to the development of the Saturn family of launch vehicles.
At the time of this writing in 1979, we may still be too close to the
project to see it objectively from the perspective of history, but I expect
that future historians will compare the development of Saturn to such
great and imaginative projects as the building of the Panama Canal and
to such latter day technological achievements as the Manhattan Project.
In terms of both vision and achievement, Saturn may surpass them all.
It was as if the Wright Brothers had gone from building their
original Wright Flyer in 1903 to developing a supersonic Concorde in
1913. Unimaginable; yet in 10 short years the builders of Saturn
progressed from the small, single-engine rockets like Redstone to the
giant vehicle with clustered engines that put man on the moon. Our
Earth-to-orbit weight-lifting capability grew in that decade by 10 thou-
sand times.
Saturn was an engineering masterpiece. The ultimate Saturn, taller
than the Statue of Liberty, had a takeoff weight that exceeded that of 25
fully loaded jet airliners, and produced as much power as 85 Hoover
Dams.
The Saturn program was also a masterpiece of management. There
are those who hold that one of the principal benefits this country derived
from the Apollo-Saturn lunar landing program was the development of a
new and extraordinary management approach through which the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration directed vast human and material
resources toward a common purpose. The system that was developed to
meet the incredible complexities of the program, taking account of its
pioneering nature and the time constraint imposed, provides a pattern
for managing a broad spectrum of future technological, scientific, and
social endeavors.
One of the most remarkable things about the Saturn program was its
success rate. An early press release openly stated that because of the
XI
STAGES TO SATURN
complexity of the system and the tremendous advancement in technol-
ogy required, program officials fully expected half of the 10 Saturn I's
launched to fail. None did. Neither did any Saturn IB, nor did any
Saturn V, either test vehicle or operational rocket — and there were 32
Saturn launches in all.
The reliability assessment of the system was such that only two
Saturn Vs were launched before the third sent Frank Borman's crew
around the moon during Christmas of 1968. In all, 27 men went around
the moon aboard Saturn-launched space vehicles, 12 actually walked on
its surface.
Close on the heels of the lunar landing series, NASA developed
Skylab, the world's first major laboratory in which we could operate
experiments in the new environment of space. The Saturn again played a
pivotal role in this enterprise — the core component of the Skylab itself
being a modified Saturn stage. Only a Saturn V could lift the huge
laboratory into orbit, which, when an Apollo spacecraft was annexed,
weighed 100 metric tons and was 36 meters long. The three crews, which
inhabited the space station for a total time of nearly six months, were
launched on the smaller Saturn IBs. The Saturn family made Skylab
possible, so Saturn deserves a large share of the credit for the mission's
success in establishing a broad foundation of scientific and technological
knowledge.
Furthermore, we should not overlook the role Saturn played in the
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project of 1975. It was another Saturn IB that carried
an American crew to its historic rendezvous with two Soviet cosmonauts
in orbit. The reliable Saturn gave NASA every confidence that its crew
could ascend on schedule following the Soviet launch half a world away
and make the time-critical union of those two small objects in space. We
had a high level of confidence that this, the last Saturn, would perform
with the same excellence as its 31 predecessors. It did not disappoint us.
It should be pointed out that the Apollo-Saturn program was a
national achievement. It has been estimated that 20 000 private firms and
300 000 people participated in the development of this system. The
challenge taxed American ingenuity to the extreme. The result, of
course, was that American technology made the "giant leap" referred to
by Neil Armstrong. Whole new industries were born, offering products
that touch our everday lives in ways we could not have dreamed of just a
decade before.
We may not soon again face a challenge to match the lunar landing,
and it may be some time before we mount the kind of scientific and
engineering effort that gave us Saturn. Whenever that next challenge
comes, we have in the Apollo-Saturn program the basic blueprint for
achieving success. It not only will point the way but will also give the
confidence needed to undertake new and dramatic challenges.
Xll
FOREWORD
Among the other lessons learned from the development of Saturn is
the evidence of how much a free society can do and how far a dedicated
people can go when they are properly challenged, led, motivated, and
supported.
This is our legacy from Saturn.
June 1979 William R. Lucas
Director, George C. Marshall
Space Flight Center
Xltl
Preface
The gigantic Saturn V launch vehicle may well be the first and last
of its kind. Subsequent space ventures will be based on new vehicles,
such as the smaller, reusable Space Shuttle. Manned launches in the near
future will be geared to orbital missions rather than planetary excursions,
and unmanned deep-space missions will not demand the very high thrust
boosters characteristic of the Apollo program. As the space program
moves into the future, it also appears that the funding for elaborate "big
booster" missions will not be forthcoming for NASA. The Saturn V class
of launch vehicles are the end of the line of the Saturn generation. It is
not likely that anything like them will ever be built again.
Because of the commanding drama of the awesome Saturn V, it is
easy to forget the first Saturns — the Saturn I and Saturn IB. This history
is an attempt to give due credit to these pioneering vehicles, to analyze
the somewhat awkward origins of the Saturn I as a test bed for static testing
only, not as an operational vehicle, and to discuss the uprated Saturn IB
as an interim booster for the orbital testing of the first Apollo capsules.
Evolution of the engines is also given considerable space early in the
narrative. Because the Apollo-Saturn program was expected to put a
man on the moon within a fixed time span, the use of available hardware
was particularly attractive — an aspect of the program that is not generally
appreciated by the public. The development of the early Saturn I and IB
vehicles, as well as the engines, illustrates this approach. Inevitably, the
unique nature of the mission called for advances in the state of the art,
and the Saturn history includes some examples. One outstanding exam-
ple is the development of high-energy liquid hydrogen engines. Other
examples include the development of insulation for extended storage of
large quantities of hydrogen in vehicle tanks and the advances in the
computer technology of the guidance and control systems.
The development of Saturn was enormously expensive and time-
consuming. Even given the expected costs of developments to advance
the state of the art, why were the costs of the development time so great if
xv
STAGES TO SATURN
the program still relied so much on existing hardware? Part of the answer
involves the uniqueness of dimensions. Even a proven component, to be
used in the huge Saturn, had to be scaled up in size. The larger
component had to withstand a similar increase in the amount of
punishment inflicted on it, and this fact opened up a whole new regime
of operational headaches. The scaling up of components and systems for
lunar missions seemed to involve geometrical progressions rather than
simple arithmetic progressions. The F-l engines for the S-IC first stage
graphically illustrate this difficulty. The size of the Saturn stages and
engines also called for enlargement of test stands and other facilities, with
attendant increases in time and costs. The logistical challenge assumed
gargantuan proportions. The managers of the Apollo-Saturn programs
also discovered unanticipated expenses in storing and maintaining exotic
hardware that was subject to degradation unless constantly monitored,
refurbished, and attended by additional cadres of technicians.
This book is a technological history. To many contemporaries the
narrative may read too much like a technical manual, but the author's
concern is for posterity, when the technical manuals may be lost or
dispersed (as many are already) and knowledgeable participants have
long since died. The narrative approach was largely predicated on
questions that might well be asked by future generations: How were the
Saturns made? How did they work? Two other histories, already published,
deal with subjects keyed to the Apollo-Saturn program: (1) the develop-
ment of the Apollo command and service modules along with the lunar
module, and (2) the construction and operation of launch facilities at
Cape Kennedy. These books contain much of the political and adminis-
trative struggles surrounding the origins and development of the Apollo
program, and it would be redundant to retell the whole story for the
Saturn history. I have therefore included only the background that
seemed necessary to put the Saturn in proper perspective, and Part Two
recapitulates the programmatic and administrative origins of Saturn.
The bulk of the text is devoted to the theme of technological develop-
ment. Even chapter 9, on management, is geared to the specifics of the
technological management of Saturn vehicles.
The decision to treat the history of the Saturn program as a
technological narrative shaped the nature of all sections of the book. So
that some of the innovations and advances might be appreciated, it
seemed advisable to include a brief historical overview of rocket technol-
ogy. Against this background, I hope the Saturn story will stand out with
greater clarity.
The narrative itself is organized into seven parts. The question was
how to deal with the complexity of many simultaneous programs during
the Saturn development that involved the various engines, stages, and
associated equipment for three separate launch vehicles. A strict chrono-
logical organization seemed unnecessarily confusing. The topical approach,
xvi
PREFACE
although constructed in a loose chronological sequence, provided the
opportunity to deal with the early technology involved in Saturn I and
Saturn IB launch vehicles primarily in terms of the concept of clustering
tanks and engines. The engines themselves, although they possessed
inherent differences, evolved out of common principles of engine design
and cryogenic technology. Dealing with these propulsion systems as a
separate unit made the significance of their development stand out more
clearly. Similarly, I analyzed the evolution of rocket stages as a unit and
emphasized propellant tankage for the Saturn V vehicle. Although many
early Saturn flights were concurrent with the research and development
phases, all the launches are summarized in two chapters toward the end
of the book. Just as the flights were the culmination of Apollo-Saturn,
discussion of them all at the end of the narrative seemed logical.
The manned operations involving the spacecraft — the activities of
the launch crews at liftoff — the role of the astronauts — these events
involved discrete numbers of human actors. The inherent drama in
launches and missions tended to spotlight the people involved. On the
other hand, development of the Saturn launch vehicle rested on millions
of hours of prior research and development and on thousands of
designers, engineers, technicians, and specialists who worked behind the
scenes. It was often impossible to single out a specific individual respon-
sible for a specific achievement because most of the major decisions and
breakthroughs resulted from elaborate team efforts. In fact, one veteran
of the Marshall Space Flight Center told me that he preferred that the
Saturn history not mention people at all. It was too hard, he explained, to
isolate significant achievements without mentioning dozens of people
who made successful contributions.
The launch vehicle, as dramatic as it was during liftoff, played a
minor role in the total duration of a mission. It was visible to observers
for only eight minutes or so as it blazed into orbit. The personnel of
Houston's Mission Control and the astronaut crew occupied center stage
for the lion's share of the lunar mission. For all the spectacular effects of
the Saturn vehicle's awesome launch, most of the Saturn story deals with
many years of unglamorous research, development, and test. It is a story
of prior work: of nuts, bolts, and pyrotechnics — and that is the story I
have tried to tell in these pages.
June 1979 R.E.B.
Houston
xvn
Acknowledgments
Dr. Rudolph Hermann, Director of the Research Institute of the
University of Alabama at Huntsville (UAH), encouraged much of the
early work of the Saturn history project. His successor, Dr. John F.
Porter, Jr., and Dr. J. Edwin Rush, Director of Graduate Programs and
Research at UAH, provided continuing encouragement and support.
Frederick I. Ordway III and David L. Christensen were primarily
responsible for acquiring specialized documentation under the UAH
contract. With unusual accuracy and efficiency, Mrs. M. L. Childress
helped set up the documentary files and their annotated index and typed
several early drafts of the history. John Stuart Beltz, one of the original
historians on the project, drafted several "working papers" on aspects of
the Saturn program that were helpful in preparing the final manuscript.
Beltz conducted several interviews and acquired contractor documenta-
tion, particularly concerning the S-II stage of the Saturn V. Many long
conversations with him helped shape this and other parts of the Saturn
narrative. Mitchell R. Sharpe of George C. Marshall Space Flight Center
developed working papers and bibliographies on early rocket history
and assisted in acquiring materials on Saturn management (chapter 9) and
the "all-up" launch of the first Saturn V (chapter 12).
At the MSFC Historical Office, David S. Akens, Leo L. Jones, and
A. Ruth Jarrell offered continuous assistance. After the office was
abolished, Robert G. Sheppard, Don Lakey, and Betty Davis helped fill
requests for additional information and coordinated the distribution of
preliminary copies of the manuscript within MSFC for editorial com-
ment. Bonnie Holmes, in the MSFC Director's Office, provided invalua-
ble help during a follow-up research visit to MSFC during the summer of
1975 and helped acquire photographs and drawings.
During the final phases of completing the manuscript, the docu-
ments of the Saturn history project were temporarily transferred to the
Johnson Space Center (JSC) near the University of Houston/Clear Lake
City (UH/CLC) campus. James M. Grimwood, JSC Historian, not only
xix
STAGES TO SATURN
provided shelf space for these documents but also provided office
facilities, access to the coffee pot, encouragement, and advice. My debt to
him is considerable. I wish to thank Sally Gates and my other colleagues,
also of JSC, at work on NASA histories: Edward and Linda Ezell and
David Compton, whose interest and suggestions were unfailingly helpful.
At UH/CLC, Dr. Calvin Cannon, Dean of Human Sciences and Humani-
ties, and Dr. Peter Fischer, Director of Programs in Humanities, generously
cooperated in arranging teaching duties to benefit research and writing.
Special thanks go to Jean Sherwood and Myra Hewitt Young who worked
so cheerfully and conscientiously in typing the manuscript.
Dr. Eugene M. Emme, of the History Office at NASA Headquarters
in Washington, D.C., organized and guided the NASA historical pro-
gram and monitored the Apollo-Saturn history effort. Lee Saegesser,
archivist in the History Office, invariably turned up needed illustrations
and documents. I owe a special debt, however, to Dr. Monte D. Wright,
Director of the History Office, and Dr. Frank W. Anderson, Jr.,
Publications Manager, for their painstaking and thorough editing of
early drafts of the manuscript. I learned much from their criticisms, and
the manuscript, I trust, is much the better for their close attention to it. I
would like to emphasize here that I have had complete freedom in
interpreting the Saturn program in my own way. I was only cautioned at
one point not to write in such a way to open myself to the charge of
delivering a "company history."
Personnel from NASA and contractors' offices all over the United
States diligently and graciously responded to requests for additional
illustrations and documentation. Dozens of NASA and contractor per-
sonnel (the majority of whom still remain unknown to me) read various
drafts of the manuscript and returned copies with suggestions and
corrections. Since I cannot possibly identify and list all of them, I can only
acknowledge my great obligation to their interest in this history of
Saturn. Likewise, I want to acknowledge the cooperation extended by the
dozens of NASA and contractor personnel who consented to interviews.
As for any remaining errors of fact or interpretation, they are mine.
Portions of this text have appeared elsewhere, and I wish to ac-
knowledge the following publications and editors for cooperation in
incorporating revised versions in the present text: "Aircraft for the Space
Age: The Guppy Series of Transports," Aerospace Historian (Summer
1974); "From the S-IV to the S-IVB: The Evolution of Rocket Stage for
Space Exploration, "Journal of the British Interplanetary Society (December
1979); "To Make a Giant Leap: Rocket Engines for Manned Lunar
Missions," in Kent Newmyer, ed., Historical Essays in Honor of Kenneth R.
Rossman (Doane College, Crete, Neb., 1980).
I could never have finished the history of ISaturn without the
affection and encouragement of my wife Linda and without the heart-
warming interest of Paula and Alex in "the rocket book."
xx
a
Prologue
The passage of time blurs many details. Part One is intended to
bring back into focus some of the facts, circumstances, and back-
ground of space exploration. The opening section of chapter 1 briefly
recapitulates the flight of Apollo 11 — the first lunar landing mission — and
provides the opportunity to introduce some of the hardware and
nomenclature of the Apollo-Saturn program. A historical overview of
rocketry, including the main threads of Saturn's origins, provides a
background for the scope and boldness of Apollo 11 and the Saturn
adventure in the chapters that follow.
Concepts and Origins
Movement of the rocket from the assembly site to the launch pad
was scheduled for 20 May 1969. In slow sequence, the 142-meter-
high doors ponderously opened, retracting upward like a vertical accor-
dion, revealing the launch vehicle inside the huge gray structure known
as the Vehicle Assembly Building. As the folding doors moved higher,
the bright morning sun highlighted the whiteness of the three-stage
launch vehicle with its scarlet lettering and black markings. Most of the
American public, and the world, knew the towering 1 1 1 -meter rocket as
the Saturn V or the Apollo 1 1 . To the men and women who built it, it was
known better by its official designation: AS-506. Whatever its name,
everyone knew its destiny. This rocket was going to be the first to land
men on the moon.
Other Saturn rockets had preceded it. From Kennedy Space Center
(KSC), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's facility on
Florida's Atlantic coast, 10 Saturn I vehicles were launched from 1961 to
1965, and five Saturn IB vehicles were launched between 1966 and
1968.1 Prior to the launch of Apollo 11, between 1967 and 1969 NASA
launched two unmanned Saturn V rockets and three manned vehicles in
qualifying flights. The manned lunar landing was the payoff. This
mission, with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael
Collins as the crew, commanded attention as none before had done.
THE FLIGHT OF AS-506
The launch of AS-506 took place on schedule. Ignition occurred at
31 minutes and 50 seconds past 9:00 a.m., and seconds later, the rocket
left Earth, bound for the moon, at 9:32 a.m. EOT, 16 July 1969.
STAGES TO SATURN
The intricacies of a successful lunar mission dictated a multiphased
operation, and the Saturn V was a multistage rocket. Early plans for the
moon rocket included proposals for a comparatively simple "one-shot"
vehicle in the form of a single-stage rocket. For all the attraction of the
basic simplicity of a single-stage rocket as compared with a multistage
vehicle, designers finally discarded it. The single-stage concept would
have required a rocket of great girth and structural strength to carry all
the required propellants. As a single-stage vehicle climbed into space, a
considerable weight penalty developed because all the weight of the
empty tankage had to be carried along. This weight penalty severely
limited the size of the payload — in this case, a manned spacecraft. The
multistage design allowed the first stage, with its big booster engines, to
drop off once its rocket propellants were depleted. The second stage
was more efficient because it had relatively less weight to push further
into the planned trajectory, and it benefited from the accelerative forces
imparted to it by the first stage. By the same token, the third stage had an
even lighter weight and an even higher acceleration. In addition, the
multistage approach permitted the use of special high-energy fuels in the
upper stages. These considerations played a large role in the develop-
ment of the Saturn V as a three-stage launch vehicle.
For the Apollo 1 1 mission, components of the Saturn V launch
vehicle and the Apollo spacecraft had arrived in segments at Cape
Kennedy. Whether they reached their destination by ship, barge, plane,
or truck, they were all consigned for delivery to the Vehicle Assembly
Building (VAB). Inside, they were stacked together to make up the moon
rocket. The VAB was the heart of NASA's mobile launch concept, a
radical departure from earlier tradition in rocket launching. Previous
custom was to "stack" (assemble) the rocket at the launch pad itself, with
minimal protection from the elements afforded by a comparatively
makeshift structure thrown up around the rocket and its launching
tower.
This approach completely tied up the launch pad during the careful
stacking procedures and lengthy checkout. The size and complexity of
the Saturn V dictated a change in tactics. NASA was planning a heavy
schedule of Saturn launches and simply could not accept the consequent
tie-up of launch sites. In a bold new approach, NASA implemented the
mobile launch concept, which entailed the erection and checkout of
several of the three-stage vehicles and spacecraft inside one gargantuan
building, the VAB, with equipment to move the readied vehicles to a
nearby launch site. At KSC's Launch Complex 39, a small army of
engineers and technicians received components of the Saturn V, checked
them out, assembled the complete vehicle, and conducted the launch.
The facilities of the sprawling complex included the VAB, the mobile
launcher, the crawler-transporter, the crawlerway to the launch pad, the
mobile service structure, and the launch pad itself.2
CONCEPTS AND ORIGINS
The first stage of Saturn V, the S-IC, employed a cluster of five F-l
engines of 6 672 000 newtons (1 500 000 pounds) of thrust each, for a
total of 33 360 000 newtons (7 500 000 pounds) ot thrust. The first-stage
propellant tanks contained 767 cubic meters (203 000 gallons) of RP-1
fuel (a kerosene-type fuel) and 1251 cubic meters (331 000 gallons) of
oxidizer (liquid oxygen, or LOX). The S-IC consumed these propellants
in a fiery holocaust lasting only 2.5 minutes, by which time the Saturn V
was boosted to a speed of about 9700 kilometers per hour at the cutoff
altitude of around 61 kilometers. The spent first stage fell away, to fall
into the sea, and the S-II second stage took over. Like the first stage, the
S-II also mounted a cluster of five engines, but these were the 1 112 000
newtons (250 000 pounds) of thrust J-2 type, burning liquid hydrogen as
fuel, and using liquid oxygen as the oxidizer. In the course of its
six-minute "burn," the second stage propelled the Saturn V to an altitude
of 184 kilometers, accelerating to a speed of 24 620 kilometers per hour.
At this point, the Saturn vehicle had nearly reached the speed and
altitude for Earth orbit. After the second stage dropped away, following
its precursor into the ocean, the S-IVB third stage then hurtled the
113 400-kilogram payload into a 190- kilometer orbit, using its single J-2
engine for a burn of 2.75 minutes. In this final part of the orbital mission
sequence, the remainder of the launch vehicle and its payload barreled
into orbit at a speed of 28 200 kilometers per hour.
The S-IVB did not deplete its fuel during the third-stage burn,
because the mission called for the S-IVB to reignite, firing the spacecraft
out of Earth orbit and into the translunar trajectory to the moon. During
the parking orbit (one to three circuits of the Earth), Astronauts
Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins completed a final check of the third stage
and the spacecraft, while ground technicians analyzed telemetry and
other data before making the decision to restart the J-2 for the translunar
trajectory burn. No problems showed up to suggest the possibility of
terminating the flight, so mission personnel waited for the precise
moment in Earth orbit for the last five-minute operation of the Saturn V
launch vehicle. Two hours and 44 minutes after liftoff, over the southern
Pacific, the S-IVB ignited and accelerated the spacecraft to 39 400 kilom-
eters per hour — enough to carry the spacecraft out of Earth orbit and
place it in a trajectory bound for the rnoon. The third stage was not
immediately separated from the rest of the spacecraft. First, the com-
mand and service module (CSM) separated from the lunar module
adapter, reversed itself and performed a docking maneuver to pull the
lunar module away from the now spent third stage and the instrument
unit. This transposition and docking maneuver signaled the end of the
Saturn V launch vehicle's useful life.
As Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins accelerated toward the moon
with the lunar module anchored to the CSM, the S-IVB and the
instrument unit were left behind in space. With both the spacecraft and
^^P%. .^^r
Apollo 11
16-24 July 1969
Left, the big S-IC stage
of Apollo 11 arrived at
Kennedy Space Center
in February 1969. In
March the S-II second
stage (right) is mated to
the first stage.
In May Apollo 11 rolls out of the Vehicle
Assembly Building on its crawler (above)
and arrives at Launch Complex 39 (right).
On 16 July, Apollo 11 is
launched (left); 2.5 minutes later
the first stage separates and the
second-stage engines ignite (right).
On 20 July the first men walked
on the moon -(right, below).
CONCEPTS AND ORIGINS
the third stage still in lunar-oriented trajectories, mission planners
wanted to minimize the chances of the two elements colliding with each
other. The spacecraft performed a three-second burn with its service
propulsion system to impart a velocity increase of six meters per second.
This procedure not only widened the distance between the two, but also
put the spacecraft and the three-man crew into a free-return trajectory,
which used the lunar gravitational field to aid in a return to Earth in case
the lunar landing had to be aborted. NASA also wanted to avoid the
chances of the S-IVB impacting into the lunar surface in the vicinity of
the astronauts' landing zone, so an automated sequence triggered a
dump of residual propellants in the S-IV to realign the third stage's
trajectory in such a way that the moon's gravitational field increased the
S-IVB's velocity in a different direction. This "slingshot" maneuver was
effective enough to throw the stage into solar orbit, where it would
eventually impact into the sun in a dramatic demise.3
PYROTECHNIC PIONEERING
In its soaring flight out of the dominance of Earth's gravity, Apollo 1 1
marked one of the great milestones in rocket technology. The chemical
and solid propulsion systems of the Saturn V and the Apollo spacecraft
represented the distillation of concepts and plans and work by a host of
people who had continuously worked toward the goal of manned lunar
exploration. The rocket itself — the Saturn V — represented the culmina-
tion of generations of technological and theoretical work stretching all
the way back to the 13th century.
There was one common denominator for the military, whaling, and
life-saving rockets from antiquity through World War I: they were
powder-burping, or "solid," rockets. A solid rocket, although simple, had
several shortcomings. The rate of thrust after ignition of the rocket could
not be controlled; there was no guidance after the launch; the powder
technology at the turn of the century seemed to dictate a missile with an
optimum weight of about 68 kilograms (most were in the 14-23-kilogram
category); and the range rarely exceeded 2700 meters. Advances in
artillery in the late 19th century had already displaced the rocket as an
effective weapon.4 For space exploration, solid-fueled rockets seemed to
lack the thrust potential for extreme range or for reaching high altitudes.
Visionaries who were thinking of using rockets for space exploration had
to consider other sources for fuel, and there were still the problems of
guidance, as well as the problem of human survival in the space
environment.
At the same time that powder rockets began to fall from favor in the
late 19th century, a realistic theory and development of space flight, with
a strong interest in new types of propellants, was beginning to evolve.
STAGES TO SATURN
Three pivotal figures in the new era of rocket technology were Konstantin
Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935), Robert H. Goddard (1882-1945), and Her-
mann Oberth (1894- ). They were imaginative men who drew their
theories and experiments from the growing bank of science and technol-
ogy that had developed around the turn of the century. For one thing,
the successful liquefaction of gases meant that sufficient quantities of fuel
and oxidizer could be carried aboard a rocket for space missions.
Research into heat physics helped lay the foundations for better engine
designs, and advances in metallurgy stimulated new standards for tanks,
plumbing, and machining to withstand high pressures, heat, and the
super-cold temperatures of liquefied gases. Progress in mathematics,
navigational theory, and control mechanisms made successful guidance
systems possible.
Although Tsiolkovsky did not construct any working rockets, his
numerous essays and books helped point the way to practical and
successful space travel. Tsiolkovsky spent most of his life as an obscure
mathematics teacher in the Russian provinces, but he made some
pioneering studies in liquid chemical rocket concepts and recommended
liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as the optimum propellants. In the
1920s, Tsiolkovsky analyzed and mathematically formulated the tech-
nique for staged vehicles to reach escape velocities from Earth. In
contrast to the theoretical work of Tsiolkovsky, Robert Goddard made
basic contributions to rocketry in flight hardware. Following graduation
from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Goddard completed graduate
work at Clark University in 1911 and became a member of the faculty
there. In the 1920s, he continued earlier experiments with liquid-fueled
vehicles and is credited with the first flight of a liquid-propellant rocket
on 16 March 1926. With private support, Goddard was able to pursue
development of larger rockets; he and a small crew of technicians
established a test site in a remote area of the Southwest not far from
Roswell, New Mexico. From 1930 to 1941, Goddard made substantial
progress in the development of progressively larger rockets, which
attained altitudes of 2300 meters, and refined his equipment for guid-
ance and control, his techniques of welding, and his insulation, pumps,
and other associated equipment. In many respects, Goddard laid the
essential foundations of practical rocket technology, including his research
paper entitled "A Method of Attaining Extreme Altitude" (published by
the Smithsonian Institution in 1919) — a primer in theory, calculations,
and methods — and his numerous patents that comprised a broad catalog
of functional rocket hardware. In spite of the basic contributions of
Tsiolkovsky in theory, and of Goddard in workable hardware, the work
of both men went largely unheralded for years. Tsiolkovsky's work
remained submerged by the political conditions in Russia and the low
priority given to rocket research prior to World War II. Goddard
preferred to work quietly, absorbed in the immediate problems 'of
8
CONCEPTS AND ORIGINS
hardware development and wary of the extreme sensationalism the
public seemed to attach to suggestions of rocketry and space travel.
Although the work of Hermann Oberth was original in many
respects, he was also significant as advocate and catalyst because he
published widely and was active in popularizing the concepts of space
travel and rocketry. Born in Transylvania of German parentage, Oberth
later became a German citizen. He became interested in space through
the fictional works of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne and left medical school
to take up a teaching post where he could pursue his study and
experimenting in rocketry. Oberth's work was independent of Tsiolkovsky's,
and he heard of Goddard's brief paper of 1919 just as his own book, The
Rocket into Planetary Space, was going to press in 1923. The Rocket into
Planetary Space was read widely, translated into English, and was the
precursor of many other books, articles, and lectures by the energetic
author. Oberth analyzed the problems of rocket technology as well as the
physiological problems of space travel, and his writings encouraged many
other enthusiasts and researchers. In 1928, Oberth and others were
consultants for a German film about space travel called The Girl in the
Moon. The script included the now-famous reverse countdown before
ignition and liftoff. As part of the publicity for the movie, Oberth and his
staff planned to build a small rocket and launch it. The rocket was only
static-fired and never launched, but the experience was a stimulating one
for the work crew, including an 18-year-old student named Wernher von
Braun.
During the ensuing years, Oberth continued to teach while writing
and lecturing on space flight, and he served as president of the Verein
fur Raumschiffahrt (VfR) (Society for Space Travel), which had been
formed in 1927. The existence of organized groups like the VfR signaled
the increasing fascination with modern rocketry in the 1930s, and there
were frequent exchanges of information among the VfR and other
groups like the British Interplanetary Society and the American Inter-
planetary Society. Even Goddard occasionally had correspondence in the
American Interplanetary Society's Bulletin, but he remained aloof from
other American researchers in general, cautious about his results, and
concerned about patent infringements. Because of Goddard's reticence,
in contrast to the more visible personalities in the VfR, and because of the
publicity given the German V-2 of World War II, the work of British,
American, and other groups has been overshadowed. If not as spectacu-
lar as the work on the V-2 rockets, their work nevertheless contributed to
the growth of rocket technology in the prewar era and the successful use
of a variety of Allied rocket weapons in the war. Although groups such as
the American Interplanetary Society (which later became the American
Rocket Society) succeeded in building and launching several small
rockets, much of their significance lay in their role as the source of a
growing number of technical papers on rocket technologies. But rocket
STAGES TO SATURN
development was complex and expensive. The costs and the difficulties
of planning and organization meant that sooner or later the major work
in rocket development would occur under the aegis of permanent
government agencies and government-funded research bodies.0
In America, significant team research began in 1936 at the Guggenheim
Aeronautical Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology. In
1939 this group received the first Federal funding for rocket research.
Research on rockets to assist aircraft takeoff was especially successful.
The project was known as JATO, for Jet-Assisted Take-Off, because the
word rocket still carried negative overtones in many bureaucratic circles.
During World War II, U.S. armed forces made wide use of the bazooka
(an antitank rocket) as well as a variety of barrage rockets launched from
ground batteries or from ships, and high-velocity air-to-surface missiles.
The JATO work also led to the development of a significant liquid-fueled
rocket, a two-stage Army ballistic missile with a solid booster known as the
U.S. rocket pioneer Robert H.
Goddard poses beside his rocket (left)
before it achieved the first flight by
a liquid-fueled rocket on 16 March
1926. In Germany (above) a rocket
demonstration was held in August
1930 at the Chemish-Technische
Reichsansalt (equivalent to the U.S.
Bureau of Standards). Standing to
the right of the rocket is Hermann
Oberth; youthful Wernher von Braun
is second from the right.
CONCEPTS AND ORIGINS
Wac Corporal. The first-stage booster, adapted from an air-to-ground
rocket dubbed the Tiny Tim, developed 222 000 newtons (50 000 pounds)
of thrust, and the second stage, filled with nitric acid-aniline liquid
propellants, developed 6700 newtons (1500 pounds) of thrust, a combi-
nation that fired a payload up to an altitude of 69 kilometers. But the
Corporal program did not reach full development until after 1945.6 The
most striking military rocket of the wartime era came from Germany.
THE LEGACY OF PEENEMUENDE
In the early 1930s, the VfR attracted the attention of the German
Army because the Treaty of Versailles, which restricted some types of
armaments, left the door open to rocket development, and the military
began rocket research as a variation of long-range artillery. Captain
Walter Dornberger, an Army artillery officer with advanced degrees in
engineering, spearheaded military rocket development. One of his chief
assistants was a 20-year-old enthusiast from the VfR, Wernher von
Braun, who joined the organization in October 1932. By December 1932,
the Army rocket group had static-fired a liquid-propellant rocket engine
at the Army's proving ground near Kummersdorf, south of Berlin.
Wernher von Braun was born in 1912 at Wirsitz, Germany, in Posen
Province, the second of three sons of Baron and Baroness Magnus von
Braun. A present of a telescope in honor of his church confirmation
started the youthful von Braun's interest in space, spurring him to write
an article about an imaginary trip to the moon. Fascination with the
prospects of space travel never left him, and in 1930 he joined the VfR,
where he met Oberth and other rocket enthusiasts. At the same time, he
attended the Charlottenburg Institute of Technology and did apprentice
work at a machine factory in Berlin. Before completing his bachelor's
degree in mechanical engineering in 1932, he had participated in the
space-travel film project and had come into contact with German
ordnance officers. This contact led to the Army's support of von Braun's
doctoral research in rocket combustion, which he completed in a brief
period of two years, and he received his degree from Friedrich-Wilhelms-
Universitat of Berlin in 1934.7
By the next year, it became evident that the available test and
research facilities at Kummersdorf were not going to be adequate for the
scale of the hardware under development. A new location, shared jointly
by the German Army and Air Force, was developed instead. Located on
the island of Usedom in the Baltic, the new Peenemuende facility (named
for the nearby Peene river) was geographically remote enough to satisfy
military security and boasted enough land area, about 52 square kilome-
ters, to permit adequate separation of test stands, research facilities,
production areas, and residential sections. Test shots could be fired into
11
STAGES TO SATURN
the Baltic Sea, avoiding impact in inhabited regions. Starting with
about 80 researchers in 1936, the facility comprised nearly 5000 person-
nel by the time of the first launch of the V-2 in 1942. Later in the war,
with production in full swing, the work force numbered about 18 000.
The V-2 (from Vergeltungswaffen-2, or "weapon of retaliation") had
no counterpart in the Allied inventory. The V-2 was 14 meters long, with
a diameter of 1.5 meters, and capable of speeds up to 5800 kilometers
per hour to an altitude of 100 kilometers. By the end of the war,
Germany had launched nearly 3000 of the remarkable V-2 weapons
against targets in England and elsewhere in western Europe at ranges up
to 320 kilometers. With the support of government, private, and univer-
sity sources for research and development, the von Braun team at
Peenemuende solved numerous hardware fabrication problems and
technical difficulties (such as the production, storage, and handling of
liquid oxygen in large quantity), while developing unique management
skills in rocket technology.8
Early in the V-2 development program, its creators began looking at
the rocket in terms of its promise for space research as well as for military
applications. The continuous undercurrent of fascination with space
travel was real enough to land von Braun in the clutches of the Gestapo.
Late in the war, the German SS made attempts to wrest control of
Peenemuende from Dornberger. After von Braun himself turned down
direct overtures from SS chieftain Heinrich Himmler, he was arrested at
two o'clock one morning by a trio of Gestapo agents. Following two weeks
of incarceration in prison at Stettin, von Braun was hauled into an SS
court to hear the charges against him. Among other accusations, his
prosecutors accused him of opposing the V-2 strikes on England and
charged that he was more interested in rocketry for space research than
in rocketry for warfare. Dornberger had to intercede directly with
Adolf Hitler to get von Braun released.
By early 1945, it was apparent that the war was nearing its end. Von
Braun called a secret meeting of his top staff and reviewed their options:
stay on at Peenemuende in the face of the advancing Russian units or try
to head south and surrender to the Americans. There was no dissent — go
south. In railroad cars, trucks, and automobiles emblazoned with red and
white placards reading Vorhaben zur besonderen Verwendung (Project for
Special Disposition), the Peenemuende convoy bluffed its way through
military and Gestapo checkpoints, arriving in the Harz mountain region
in Bavaria with tons of documents and hundreds of Peenemuende
personnel and their families. After regrouping, the von Braun team,
unaware that the United States was already formulating a program to
round up leading German scientific and technical personnel, began
making plans for contacting the Americans. Best known as Operation
Paperclip, the American search for the von Braun team had top priority.9
12
CONCEPTS AND ORIGINS
On 2 May 1944, von Braun's younger brother Magnus climbed on a
bicycle and set off down a country road in search of the Americans.
Magnus was delegated for this delicate mission because he spoke better
English. Contact was established, and several months of effort cleared the
bureaucratic hurdles and prepared the way for over 100 selected
German personnel to come to the United States. Finally, von Braun and
six others arrived at Fort Strong in Boston on 29 September 1945. If the
vanguard found the circumstances of their entry into the United States
somewhat confusing and disorganized, they found American rocket
development in much the same state of affairs.10
EARLY POSTWAR AMERICAN ROCKETRY
The National Security Act of 1947 established a unified military
organization under the Secretary of Defense, with separate and equal
departments for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, and U.S. Air Force. In the
nascent field of military rocketry, guidelines for responsibilities of
research, development, and deployment were decidedly fuzzy. As a
result, American missile development in the postwar era suffered from
interservice rivalry and lack of strong overall coordination, a situation
that persisted to the mid-1950s. The Air Force, successful in long-range
bombardment operations during the war, made a strong case for
leadership in missile development. On the other hand, the Navy worked
up studies showing the capabilities of missile operations from ships and
submarines, and the Army viewed missiles as logical adjuncts to heavy
artillery. But the Air Force had initiated long-range missile development
even before the end of the war, and this momentum gave them early
preeminence in the field of missile development.
Because American missile technology did not yet have the capability
for large rocket-propelled vehicles, the Air Force at first concentrated on
winged missiles powered by air-breathing turbojet powerplants. The Air
Force stable of cruise missiles possessed ranges from 1000 to 11 000
kilometers and were capable of carrying the heavy, awkward nuclear
warheads produced in the early postwar era. Until the Atomic Energy
Commission made lighter and less unwieldy warheads available, the Air
Force pressed on with cruise missiles at the expense of development of
rocket-powered intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) such as the
Atlas. The Navaho project represented the peak of the cruise missile.
Weighing in at 136 000 kilograms and capable of Mach 3 speeds, the
Navaho's research and development costs came to $690 million. It never
reached operational status before cancellation in 1957, when ICBM
technology overtook it. The Navaho made three successful flights, and
the fallout from certain aspects of Navaho research and development
13
STAGES TO SATURN
turned out to be very significant in other areas. The experience in
high-speed aerodynamics was applied to other aeronautical research
programs, and the missile's all-inertial guidance system found application
in ICBMs' and submarine navigational systems. Moreover, the booster
units for Navaho were noteworthy in ICBM designs. Even though the
Navaho used a ramjet engine for sustained flight to the target, the heavy
vehicle was boosted into the air by three liquid-propellant rocket engines
of 600000 newtons (135000 pounds) of thrust each. Developed by
Rocketdyne (a division of North American Aviation, Inc.), variants of
these powerplants were developed for the Air Force's Thor and Atlas
missiles, and for the Army's Redstone and Jupiter rockets. The rocket
engines for the latter played a highly significant role in the evolution of
the Saturn vehicles.11
In the early postwar era, while the Air Force developed cruise
missiles, the Army generated an increasing expertise in liquid propulsion
rocketry through special projects at the White Sands Proving Ground in
New Mexico. At White Sands, von Braun and the rocketry experts from
Peenemuende not only made lasting contributions to American ballistic
missile capabilities but made early ventures into space exploration.
Besides test firing a series of captured V-2 rockets for the Army's
operational experience, the German experts helped coordinate a series
of upper atmospheric research probes. One such project, known as the
Bumper Series, employed a V-2 as the first stage with a Wac Corporal
upper stage, one of which reached an altitude of 393 kilometers. In 1950,
the last two Bumper launches took place in Florida, at the Long Range
Proving Ground, located at Cape Canaveral — a prelude to U.S. space
launches of the future. Another major activity included the Hermes
program and involved the General Electric Company's working with the
von Braun team under Army Ordnance cognizance. During Hermes
operations, the basic V-2 rocket underwent successive modifications,
increasing its performance envelope and payload capabilities, while giving
the American contractors progressive experience in rocket technology. A
number of more-or-less indigenous American vehicles were also flown.
Although none became operational, they afforded a highly useful
exposure to rocket development for government and contractor agencies
alike, and one of the concepts, Hermes C-l, contributed directly to the
development of the first significant American ballistic missile, the Army's
Redstone.12
As the 1940s drew to a close, the Army decided to establish a new
center of rocket activity. Although White Sands remained active as a test
range, a facility devoted to basic research and prototype hardware
development was needed. A site selection team finally settled on Redstone
Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. Established in 1941 for the production
of various chemical compounds and pyrotechnic devices (including small
14
CONCEPTS AND ORIGINS
solid-fuel rockets), Redstone had all the necessary attributes: shops,
laboratories, assembly areas, and ample surrounding land to ensure both
security and space for static-firing tests. Moreover, it was accessible to the
Long Range Proving Ground, a rocket launch area of growing signifi-
cance at Cape Canaveral. The transfer of von Braun's work from Fort
Bliss was approved, and the Ordnance Guided Missile Center was in
operation in Huntsville by the close of 1950.
During the Korean War, the new research center was assigned the
development of a surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 160
kilometers. A propulsion system adapted from the Navaho program
enhanced rapid development, and the first launch of the new Redstone
occurred at Cape Canaveral on 20 August 1953. Before declaring it
operational in 1958, the von Braun team fired 36 more test vehicles. The
prolonged Redstone development program epitomized the thorough,
step-by-step engineering conservatism developed during the early years
of rocket development at Peenemuende. This conservatism was a contin-
uing trait of the von Braun team throughout the evolution of the Saturn
program. Another point of significance concerned the involvement of
the Chrysler Corporation as the prime contractor who built the last 20
R&D models and continued production of the operational models. The
Chrysler connection provided valuable experience in government-
contractor relationships that was the keynote of the development of the
Saturn series of launch vehicles, and Chrysler, like Rocketdyne, also
became an important contractor in the Saturn program.
In the meantime, the accumulated design experience of the Redstone
program contributed to a joint Army-Navy development program involv-
ing the Jupiter vehicle, a direct derivative of the Redstone. This short-
lived but interesting cooperation had its origins in the immediate postwar
era. Because the Navy had its own interests in rocket technology and the
Army possessed a reasonable supply of V-2 rockets, the two services
collaborated in experimental V-2 launches from the flight deck of the
aircraft carrier Midway in 1947. At an altitude of 1500 meters above the
carrier's deck, a missile disintegrated in a ball of flame and debris. The
specter of catastrophe, if such a large liquid-fueled rocket accidentally
exploded on a ship at sea and spewed its hugh volume of volatile
propellants everywhere, led the Navy to proceed cautiously with liquid-
propellant rockets. Nevertheless, the Department of Defense encouraged
the formation of the joint Army-Navy venture in ballistic missiles in 1955,
and the Army's designated organization in the partnership was the Army
Ballistic Missile Agency (ABM A), created in 1956 and staffed primarily
out of von Braun's group at the Redstone Arsenal. Major General John
B. Medaris became ABMA's commanding officer. Wise in the ways of
military bureaucracy, the enterprising Medaris also won unusually wide
latitude in determining the direction of ABMA's research and allocation
STAGES TO SATURN
of funds. Medaris and the equally venturesome von Braun made ABM A
a remarkably resourceful and aggressive organization, especially when
ABMA found itself in a solo role in Jupiter's eventual development.
This situation came late in 1956, when naval experts decided to
concentrate on solid-fuel rockets. This direction eliminated logistic and
operational difficulties inherent in the deployment of liquid-propellant
rockets in seaborne operations, particularly with missiles launched under-
water from submarines. The Navy gave official authorization to its own
strategic missile — the Polaris — early in 1957. Based on a solid-fuel motor,
the Polaris nevertheless borrowed from the Jupiter program in the form
of its guidance system, evolved from the prior collaboration of ABMA
and the Navy.
ABMA continued Jupiter development into a successful intermedi-
ate range ballistic missile (IRBM), even though the Army eventually had
to surrender its operational deployment to the Air Force when a
Department of Defense directive late in 1956 restricted the Army to
missiles with a range of 320 kilometers or less. Even so, ABMA maintained
a role in Jupiter R&D, including high-altitude launches that added to
ABMA's understanding of rocket vehicle operations in the near-Earth
space environment. It was knowledge that paid handsome dividends
later.
Rockets of the 1950s: left to right: a captured German V-2 is
readied for firing at White Sands, New Mexico; an Air Force
Navaho is launched from the Air Force Missile Test Center,
Florida; an Army Jupiter C is launched from the missile
center with an Explorer satellite; Vanguard I is launched on
a Vanguard booster from the Atlantic Missile Range.
CONCEPTS AND ORIGINS
SATELLITES, THE SPACE RACE, AND THE BOOSTER GAP
During the early 1950s, the Atomic Energy Commission successfully
perfected smaller hydrogen-bomb warheads. In the Air Force, these
warheads caused cruise missile development to be replaced by new
emphasis on the Thor IRBM and the longer range missiles such as the
Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Successful launches of the
single-stage Thor and the one-and-a-half-stage Atlas occurred in 1957
and 1958, and the Air Force also began work on an advanced ICBM, the
Titan, a two-stage vehicle launched for the first time in 1959. The
increasing payload capability of these various missiles opened the possi-
bility of replacing their warheads with satellites and using them as
boosters to launch heavy scientific payloads into space. The United
States had already applied the growing expertise of rocket technology to
the development of a family of sounding rockets to carry instrumentation
for upper atmospheric research, such as the Navy's Aerobee and the
Viking, which would reach altitudes between 160 and 320 kilometers.
During the period of the International Geophysical Year 1957-1958,
many nations around the world conducted a coordinated program of
sounding rocket launches, including 210 sent up by the United States and
125 launched by the Soviet Union. However, the United States had an
even more ambitious goal than launching sounding rockets during the
International Geophysical Year. America planned to orbit its first small
satellite.
The satellite project began in 1955. In spite of the international
spirit of cooperation inherent in International Geophysical Year pro-
grams, a strong sentiment in the United States was that America should
not waste time and should attempt to orbit a satellite ahead of the
Russians. For the booster, a blue-ribbon selection panel from military and
industry analyzed a list of candidates that included the Atlas, the
Redstone, and the Viking. ABMA argued that Atlas was still untested in
1955. The Viking vehicle, its opponents noted, still required a program
to uprate its first-stage engines and develop new second and third stages
before it could become operational. On the other hand, the Army's
Jupiter C vehicle — a direct derivative of the proven Redstone — appeared
to have all the capabilities necessary to launch a satellite successfully. For
complex reasons, the committee selected the Viking; they argued that the
Viking had been intended from the start as a vehicle for space research
and that its development would not impinge on America's ballistic missile
program, which was considered to be lagging behind the Russians'
program. The choice of Viking, in the context of Cold War concerns over
international prestige and technological leadership, was a controversial
decision. The new program, to be known as Project Vanguard, was
authorized in September 1955 under the Department of the Navy.13
17
STAGES TO SATURN
Although the first stage was successfully launched on 23 October
1957, the first Vanguard with three "live" stages blew apart on the pad,
and its successor veered off course and disintegrated before it had
ascended six kilometers. As if these last two fiascos were not enough,
Vanguard was already overtaken by events. The Russians had orbited
Sputnik I on 4 October 1957. Within four weeks the Soviet Union
demonstrated that Sputnik was no fluke by launching a second orbital
payload; Sputnik II, carrying the dog "Laika," went into orbit on 3
November.14 The potent Russian boosters threw a long shadow over
Vanguard. Plans to use an existing military booster gained support
once again.
The honor of launching America's first satellite fell to the close-knit
group of pioneers who had dreamed of space exploration for so many
years, the von Braun team. When the Army's Redstone-Jupiter candidate
for the International Geophysical Year satellite was rejected, ABMA
assumed a low profile but kept up work. As one ABMA insider
explained, von Braun found a "diplomatic solution" to sustain develop-
ment of the Jupiter C by testing nose cones for the reentry of warheads.
Following launch, solid-propellant motors in the second and third stages
accelerated an inert fourth stage attached to an experimental nose cone.
The nose cones tested ablative protection as they reentered Earth's
atmosphere. After successful tests during the summer of 1957, von
Braun declared that a live fourth stage and a different trajectory would
have given the United States its orbiter. In any case, ABMA was not
unprepared to put an American payload into Earth orbit. Slightly more
than four weeks after the launch of Sputnik, the Secretary of Defense
finally acceded to persuasive pleas from ABMA to put up an artificial
satellite, using its own vehicle. Authorization from the secretary for two
satellite launches came on 8 November 1957, and the initial launch was
set for 30 January 1958. ABMA missed the target date by only one day,
when a Jupiter C orbited Explorer I on 31 January 1958. 15 The unquali-
fied success of Explorer I and its successors derived in large part from the
existing operational capability of the Jupiter C launch vehicle, from the
flexibility of ABMA's in-house capability, and from the technical exper-
tise of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which functioned administratively
as a unit of the California Institute of Technology and got a large share
of its funds through Army contracts. JPL developed the solid-fuel
propulsion units for the upper stages of the Jupiter C as well as the
payloads for the Explorer satellite. Within the next few months, the
Jupiter C vehicles, designated as Juno boosters for space launches, also
carried payloads into orbit around the moon and the sun.16
During the public consternation and political turmoil in the wake of
the Soviet space spectaculars, the American government began a thor-
ough reappraisal of its space program. One result was the establishment
of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in place
18
CONCEPTS AND ORIGINS
of the old National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).
Created when President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics
and Space Act into law on 29 July 1958, NASA was organized to ensure
strong civil involvement in space research so that space exploration
would be undertaken for peaceful purposes as well as for defense.
Although late in success, Project Vanguard was not without its benefits.
Vanguard I finally got into orbit on 17 March 1958, and two more
Vanguards attained orbit in 1959. The program yielded important
scientific results, as well as valuable operational experience. Upper stages
of the Vanguard vehicle were used in conjunction with later booster
vehicles such as the Thor and the Atlas, and the technique of gimbaled
(movable) engines for directional control was adapted to other rockets.17
The period 1958—1959 seemed to trigger feverish activity in space
exploration. In the months and years that followed, dozens of satellites
and space vehicles were launched, including space probes that landed on
Venus and the moon. Although other nations inaugurated space pro-
grams and launched their own boosters and scientific payloads, most
public attention fastened on the manned "space race" between the
U.S.S.R. and the United States. Within the first week of NASA's existence
in October 1958, Project Mercury was authorized to put an American
astronaut into orbit, and the space agency began negotiations to obtain
the necessary boosters and select candidates for astronaut training.
At that time, NASA did not have the resources to develop its own
boosters for space exploration. Mission planners reached into the inven-
tory of American ballistic missiles and finalized agreements with the
Army and ABMA for use of the Redstone, as well as the Atlas ICBM to be
acquired from the Air Force. To check out requirements and systems for
manned orbital operations, NASA planned to employ the Redstone for
suborbital launches, and the more powerful Atlas would be used for the
orbital missions. Selection of the first seven Mercury astronauts was
announced in the spring of 1959, and work proceeded on the develop-
ment and testing of the Mercury space capsule, including unmanned test
launches in 1960. Early in 1961 a Mercury-Redstone launch from Cape
Canaveral carried the chimpanzee "Ham" over 640 kilometers down-
range in an arching trajectory that reached a peak of 253 kilometers
above Earth. The chimp's successful flight and recovery confirmed the
soundness of the Mercury-Redstone systems and set the stage for a
suborbital flight by an American astronaut. But the Americans were
again upstaged by the Russians.
On 12 April 1961, Major Yuri Gagarin was launched aboard Vostok I
and completed one full orbit to become the first human being to travel in
orbit about the Earth. Just as the Russians appeared to have overtaken
the Americans in the area of unmanned space projects, they now seemed
to have forged ahead in manned exploration as well. Although Alan B.
Shepard made a successful suborbital flight atop ABMA's Redstone
19
STAGES TO SATURN
booster on 5 May, even this milestone was overshadowed when Soviet
Cosmonaut Gherman Titov roared into space aboard Vostok II on 6
August and stayed aloft for !7!/2 orbits. It was not until the following year
that Astronaut John H. Glenn became the first American to orbit the
Earth. Boosted by a modified Atlas ICBM, Friendship 7 lifted off from
Cape Canaveral on 20 February 1962 and orbited the Earth three times
before Glenn rode the capsule to splashdown and recovery in the
Atlantic.
At the Marshall Space Flight Center
(left), Dr. Wernher von Braun is flanked
by the seven original astronauts as he
explains details of rocket fabrication. At
right, a Mercury-Redstone rocket launches
Astronaut AlanB. Shepard on this na-
tion's first manned space flight. Below,
the manned flight vehicles are shown in
scale.
CONCEPTS AND ORIGINS
These and other manned flights proved that humans could safely
travel and perform various tasks in the hostile environment of space.
Over the next few years, both Russian and American manned programs
improved and refined booster and spacecraft systems, including multicrew
missions. The Russians again led the way in such missions with the flight
of Voshkod I in 1964 (a three-man crew), and a Russian cosmonaut
Aleksey Leonov performed the first "space walk" during the Voshkod II
mission in 1965. The same year, NASA began its own series of two-man
launches with the Gemini program. With a modified Titan II ICBM as
the booster, the first Gemini mission blasted off from Cape Kennedy on
23 March 1965, and the Gemini program, which continued into the
winter of 1966, included the first American space walks, as well as highly
important rendezvous and docking techniques. The maneuvers required
to bring two separate orbiting spacecraft to a point of rendezvous,
followed by the docking maneuver, helped pave the way for more
ambitious manned space missions. Plans for multimanned space stations
and lunar exploration vehicles depended on these rendezvous and
docking techniques, as well as the ability of astronauts to perform certain
tasks outside the protected environment of the spacecraft itself. The
successive flights of the Mercury-Redstone, Mercury-Atlas, and Gemini-
Titan missions were progressive elements in a grand design to launch a
circumlunar mission to the moon and return to the Earth.18
Against the background of Mercury and Gemini developments,
work . was already progressing on the Apollo-Saturn program. The
spacecraft for the Apollo adventure evolved out of the Mercury and
Gemini capsule hardware, and other research and development was
directed toward new technology required for a lunar lander and associated
systems. A parallel effort involved the development of an entirely
different family of boosters. Heretofore, NASA had relied on existing
boosters requisitioned from the armed services — the Redstone missile,
along with Thor, Atlas, and Titan. For manned lunar missions, a rocket
of unusual thrust and lifting capacity was called for — literally, a giant of a
booster. During 1960, the von Braun team was transferred from ABM A
to NASA, bringing not only its conceptual understanding of manned
space flight (based on preliminary studies in 1957 and 1959) but also its
acknowledged skills in the development of rockets. For manned missions,
the von Braun team developed a totally different big booster — the
Saturn.
21
The Saturn Building
Blocks
The original impetus for Saturn envisioned a brawny booster to
launch Department of Defense payloads. The von Braun team at the
Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABM A) received money from the Depart-
ment of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency to demonstrate
the concept. Furthermore, von Braun's group eventually became the
nucleus of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). These convolu-
tions and the vague outlines of evolving Saturn vehicle technology
constitute the themes of chapter 2.
The Saturn program eventually included three basic vehicles: Saturn
I, Saturn IB, and Saturn V. Chapter 3 describes the events that led to
these three separate rockets, whose configuration evolved out of the
choice to go the moon by means of the lunar orbit rendezvous technique.
MSFC began development of facilities to develop and test the mammoth
boosters. Chapter 3 concludes with a discussion of the design and
manufacture of lower-stage boosters for the Saturn I and Saturn IB.
23
Aerospace Alphabet: ABMA, ARPA, MSFC
In November 1956, when the Air Force finally triumphed over the
Army and Navy for leadership in long-range military rockets, planners
at ABMA momentarily regrouped to plot a new direction, a strategy for
large booster development geared instead to the exploration of space.
Having lost round one to the Air Force, ABMA's stratagem was to
leapfrog onward and upward to a quantum jump.1
In April 1957, ABMA began design studies on an advanced booster
concept. With a total thrust of approximately 6800000 newtons (1.5
million pounds) in the first stage alone, the proposed vehicle was
referred to as the Super-Jupiter. The impetus for the development of a
Super-Jupiter class apparently evolved from Department of Defense
plans for "certain advanced missions using space devices in communica-
tion," as well as space probes and weather satellites. However, such
payloads, especially satellite programs, required a booster much larger
than existing launch vehicles. The Department of Defense guidelines
called for a launch vehicle capable of putting 9000 to 18 000 kilograms
into Earth orbit or accelerating space probes of 2700 to 5400 kilograms to
escape velocity. At that time, ABMA estimated that satellite carriers on
order, such as Thor, Juno II, and Atlas, could be expected to put up to
1400 kilograms into orbit. This capability might be increased to 4500
kilograms with high-energy propellants in upper stages. However, these
boosters, with conventional propellants, would not be available for at
least two years. The high-energy versions would not be operational until
1961 or 1962. Given the urgency of Department of Defense require-
ments for large payloads, a new class of booster and associated equip-
ment had to be developed in a very short time, while keeping costs within
low DOD limitations.2
25
STAGES TO SATURN
ARPA's BIG BOOSTER
Early design and cost studies at ABMA suggested the possibility of
using a single engine of 4 450 000 newtons (1 million pounds) of thrust,
for which Rocketdyne Division of North American had made a feasibility
study for the Air Force. Although this was an "Air Force engine," no
other large propulsion system existed. The F-l engine seemed unlikely to
reach the point of full-scale testing for at least two years — too late to meet
the accelerated booster development program of the Department of
Defense. In any case, a booster with 6700000 newtons (1.5 million
pounds) of thrust was needed, so the ABMA planning staff gave up on
the simplicity of one large engine and turned to a combination of four
smaller ones.
Rocketdyne also had a project under way for a 1 600 000- to
1 690 000-newton (360 000- to 380 000-pound) thrust engine known as
the E- 1 . Proposals for the four-engine booster involved the use of what
one ABMA official called "off-the-shelf tankage" (presumably a single
large-diameter booster propellant tank from the existing stable of
military missiles) with the four E-l engines in a cluster underneath it.
This version of Super-Jupiter was closely analyzed by ABMA and
technical experts from North American, and a number of upper-stage
configurations were suggested. With specific choices in terms of engines
and tankage still open, ABMA was by now certain that the clustering of
engines was the most feasible route to attain quickly the Department of
Defense goal of a 6 700 000-newton (1.5-million-pound) first-stage booster.
In December 1957, ABMA delivered its proposal to the Department of
Defense: "A National Integrated Missile and Space Vehicle Development
Program." The document affirmed the clustered engine mode as a
shortcut method to achieve large payload capability in the least amount
of time.3
Nevertheless, Super-Jupiter still remained a feasibility study, existing
only on paper and within the fertile imaginations of von Braun and his
group at Huntsville. The Department of Defense had its stated require-
ments for payloads of many tons, and ABMA had its proposals for
possible booster configurations, but there was still no priority or money
to get Super-Jupiter past the level of paperwork. The immediate catalyst
came in the form of a new Department of Defense organization whose
high-priority recommendations cut through layers of red tape and
allocated dollars for converting studies into hardware — the Advanced
Research Projects Agency (ARPA).
During the turbulent months of late 1957 and early 1958, the
Eisenhower administration wrestled with the challenges posed by Sputnik
I, the abortive launches of Vanguard, and the last ditch mission of
Explorer I. A long-term, reasoned, and integrated space program called
26
AEROSPACE ALPHABET: ABMA, ARPA, MSFC
for some informed and firm decisions. In February, President Eisenhower
chartered a special committee under the guidance of Dr. J. R. Killian to
study the issues and make recommendations for a national space pro-
gram. As the Killian committee convened, the Department of Defense
moved on its own to rationalize space research involving the armed
services. On 7 February 1958, ARPA was formally established by Secre-
tary of Defense Neil H. McElroy, and after part-time guidance through
most of two months, Roy W. Johnson became the new agency's director
on 1 April. Johnson, a graduate of the University of Michigan, had been
executive vice-president at General Electric. There was no doubt that
Johnson had extensive authority: he reported directly to the Secretary of
Defense. The influence of ARPA became evident when William M.
Holaday, Director of Guided Missiles in the Department of Defense,
received orders to transfer some of his activities to the new agency.
Johnson insisted on running ARPA as a mechanism for establishing goals
and coordinating research efforts, as opposed to active R&D work and
management of contracts. ARPA made top decisions and allocated the
money, giving full rein to whatever organization was nominated to run a
project. ARPA remained a small, tightly knit organization, numbering
about 80 people "including the girls (in the office)," as Johnson put it,
and drew the core of its technical staff from specialists in the Army, Navy,
and Air Force.4
Through the spring of 1958, ARPA began to get its own organiza-
tion in line while ABMA continued its preliminary studies for the
Super-Jupiter with E-l engines. Then in July, ARPA began to show more
specific interest in the huge 6 700 000-newton (1.5-million-pound) booster
but argued for the use of available engine hardware, as opposed to the
still untried E-l propulsion systems. ARPA's line of reasoning was tied to
its objective of developing the big booster in the shortest amount of time
and doing the job within a framework of limited funds. The von Braun
group in Huntsville possessed considerable experience with the engines
for its own Jupiter series of rockets, and so a new cluster, with eight
Jupiter engines instead of four E-l types, began to evolve. Even though
no formal agreements existed as yet between ARPA and ABMA, the close
working relationship between the two organizations was evident in the
name chosen for the new eight-engine booster. Known as Juno V, the
designation followed ABMA's prior conceptual studies for advanced
Juno III and Juno IV multistage rockets. By using off-the-shelf hard-
ware, including the engines, it was estimated that Juno V, compared with
the Super-Jupiter with E-l engines, would save about $60 million and as
much as two years research and development time.5
With such preliminaries out of the way, ARPA issued more specific
instructions to ABMA, granting authority and authorizing funds for the
Juno V. ARPA Order Number 14-59, dated 15 August 1958, clarified
the discussions of the previous weeks:
27
STAGES TO SATURN
Initiate a development program to provide a large space vehicle booster of
approximately 1 500 000-lb. [6 700 000-newton] thrust based on a cluster of availa-
ble rocket engines. The immediate goal of this program is to demonstrate a
full-scale captive dynamic firing by the end of CY 1959.
This was a historic document, for it committed money and engaged
the von Braun team at Huntsville in an effort they had long dreamed
about. Juno V became the progenitor of a new family of launch vehicles
that would be used in the nation's future space program. As von Braun
himself put it, "Juno V was, in fact, an infant Saturn."6
Indeed, during this early period the Saturn designation was fre-
quently used by von Braun and others inside ABMA. A new name
seemed appropriate, because Saturn was seen as a distinct break from the
Juno series — a new breed of launch vehicle that would see an active
lifetime of a decade or more. "The SATURN," observed one ABMA
report, "is considered to be the first real space vehicle as the Douglas
DC-3 was the first real airliner and durable work-horse in aeronautics."7
In the autumn of 1958, however, the full development of the Saturn was
only beginning. As two engineers from Huntsville commented, "The
state of the art at this time classified the Saturn booster as almost
impossibly complex."8
AEROSPACE ALPHABET: ABMA, ARPA, MSFC
The decision not to use the E-l engine and to go to off-the-shelf
hardware did not catch ABMA personnel flatfooted. Technicians and
engineeers at Huntsville were already working on propulsion systems
related to the Jupiter to increase thrust, simplify operation, and improve
overall mechanical and other systems. This work gave the engine
development an important momentum early in the game and encour-
aged ABMA's optimism when ARPA requested a program for static
firing a multiple engine cluster within 18 months, while operating on a
shoestring budget. Still, "it was not easy," Willy Mrazek, one of the top
ABMA planners, mused years later. One of the problems involved the
engine manufacturer. When ABMA contacted Rocketdyne and laid out
the program, company officials were intrigued by the big cluster idea but
protested that the dollar allocation simply could not stretch far enough to
finance the rebuilding and testing of engines and spares for the size of
the program suggested by ABMA. By using all their persuasive power,
and even a little "arm twisting," as Mrazek recalled, the von Braun group
convinced Rocketdyne to take the plunge, including the authorization for
the company to glean hardware from their stockrooms that was left over
from prior manufacturing and development programs sponsored by the
government. By 1 1 September 1958, Rocketdyne had signed a contract
with ABMA to uprate the original Thor-Jupiter engine, known as the
S-3D propulsion system, creating a unit suitably modified to operate in
the cluster configuration. The new engine was called the H-l, and
ABMA signed away half of its available funds to get it.9
With the money they had left, ABMA went to work in Huntsville to
decide how to allocate their scarce dollars for oversized test stands and to
define the configuration of the tankage. An early decision was made to
modify an existing test stand "out in our backyard," as Mrazek phrased it,
keeping in mind that, although it had been designed to take Army
missiles like the Jupiter 2.67-meter-diameter tank and a thrust of 734 000
newtons (165 000 pounds) the test stand had to be reworked to take a
"monster" that was 24 meters high, 6 meters in diameter, and built to put
out a thrust of almost 6 700 000 newtons (1.5 million pounds). The lean
budget also had to cover a miscellany of items such as tooling to fabricate
the oversized tanks and development of a thrust structure to take the
maximum force of eight engines firing together at full throttle. There
was also the need for oversized assembly jigs for manufacturing and
checkout of the big new booster and for the costs of getting all the
materials and the manpower to put the thing together. Like Rocketdyne,
ABMA found that short funds made a virtue of scrounging in the dark
corners of warehouses and stockrooms and put a premium on imagina-
tive shortcuts.
Because ARPA Order Number 14-59 called only for a static
demonstration in the test stand, not a flight-configured launch vehicle,
the booster that began to take shape on the Redstone Arsenal drawing
29
STAGES TO SATURN
boards and in the shops was definitely a bargain-basement and patch-
work affair. The volume of the tankage posed a special problem. The
fabrication and welding of a single 6-meter-diameter tank, with separate
compartments for fuel and oxidizer, meant new techniques and working
jigs. Consumption of time and money threatened to become exorbitant.
A different approach to the problem evolved, and existing tanks were
used instead. From its own earlier production runs, ABM A located
partial rejects and incomplete 1.78-meter tanks from the Redstone and
2.67-meter tanks from the Jupiter missiles. Since the engines were going
to be clustered, why not the tanks? "The dire need made us more
inventive," Mrazek pointed out, "and we bundled the containers to be
loaded with propellants." So the vaunted big booster emerged from the
drawing boards as a weird compromise of eight separate 1.78-meter
Redstone tanks surrounding a 2.67-meter Jupiter tank. It did not look
exactly like a smooth, streamlined futuristic vehicle for the exploration of
space, nor was it intended to be. Designed solely to see if a blockbuster of
a rocket could run its eight engines in concert, ABM A was satisfied with
its awkward-looking compromise.10
While the work in Huntsville progressed, representatives from
ARPA kept a close watch on the proceedings and made frequent visits to
Redstone Arsenal. They increasingly liked what they saw. So much so, in
fact, that they decided to propose a series of test flights. On 23 September
1958, ARPA and the Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) drew
up an additional memorandum of agreement enlarging the scope of the
A 1959 version of Saturn I is shown at the right. Redstone and
Jupiter tankage (left) were combined in Saturn I's first stage.
AEROSPACE ALPHABET: ABMA, ARPA, MSFC
booster program. Signed by Major General J. B. Medaris for AOMC and
Roy Johnson for ARPA, the joint memorandum stated: "In addition to
the captive dynamic firing . . . , it is hereby agreed that this program
should now be extended to provide for a propulsion flight test of this
booster by approximately September 1960." Further, the von Braun
group was called on to produce three additional boosters, the last two of
which would be "capable of placing limited payloads in orbit." Along with
the new scheme came much needed funds. ABMA could now count on
$13.4 million in FY 1959 and $20.3 million in FY 1960 for the captive
firing test and first launch, in addition to $8.6 million in the same period
for development of appropriate facilities. For the three additional flights
by 1961, ABMA would receive as much as $25 million to $30 million.
The decision to make the Juno V into a flight vehicle added new
dimensions to planning problems. First, a launch site had to be selected.
Moreover, the size of the booster posed unique transportation problems.
As long as the launch location remained undetermined (possibly a
remote site in the Pacific), ABMA planned to dismantle the entire booster
and airlift the components separately, a concept that would be possible
because of the use of individual propellant tanks, engines, and associated
structural modules. Still, the Juno V engineering team was never quite
sure the dismantling and rebuilding scheme would work effectively.
"Thank goodness," Mrazek admitted, "we never had to disassemble the
first flight vehicle." In the end, it was agreed to launch from the Atlantic
Missile Range at Cape Canaveral, and ABMA worked out a more feasible
method of transporting its launch vehicles intact by relying on water
routes. 1 1
While ARPA proceeded to hammer out a program for booster
development, a number of government committees were at work, attempting
to clarify overall priorities for a national space program. On the heels of
Sputnik, Senator Lyndon B. Johnson began probing the status of
America's national security and the space program through hearings of
the Senate Preparedness Investigation Subcommittee of the Senate
Armed Forces Committee. As chairman of the subcommittee, Johnson
kicked off the hearings on 25 November 1957. The National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was gearing up its own studies about
the same time, and the White House also had a high-powered study in
progress — the Killian committee, directed by President Eisenhower's
recently appointed Special Assistant for Science and Technology, James
R. Killian. The subcommittees of Killian's group reporting early in 1958
evidently had the most influence in shaping the Administration's approach.
Even though the committee reports were shot through with overtones of
31
STAGES TO SATURN
national security and the notion of a space race with the Russians,
Administration officials generally agreed that proposals for a new space
agency should result in an organization that was essentially nonmilitarv.
Because of its civil heritage, existing programs, and general programs,
NACA was singled out as the most likely candidate to form the nucleus,
though a new name was recommended. Strictly military programs would
continue under the Department of Defense.12
During April 1958, Eisenhower delivered the formal executive
message about the national space program to Congress and submitted
the Administration's bill to create what was then called the "National
Aeronautical and Space Agency." The hearings and committee work that
followed inevitably entailed revisions and rewording, but the idea of a
civilian space agency persisted, and the old NACA role of research alone
began to change to a new context of large-scale development, manage-
ment, and operations. Congress passed the National Aeronautics and
Space Act of 1958 on 16 July, and Eisenhower signed the bill into law on
the 29th. During August, the Senate speedily confirmed Eisenhower's
nominations of T. Keith Glennan as Administrator and Hugh Dryden as
Deputy Administrator. At the time of his appointment, Glennan was
president of Case Institute of Technology and had been a member of the
Atomic Energy Commission. Dryden, a career civil servant, had been
Director of NACA but was passed over as the new chief of NASA. The
subsequent days and months included some jockeying and horse trading
to establish the principal directives of the new organization.
When the Space Act was signed, no mention was made as to the
management of a program for manned space flight, and the Army, Navy,
and Air Force continued to maneuver for position until late August,
President Dwight D.
Eisenhower presents com-
missions as the first Ad-
ministrator and Deputy
Administrator of the new
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration to
Dr. T. Keith Glennan
(right) and Dr. Hugh
Dryden.
AEROSPACE ALPHABET: ABMA, ARPA, MSEC
when Eisenhower specifically designated NASA as the agency to conduct
manned space flight programs. In September, NASA's new Administra-
tor, T. Keith Glennan, and Roy Johnson of ARPA agreed to cooperate in
the development of a manned satellite. NASA's effective date of birth was
1 October 1958. The employees who left their NACA offices Tuesday
evening, 30 September, returned to the same offices Wednesday morn-
ing as personnel of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
With the passage of time, ARPA's entire big-booster program would find
a niche in the new organization.13 These were bold plans, and neither the
old NACA nor the new NASA possessed an existing capability for the
job. Glennan wanted ABMA's von Braun team for its abilities in launch
vehicles and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (a major Army contractor) for
its general expertise in astronautical engineering and payload develop-
ment. NASA had to accept a compromise: the space agency got the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (officially transferred on 3 December 1958), but
ABMA's missile team stayed in the Army. ABMA and its big booster were,
however, already enmeshed in NASA planning, and it was only a matter
of time before assimilation was complete.14
NACA, for its part, had already been speculating about its role in the
space program, and several committees had been at work in late 1957
and early 1958 studying the various factors a space program entailed:
vehicles; reentry; range, launch, and tracking; instrumentation; space
surveillance; human factors; and training. Late in March 1958, a NACA
group studying "Suggestions for a Space Program" included notations
for a launch program in January 1959 to put satellites of 135 000 to
225 000 kilograms in orbit (reflecting the earlier Department of Defense
plans), and development of a rocket of 4450000 newtons (1 million
pounds) thrust, as well as "development of hydrogen fluorine and other
special rockets for second and third stages."
The ABMA large booster program first entered NASA planning
through the NACA Special Committee on Space Technology chaired by
Guyford Stever. The Working Group on Vehicular Program included
von Braun as chairman. Organized 12 January 1958, the Stever commit-
tee made its final report on 28 October, when NASA was already a month
old.10 Von Braun's working group on vehicles had already made its
preliminary report on 18 July. The language did not differ much from
that of the final draft. The report began with harsh criticism of
duplication of effort and lack of coordination among various organiza-
tions working on the nation's space programs. "The record shows
emphatically," the report said, that the Soviet Union was definitely ahead
of the United States in space travel and space warfare.
How was the United States to catch up? There were several existing
vehicle systems to help the United States proceed on a logical and
consistent space research program. At least two large booster types under
33
STAGES TO SATURN
development or in the planning stages would place the Americans in a
better position. The von Braun paper described five generations of
boosters. First was the Vanguard class of launch vehicles, and second
were the Juno and Thor IRBM vehicles. Third were the Titan and Atlas
boosters from the ICBM inventory. Fourth came the clustered boosters,
which would yield up to 6700000 newtons (1.5 million pounds) of
thrust. Fifth, and last, was the possibility of using an advanced
6 700 000-newton (1.5-million-pound) thrust single-barrel engine in a
cluster of two to four engines to give up to 25 000 000 newtons (6 million
pounds) of thrust. How were they to be employed? The working group
conjectured that the United States might put into operation a four-man
space station in 1961 with the use of the ICBM boosters. By using
clustered boosters, with first flights beginning in 1961, the committee
estimated a manned lunar landing in 1965-1966. The clustered vehicles
would also support the deployment of a 50-man space station in 1967,
and the fifth generation of boosters would support sizable moon explora-
tion expeditions in 1972, set up a permanent moon base in 1973-1974,
and launch manned interplanetary trips in 1977. "The milestones
listed . . . are considered feasible and obtainable as indicated by the
supporting information presented in the body of the report," the
working group concluded.16
The recommendations to achieve these goals included NASA's rapid
development as the major director and coordinator of the vehicle
program, working in partnership with ARPA. "The immediate initiation
of a development program for a large booster, in the 1.5 million pound
[6 700 000 newton] thrust class, is considered a key to the success of the
proposed program," the report stated, and urged the development of
such an engine. The program would cost about $17.21 billion to pay for
1823 launches, including the as-yet undeveloped ICBM and clustered
boosters. There would be considerable savings, the group noted, if a
comprehensive booster recovery scheme were incorporated.17
With von Braun representing ABMA on the Stever committee, his
presence marked an early meshing of ABMA and NACA in the nation's
space programs. Indeed, the Stever committee was intended to fill in the
gaps in NACA space technology. NACA officials James Doolittle, Dryden,
and Stever selected committee members with an eye to their future roles
in the space programs as well as educating NACA personnel in space
R&D. Large rocket boosters certainly constituted a big gap in NACA
competence, so that the selection of von Braun was a key move, along
with Sam Hoffman of Rocketdyne, Abe Hyatt of the Office of Naval
Research, and Colonel Norman Appold, representing Air Force General
Bernard Schriever, who spearheaded the development of big rockets in
the Air Force.18
34
AEROSPACE ALPHABET: ABMA, ARPA, MSEC
SATURN PAYLOADS
The interwoven activities of a civilian space agency using a booster of
military origins left the issue of payloads somewhat uncertain. ABMA
had been operating its big booster program under the aegis of ARPA and
considered the Juno V primarily a military vehicle with an imprecise
potential for use in a civilian role. On 13 October 1958, ABMA listed its
customers in order of importance. First was ARPA, as the Department of
Defense representative of all military services, with the Juno V as a
general carrier vehicle for research and development of "offensive and
defensive space weapons." Certain specific tasks were forecast for each of
the military services, including navigation satellites for the Navy; recon-
naissance, communications, and meteorological satellites for the Army
and Air Force; support for Air Force manned missions; and surface-to-
surface supply for the Army at distances up to 6400 kilometers. For
NASA, the ABMA planners considered the possibilities of the Juno V in
support of satellites, space probes, and space stations, as well as a test bed
for a 6 700 000-newton (1.5-million-pound) thrust engine and other
propulsion systems. There was also conjecture about using the big
clustered booster for international programs sponsored by the United
Nations and for missions under contract to companies in the private
sector.19
Because the mission plans were beginning to place more and more
emphasis on putting payloads in orbit, there was an evident need for an
upper stage to ensure orbital velocity of the payload. During the latter
months of 1958, engineers at ABMA had already begun the search for a
feasible upper stage for the Juno V, although the amended ARPA order
in September called for lower flight stages only. Medaris urged upper-
stage studies because he liked the idea of a unified and cohesive design
effort; applying the "off-the-shelf "dictum, he sought to identify possible
upper-stage candidates from projects already under way. One suggestion
resulting from such brainstorming was to mount an X-15 research plane
atop the Juno V, or perhaps incorporate an Air Force project known as
Dyna-Soar. The X-15 idea did not last long, but Dyna-Soar persisted for
several years. The Dyna-Soar (for dynamic soaring) dated from the
autumn of 1957 and was envisioned as a manned, rocket-propelled
glider in a delta-winged configuration, capable of reaching altitudes of
up to 120 kilometers. More likely prospects for Juno V upper stages
included Jupiter, Atlas, and Titan.
The problems of selecting the Juno V configuration, upper stages,
and payloads also bothered the people at NASA. Sitting in his office on
the second day of the new year 1959, W. L. Hjornevik, Assistant to the
Administrator, dashed off a memo to his boss, Glennan. Hjornevik's
STAGES TO SATURN
message addressed itself to a basic issue in NASA's future: "Next Steps in
the Development of a National Booster Program." The overtones in the
memo suggested the uncertainties that still faced the young organization,
not only in crystallizing specific goals but also in developing the capabili-
ties for the tasks ahead. In spite of conversations with Dryden and others
at NASA, Hjornevik wrote, he was still not sure of the proper route to
take in developing a rational booster program. The pay loads were still
unsettled, and there was the problem of timing to bring boosters on line
while the payload issue was still open. The question of a conventionally
fueled second stage remained unanswered, even while "our position on
the million-pound cluster" was unresolved.21
During 1959, NASA began to cope with these issues. A plethora of
committees, long meetings, and voluminous reports provided the milieu
in which NASA and Department of Defense personnel came to agreement
on booster priorities, upper stages, and the issue of high-energy propel-
lants. In the process of settling these problems, NASA acquired its own
in-house capability for the production of the nation's first large launch
vehicles, to be known as the Saturn rockets.
In a report prepared for President Eisenhower, dated 27 January
1959, NASA officially structured its own plan for a national space vehicle
program. Attributed to NASA's propulsion staff, the document was
prepared under the aegis of Abraham Hyatt, Chief of Launch Vehicles.
The principal author was a NASA engineer, Milton Rosen. Preparation
of the report included liaison with the Department of Defense, especially
ARPA, the Air Force, and the Army to avoid duplication of effort and
keep the Department of Defense informed of NASA's intentions regard-
ing the use of military hardware. In its preamble, Rosen's report
emphasized the lag in American rocket technology vis-a-vis the Russians
and underscored the need for a new generation of large boosters. "The
current group of booster vehicles, namely Vanguard, Jupiter C, Juno II,
and Thor-Able, were all hurriedly assembled under pressure of meeting
the threat of Russian Sputniks," the document declared, "and none of
them possesses the design characteristics required by future needs of the
National Space Program." A successful space program, in NASA's view,
required three new classes of general-purpose launch vehicles.
The first type included two versions based on the Atlas, one as a
single-stage booster, and the other as a two-stage booster using the
liquid-hydrogen-fueled Centaur as the second stage. The Centaur pro-
posal had special significance, because liquid hydrogen (LH2) technology
was recommended for inclusion in later designs. In fact, if high-energy
liquid hydrogen fuel failed to become an operable technology, then the
Rosen report predicated disappointingly low payloads in the future.
The second group of boosters was keyed to the Juno V, the ABMA
eight-engine cluster concept. NASA envisioned the Juno V as the first
stage of a large multistage vehicle, requiring second and third stages to
36
AEROSPACE ALPHABET: ABMA, ARPA, MSEC
make a complete booster, and the report proposed two different config-
urations. For the version known as Juno V-A, the NASA propulsion staff
recommended adding the Titan I ICBM, itself a two-stage missile with
conventional fuel, making a three-stage vehicle. For Juno V-B, the third
(top) stage would be replaced with an LH2-fueled vehicle, probably the
Centaur, to achieve higher escape velocities. Missions for the two Juno V
variations included orbital research payloads, a five-man orbiting mod-
ule, and unmanned lunar and other planetary missions using a fourth
stage to gain escape velocity for larger payloads. The report further
estimated that the Juno V configurations would be operational in 1963,
with a useful lifetime of 5 to 10 years.
One of the most interesting items in the Rosen report pertained to a
completely new class of launch vehicle — a super rocket of extraordinary
size and payload capability known as Nova. Propulsion for the Nova class
of vehicles would rely on the 6 700 000-newton (1.5-million-pound)
thrust single-chamber engine that had been under development by the
Air Force. With four engines clustered in the first stage, Nova would
generate an unprecedented 25 000 000 newtons (6 million pounds) of
thrust at liftoff. The second stage would use one of the same engines, and
the third and fourth stages would incorporate liquid-hydrogen-fueled
engines (developed in the Juno V program), with four of them in the
third stage and one in the fourth stage. The amount of propellants
needed for such a high-powered vehicle meant unusually large propel-
lant tanks and a rocket that towered to a height of 79 meters. NASA,
however, would also have a vehicle capable of fulfilling the dream of a
manned lunar landing. "Despite its immense size," the Rosen report
argued, "Nova is the first vehicle of the series that could attempt the
mission of transporting a man to the surface of the moon and returning
him safely to the earth."22
During the course of the year, NASA's attention was directed
primarily toward Juno V and Nova, although some name changes
occurred. In February, the Department of Defense announced that the
Juno V development program would henceforth be known as Project
Saturn, with work to be continued at Huntsville under the direction of
ABMA. The change in big booster nomenclature was consistent with von
Braun's earlier inclination to refer to the clustered rocket as Saturn and
logically followed the Jupiter vehicle in terms of christening boosters
after successive planets in the solar system. The Saturn also reflected a
proclivity within ABMA to name some boosters after ancient gods,23 such
as Juno and Jupiter.
Meanwhile, the von Braun team at Redstone Arsenal was becoming
thoroughly enmeshed with the problem of selecting Saturn's upper
stages. A "Saturn System Study," completed and submitted to ARPA on
13 March, contemplated the use of either Atlas or Titan upper stages.
But dozens of potential upper-stage configurations were possible. This
37
The heart of the "von Braun team" that led the Army's space efforts at ABMA
before transfer to NASA: left to right: Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger, Director, Research
Projects Office; Dr. Helmut Hoelzer, Director, Computation Laboratory; Karl L.
Heimburg, Director, Test Laboratory; Dr. Ernst D. Geissler, Director, Aeroballis-
tics Laboratory; Erich W. Neubert, Director, Systems Analysis and Reliability
Laboratory; Dr. Walter Haeussermann, Director, Guidance and Control Labora-
tory; Dr. Wernher von Braun, Director, Development Operations Division;
William A. Mrazek, Director, Structures and Mechanics Laboratory; Hans
Hueter, Director, System Support Equipment Laboratory; Dr. Eberhard F. M.
Rees, Deputy Director, Development Operations Division; Dr. Kurt Debus,
Director, Missile Firing Laboratory; and H. H. Maus, Director Fabrication and
Assembly Engineering Laboratory.
made NASA a bit anxious because realistic planning was difficult as long
as no firm booster configuration was drawn up. T. Keith Glennan
expressed his concern in a memo to Roy Johnson at ARPA within a week
of the publication of the "Saturn System Study." An early decision on
Saturn upper stages was needed, he said, and he urged Johnson toward
an early resolution of the issue.24
ARPA's own plans for the Saturn booster remained tied to a
combination with Centaur, to place "very heavy satellites in high orbits,
especially for communications purposes." In testimony before Congress
in late March, Johnson described the ARPA program for such satellites in
equatorial orbits for global communications. More than that, he empha-
sized development of the Saturn cluster as a number one priority because
it would serve a number of vehicle requirements for the next two years,
not only for communications but also as an all-purpose space "truck" for
a variety of missions, including launches of manned orbital satellites.25
THE ABMA TRANSFER
The all-purpose Saturn suddenly ran into stiff opposition within the
Department of Defense. Herbert York, Director of Department of
Defense Research and Engineering, announced that he had decided to
38
AEROSPACE ALPHABET: ABMA, ARPA, MSFC
terminate the Saturn program. In a memorandum to Johnson dated 9
June 1959, York rebuffed an ARPA request for additional funds. "In the
Saturn case," York said, "I consider that there are other more urgent
cases requiring support from the limited amount . . . which remains
uncommitted." York's reasoning apparently stemmed from a position
taken by other Eisenhower Administration advisors that the require-
ments of the Department of Defense for launching military communica-
tions satellites would be achieved more effectively by relying on existing
ICBM boosters. Saturn had always been touted as the military's booster
for such missions, so it did not seem to be needed any more. Saturn was a
"costly operation being conducted at ABMA," York wrote, and advised
Johnson, "I have decided to cancel the Saturn program on the grounds
there is no military justification."26 York's bombshell came as a real blow
to ABMA, especially since the first H-l engines for the Saturn cluster had
begun arriving in Huntsville some weeks before, in April.27
With NASA programs tied closely to the Saturn, as indicated in the
earlier Rosen report, the launch vehicle staff in Washington immediately
got to work to head off the York cancellation order as soon as they heard
the news. Collaborating with Saturn supporters from within the Depart-
ment of Defense, Rosen and Richard Canright from ARPA drafted a
crucial memorandum in defense of the clustered booster program. They
realized that Saturn as an Army project was in trouble apparently
because the Army had no specific use for it. At that time, neither did
NASA, although Rosen and Canright felt that the range of potential
missions cited in the prior Rosen report offered, in the long run, enough
justification to keep Saturn alive. Rosen and others in NASA were
completely captivated by Saturn's promise. "We all had gut feelings that
we had to have a good rocket," he said, emphasizing the appeal of
Saturn's size. Rosen felt that he had "lived all his life with too small a
launch vehicle."28
Thus, in a tense three-day meeting, 16-18 September 1959, York
and Dryden co-chaired a special committee to review Saturn's future and
discuss the roles of the Titan C boosters and the Nova. Committee
members included representatives from the Army, Air Force, and NASA
as well as Canright from ARPA. After hours of intensive presentations
and discussion, the Saturn backers finally carried the debate, but not
without some conditions. Under York's prodding, it was agreed to start
discussions to transfer ABMA and the Saturn project to NASA. York also
insisted that such a transfer could be accomplished only with the
Administration's guarantee for supplemental funding in support of
Saturn.29
Years later, reviewing the issue of Saturn's cancellation, York
elaborated on his reasoning. For one thing, there seemed to be a strong
feeling within the Department of Defense that Saturn tended to siphon
off money, not only from important military projects in ABMA but from
39
STAGES TO SATURN
the Air Force as well. The Secretary of Defense twice turned down
requests for a DX (priority) rating for Saturn, once in December 1958
and again in May 1959. Moreover, York felt that Saturn was simply too
big for any military mission, and that included men in space. Big boosters
of the Saturn class should be NASA's responsibility, he reasoned, because
there was no urgent military application and because of York's own
reading of the Space Act of 1958 and his understanding of Eisenhower's
views on the matter. In the meantime, York apparently agreed to con-
tinue adequate funding of Saturn through ARPA until the issue of
ABMA's transfer to NASA was resolved. As for the von Braun team at
Hunstville, York recalled that von Braun himself "made it very clear in a
face-to-face discussion in the Pentagon that he would go along only if I
allowed Saturn to continue."3
The near loss of the Saturn booster was a sobering experience. This
close brush with disaster underscored NASA's problems in securing
boosters developed and produced by other agencies; many in NASA now
believed they had to have control of their own launch vehicles. In fact,
York had already favored the transfer of ABMA, with responsibility for
Saturn, to NASA. Late in 1958, when Glennan and Deputy Secretary of
Defense Donald A. Quarles had proposed such a transfer, the Army and
ARPA had strongly opposed the move.31 The ABMA transfer continued
to beguile top NASA executives, and Hjornevik emphatically urged
action on the matter. In a memo to Glennan late in January 1959,
Hjornevik argued that the role of ABMA as consultant and supplier was
operable as long as NASA was content merely to buy Redstone rockets in
the Mercury program, but the rapid changes in an ambitious NASA
launch program revealed a gap in the agency's capabilities, and Hjornevik
left no doubt that NASA needed ABMA's competence. Hjornevik phrased
his recommendations in no uncertain terms. "I for one believe we should
move in on ABMA in the strongest possible way," he declared. "It is
becoming increasingly clear that we will soon desperately need this or an
equivalent competence." Hjornevik cited NASA's needs in managing the
national booster program, especially the engines and "the big cluster,"
and the suggested joint funding as a means to "achieve a beachhead on
the big cluster."32
Roy Johnson, speaking for ARPA, emphasized the need for keeping
the von Braun team together, particularly if a transfer occurred. "At
Huntsville we have one of the most capable groups of space technicians in
the country," Johnson said during congressional testimony in March
1959. "I think that it is a unique group ... a national resource of
tremendous importance." Then he added, "ABMA team is the kind of
group that, if somebody had planned 10 years ago to create it, could not
have been done better." Although Johnson told the congressional com-
mittee that he could work with ABMA in or out of the Department of
Defense, he personally preferred it in the Department of Defense.
40
AEROSPACE ALPHABET: ABMA, ARPA, MSEC
Among other things, he commented, he was not optimistic about lunar
payloads taking precedence over the Saturn's role as a booster for
military satellites.
NASA's lively interest in Saturn and the Huntsville group continued
to mount. In mid-April, Glennan called a meeting of Dryden, Hyatt,
Hjornevik, and others, including Abe Silverstein, Director of Space
Flight Development. The NASA executives got together one Friday to
assess the events of the past week and, among other things, to consider
the question of Saturn. In the course of the discussion, the participants
reached a consensus that the highly competent ABMA group had the
best qualifications to develop the total Saturn vehicle, and they should be
encouraged to forge ahead. At the same time, NASA should keep a sharp
eye on its own interests in regard to Saturn and build a "significant
financial and management role." A distinct takeover move, previously
pushed by Hjornevik, did not take place for several months, simply
because, as Glennan himself observed, NASA lacked a specific mission
for Saturn that would justify wrenching the booster away from ARPA.34
But the days of Saturn's ties to ARPA were numbered. After letting
the issue simmer on a back burner most of the year, York raised the
transfer issue again in the autumn of 1959, and this time got the support
of both the Secretary of Defense and President Eisenhower.35 Given the
inclinations of the NASA hierarchy, ABMA's transfer from ARPA
became inevitable. NASA's own requirements for a booster the size of the
Saturn had been made more explicit as a result of the Research Steering
Committee on Manned Space Flight, chaired by Harry J. Goett of
NASA's Ames Research Center. The Goett committee, formed in the
spring, had considered NASA goals beyond the Mercury program, and
during the summer a circumlunar mission emerged as the principal item
in NASA's long-range planning. A manned lunar landing required a
much larger booster — Saturn. With potential mission and booster require-
ments finally outlined, satisfying Glennan's criteria to have a specific
mission for the launch vehicle, total NASA responsibility for Saturn was
obviously needed.36
The transfer of ABMA, Saturn, and the von Braun team was phased
over a period of nearly six months. NASA's technical direction of Saturn
dated from a memorandum signed by Glennan on 21 October 1959 and
by the acting Secretary of Defense, Thomas Gates, on 30 October, and
approved by Eisenhower on 2 November. The document affirmed
continuing joint efforts of NASA and the Department of Defense in the
development and utilization of ICBM and IRBM missiles as space
vehicles. Pointing out that there was "no clear military requirement for
super boosters," the memorandum stated that "there is a definite need
for super boosters for civilian space exploration purposes, both manned
and unmanned. Accordingly, it is agreed that the responsibility for the
super booster program should be vested in NASA."
41
STAGES TO SATURN
Specifically, the core of ABMA's Development Operations Division
would be shifted to NASA — Saturn personnel, facilities, equipment, and
funds. Both sides agreed on the unique talent of the von Braun team and
the need to keep it intact. "The Department of Defense, the Department
of the Army, and NASA, recognizing the value of the nation's space
program of maintaining at a high level the present competence of
ABMA, will cooperate to preserve the continuity of the technical and
administrative leadership of the group."37
The process of coordinating the administrative, technical, and
physical transfer of the Saturn program progressed during the early
months of 1960. To help provide guidelines and avoid as much chaos as
possible, NASA called on McKinsey and Company, a private manage-
ment consulting firm with offices in several major U.S. cities, including
Washington. McKinsey and Company had helped NASA set up its own
organization in 1958 and was thereby familiar with the agency's head-
quarters structure and personnel. By March 1960, the move was com-
plete. On the 16th of the month, NASA assumed both administrative and
technical direction of the Saturn program. The Goett committee, having
wound up its work in December 1959, had pointed NASA in the
direction of lunar-oriented missions as a goal. The transfer of the von
Braun team, completed in the spring of 1960, gave NASA the expertise
and a vehicle program to perform the task.38
In the process of shedding ABMA's initials, the von Braun team now
acquired a new set. By a presidential executive order on 15 March 1960,
the space complex within the boundaries of Redstone Arsenal became
the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). On 1 July 1960,
Major General August Schomburg, commander of the Army Ordnance
Missile Command, formally transferred missions, personnel, and facili-
ties to von Braun, as Director of MSFC. Official dedication took place on
8 September with Mrs. George C. Marshall and President Dwight D.
Eisenhower heading the list of distinguished visitors. In his public
remarks, President Eisenhower noted Marshall's military career, his
distinguished service as the Secretary of State, and the award to Marshall
of the Nobel Peace Prize, the only professional soldier to have received it.
"He was a man of war, yet a builder of peace," proclaimed Eisenhower.
These sentiments fittingly paralleled the evolution of MSFC, with its
origins in the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. In a brief, but moving
ceremony, Mrs. Marshall unveiled a red granite bust of her late husband.
Then von Braun escorted Eisenhower on a tour of the site, including a
close-up inspection of the Saturn booster under construction.39
UPPER STAGE STUDIES
During the months in which their relocation was being debated,
ABMA personnel in Huntsville were still absorbed in the exercise of
42
AEROSPACE ALPHABET: ABMA, ARPA, MSFC
trying to determine the configuration of upper stages for their multiengine
booster. Design drawings of Saturn B and Saturn C studies during the
first few months of 1959 showed clustered tank-and-engine first stages of
6.5 meters diameter and various combinations of upper stages of
6.5-meter and 3-meter diameters towering as high as 76 meters. The use
of new hardware was apparently not contemplated; given ARPA's guide-
lines for economy in the program, a more realistic possibility was to add
upper stages that used Titan or Atlas ICBM vehicles fitted directly to the
clustered tankage and engines. By the spring of 1959, both ABMA and
ARPA agreed on the feasibility of Titan and Atlas versions. ARPA
advisors leaned more toward a decidedly hybrid concept in which a
modified Titan second stage was used in combination with a modified
Centaur third stage from the Atlas vehicle. Yet another twist in the
evolution of Saturn upper stages came in July, when DOD's Director of
Research and Engineering issued a new directive to both the Air Force
and ARPA to consider the joint development of a second-stage vehicle
keyed to the Air Force Dyna-Soar project, since the Saturn second stage
and the Dyna-Soar booster appeared to be similar in design and concept.
So ARPA ordered work on the Titan upper-stage studies to stop,
pending further studies on this new DOD directive, although R&D work
on the first-stage cluster forged ahead through the summer.40
The decision to halt work in mating existing military missiles to the
Saturn came as something of a relief to ABMA. Using such off-the-shelf
hardware definitely narrowed the flexibility of mission planning. As a
second-stage booster, it turned out that Jupiter just did not have the
muscle, and the Atlas and Titan, although adequate in thrust for their
ground-launch ICBM role, lacked performance capabilities as upper-
stage vehicles to be ignited at altitude. Moreover, their 3-meter diameters
limited their growth potential in relation to the possibilities of the far
bigger Saturn. "In comparison," Willy Mrazek said, "this was like
Dedication of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center. In the foreground with
the bust of General Marshall are NASA Administrator Glennan, President
Eisenhower, and Mrs. Marshall.
IIW
STAGES TO SATURN
considering the purchase of a 5-ton truck for hauling a heavy load and
finally deciding to merely load a wheelbarrow full of dirt."41 As a result of
new evaluation studies that followed cancellation of work on the Titan as
an upper stage, ARPA decided to forego requirements to employ
existing hardware, and ABMA confidently embarked on a new series of
design concepts for Saturn upper stages, utilizing large diameters that
offered increased mission flexibility and payload capability. Undertaken
in the fall of 1959, these new "Saturn System Studies," as they were
called, were conducted with an eye to NASA requirements in particular.42
The last months of 1959 could be called a watershed period for
NASA in many respects. The agency had acquired the von Braun team
and sharpened the focus on upper stages for a multistage vehicle. In
December, a critical judgment on the application of high-energy propel-
lants for Saturn's upper stages was in debate. The issue of high-energy
propellants centered on liquid hydrogen in combination with liquid
oxygen — and the use of liquid hydrogen (LH2) did not have the whole-
hearted support of von Braun or his staff at Huntsville.
At NASA Headquarters, on the other hand, Abe Silverstein and
several others were convinced that LH2 was the key to future Saturn
success. Silverstein had joined NACA in 1929, and worked in wind
tunnels at the Langley Laboratory. When the Lewis Propulsion Labora-
tory was formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1943, Silverstein joined the new
organization and became its Associate Director in 1952. He had come to
Washington in 1958 to become Director of Space Flight Development.
For the next three years, Silverstein played an important role in policy
decisions at NASA Headquarters before returning to Cleveland as
Director of Lewis Research Center.
NASA had inherited an LH2 development program as a result of
NACA work carried on at Lewis Research Center throughout the 1950s;
the work culminated in the successful test of a 89 000-newton (20 000-pound)
thrust LH2 engine and propellant injector in the late 1950s. The Lewis
LH2 group, led by Abe Silverstein, had been convinced of the practicality
of LH2 by subsequent successful test runs. The research at Lewis — and its
successful prototype engine design — encouraged Silverstein to push hard
for LH2 engines in Saturn's upper stages.43 The first practical application
of the LH2 engine was planned as a high-energy stage, named Centaur,
for Atlas or Titan. The plan stemmed from an ARPA directive to the
U.S. Air Force's Air Research and Development Command. During
congressional testimony in March 1959, Roy Johnson noted early plans to
incorporate an LH2-fueled stage (apparently the Centaur, or a close
derivative) on the Saturn vehicle. Continuing research was solving
problems of pumping LH2 in large quantities, he explained, and he
expected a breakthrough in propulsion for use in a second or third stage.
Johnson's enthusiasm for an LH2 vehicle was unbounded. "It is a miracle
stage as I see it," he declared.44 By the summer of 1959, the LH2 rocket
44
AEROSPACE ALPHABET: ABMA, ARPA, MSFC
also had support at NASA Headquarters, where Hyatt was corresponding
with Silverstein about it.45
Just before the Christmas holidays, the stage was set for a high-level
conference at Headquarters to determine the basic configuration of the
multistage Saturn. On 17 November, Associate Administrator Richard
Horner told the Director of Space Flight Development to organize a
study group to make additional recommendations concerning the trans-
fer of the von Braun team to NASA, "to prepare recommendations for
guidance of the development of Saturn, and specifically, for selection of
upper-stage configurations." A "Saturn Vehicle Team" was organized; it
comprised representatives from NASA, the Air Force, ARPA, ABMA,
and the Office of the Department of Defense Research and Engineering
(ODDR&E). Chaired by Abe Silverstein, the seven-man group was known
as the "Silverstein Committee." In addition to Silverstein, the NASA
representatives included Hyatt and Eldon Hall, and the other members
were Colonel N. Appold (USAF), T. C. Muse (ODDR&E), G. P. Sutton
(ARPA), and Wernher von Braun (ABMA).46
When the Silverstein committee convened in December, not every-
one was in favor of the untried LH2 technology because LH2 was widely
thought to be too volatile and tricky to handle. Von Braun in particular
expressed doubts about LH2 even though the Saturn-Atlas combination
had the Centaur's LH2 system in the Atlas final stage, and he was
definitely opposed to a new LH2 Saturn second stage. On the other hand,
several influential committee members made a forceful case for LH2.
Hyatt was already for it; Eldon Hall, not long before the committee had
been organized, had analyzed the performance of launch vehicles using
various combinations of propellants. Using his background in the work
previously done at Lewis, Silverstein argued with all the persuasive
powers at his command. It was just not logical, Silverstein emphasized, to
develop a series of vehicles over a 10-year period and rely on the limited
payload capability of conventionally fueled boosters with liquid oxygen
and kerosene-based propellants. He was convinced that the use of LH2 in
the upper Saturn stages was inherently sound, and his conviction was the
major factor in swaying the whole committee, von Braun included, to
accept LH2 boosters in the Saturn program. "Abe was on solid ground,"
von Braun acknowledged later, "when he succeeded in persuading his
committee to swallow its scruples about the risks of the new fuel."4^
Next, von Braun had to convince his colleagues back at Huntsville.
Before the committee adjourned, von Braun telephoned the Redstone
Arsenal to talk to Mrazek, one of the key team members who had come
with him from Germany, and the two men brainstormed the possibilities.
45
Abe Silverstein, NASA's Director of
Space Flight Development, is shown
touring a rocket engine facility.
As Mrazek recalled his phone conversation, von Braun made the
following points: The Saturn could not use existing hardware for the
upper stages — it needed an original design; the Saturn plan should stress
the new hydrogen technology and the Centaur's engines; and the
hydrogen upper stage would need six engines. This final aspect could
have been controversial because some experts still harbored strong
doubts about the use of eight conventional, though proven, rocket
engines for the first-stage booster. There would be even more carping
about a half dozen new and untried engines burning exotic liquid
hydrogen. But von Braun said he was not overly concerned about the
cluster of six hydrogen engines, since at least a dozen Centaur launches
were scheduled before the first Saturn would have to go up. The ABM A
group could profit from whatever trials and tribulations the Centaur
engines developed, with plenty of time to iron out any problems before
the first Saturn left the launch pad. In short, von Braun was confident of
success with the new hydrogen technology, and Mrazek agreed; so the
scenario was finally set.48 (See chapter 5 for further details of LH2
technology.)
46
AEROSPACE ALPHABET: ABMA, ARPA, MSEC
In the spring of 1960, as the word of NASA's decision to rely on the
novel propellant combination for Saturn reached the public, Eldon Hall
and Francis Schwenk, from the Office of Launch Vehicle Programs at
NASA Headquarters, outlined the reasons for the choice. The higher
vehicle performance required for advanced missions simply required
higher energy propellants, they explained. The staging of several rockets
using conventional propellants rapidly reached optimum design limits,
because advanced missions and payloads required more thrust and more
engines — which meant heavier rockets with bigger tanks and engines and
proportionately less efficiency in design and capability. On the other
hand, high-energy propellants promised the best results for advanced
missions requiring high escape velocities. "The choice of high-energy
upper stages for Saturn is based almost entirely on the fact that, with
present knowledge of stage construction, at least one of the upper stages
must use high-energy propellants if certain desirable missions are to be
accomplished with this vehicle," Hall and Schwenk emphasized. So "the
Saturn program was established for early incorporation of a high-energy
second stage into the vehicle system."4
In the course of the deliberations of the Silverstein committee, three
types of missions for the Saturn vehicle emerged. First priority was given
to lunar and deep-space missions with an escape payload of about 4500
kilograms. Next in order of priority came satellite payloads of about 2250
kilograms in a 24-hour equatorial orbit. Finally, the committee consid-
ered the possibility of manned missions involving the Dyna-Soar pro-
gram, in which a two-stage vehicle would be used to put 4500 kilograms
into low orbit. On the basis of these assumptions, the committee stressed
the evolutionary pattern of Saturn development and its potential for a
variety of future roles. "Early capability with an advanced vehicle and
possibilities for future growth were accepted as elements of greatest
importance in the Saturn vehicle development."
Once more, the Saturn Vehicle Team reviewed the wide array of
potential configurations, reduced the number of choices to six, and
began to weed out the least promising. The A-l version, with modified
Titan and Centaur upper stages, would provide the earliest flight
schedules and lowest costs with existing hardware. It was rejected because
it could not meet lunar and satellite payload requirements and because
the slender 3-meter^diameter upper stages were considered to have
potential structural weaknesses. The A-2 type, with a cluster of Interme-
diate Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs) in the second stage, also saved
money and promised early availability but did not have the capability for
some of the planned missions. A proposed B-l vehicle met all mission
requirements but needed a totally new stage with conventional fuels. The
B-l type was expensive, would take a lot of time to develop, and had
some shortcomings for advanced missions.
47
STAGES TO SATURN
Moreover, all first three candidates needed high-energy propellants
in the top stage. So why restrict the promise of LH2 to the top stage
alone? "If these propellants are to be accepted for the difficult top-stage
applications," the committee concluded, "there seem to be no valid
engineering reasons for not accepting the use of high-energy propellants
for the less difficult application to intermediate stages." The Saturn
family of rockets finally envisioned by the Silverstein committee included
C-l, C-2, and C-3, all with LH2 in the upper stages. The three-stage C-l
met the mission requirements and used Centaur engines in the LH2
upper stages. The second stage had four uprated Centaur engines,
designated the S-IV stage, and the S-V top stage was the Centaur itself,
with two engines. The hop-scotch numbering occurred because of the
"building block" concept, in which hardware was used as available, the
concept was tested, and then newer and advanced stages were incorpo-
rated in the next major configuration. During C-l development and
flight, for example, a new S-III stage for Saturn C-2 would be prepared
with the use of a newer, more powerful generation of LH2 engines. As
the development and flight test of Saturn C-2 proceeded, the S-II stage
would be worked up with four of the newer LH2 engines. The final C-3
vehicle would stack all the various stages together as a five-stage booster.
Further, the Saturn Vehicle Team suggested that the first stage of the
C-3 model might even include an F-l engine to replace four of the cluster
of eight uprated H-l engines.
In its final recommendations for the phased development of Saturn
C-l through C-3, the Silverstein committee emphasized the building
block concept keyed to the Saturn first-stage cluster, along with hydrogen-
oxygen propellants in all the upper stages. Proceeding from the Centaur
technology under development at the time, the committee urged imme-
diate development of a new LH2 engine and initiation of design studies
for the S-II and S-III stages to use the more powerful engines.50
PRIORITIES AND GOALS
With in-house capability established, in the form of the ABMA
transfer, and with immediate vehicle guidelines established as a result of
the Silverstein committee, NASA now proceeded to refine its priorities
and goals.
The ultimate goal was a lunar landing. The Director of Lunar
Vehicles, Donald R. Ostrander, stated in a planning conference for
NASA and industry in January 1960: "The principal mission which we
have used as an objective in these planning studies has been that of a
manned landing on the moon and return to earth."01 Looking ahead,
NASA executives told Congress during hearings late in the same month
that the agency planned a circumlunar flight by 1970 and a manned
48
S-V (CENTAUR)
WO 15K ENGINES
A
S-IV LOX/LH /
FOUR 15-20K '
ENGINES
S-l LOX/RP
EIGHT H-1
ENGINES
S-IV LOX/LH
FOUR 15-20K
ENGINES
S-lll LOX/LH
TWO 150-200K
ENGINES
S-ll LOX/LH
FOUR 150-200K
ENGINES
S-l LOX/RP
T = 2.0+ M
C-3
STAGE
1
2
3
4
A-1
LOX/RP
EIGHT H-1
ENGINE
CLUSTER
LOX/RP
TITAN
120" DIA.
CENTAUR
120" DIA.
TWO 15K
ENGINES
A-2
CLUSTER OF
IRBM'S
CENTAUR
120" DIA.
TWO 15K
ENGINES
B-1
LOX/RP
220" DIA.*
FOUR H-1 TYPE
ENGINES
LOX/LH
220" DIA.*
FOUR 15-20K
ENGINES
CENTAUR
120" DIA.
TWO 15K
ENGINES
C-1
LOX/LH
220" DIA.*
FOUR 15-20K
ENGINES ^
CENTAUR
120" DIA.
TWO - 15K
ENGINES >w
C-2
1
I
LOX/LH
220" DIA.*
TWO 150-200K
ENGINES
^ LOX/LH
220" DIA.*
FOUR 15-20K
ENGINES
CENTAUR
120" DIA.
TWO 15K
ENGINES
C-3
LOX/RP
2.0+ MILLION
POUND THRUST
ENGINE
CLUSTER
LOX/LH
220" DIA.*
FOUR 150 200K
ENGINES
LOX/LH
220" DIA.*
TWO 150-200K
ENGINES
LOX/LH
220" DIA.*
FOUR 15-20K
ENGINES
STAGES TO SATURN
lunar landing soon after. The agency also estimated the cost at $13 to $15
billion over the coming decade, and Associate Administrator Horner
explained the need to look so far ahead and plan a budget:
Virtually all of our key programs presume a scheduled progress in launch
vehicle and spacecraft development. These major developmental tasks frequently
require time periods of 5 to 6 years for completion and can be substantially longer
under given circumstances of technological progress and research availability.
Thus, although the usefulness of highly tentative plans might be questioned,
long-term objectives, on the order of 10 years in advance of today's program, are
essential to keep our development activities properly focused.
The actions we initiate this year and next in the vehicle development program
will have a determining influence on our capabilities for meeting national objectives
in the last half of this decade and even beyond. Accordingly, we have developed a
10-year plan, one which we expect to modify from year to year on the basis of
realized experience, development progress, and resource availability. It is formu-
lated around the requirement that its implementation must so utilize the resources
of the United States that our national role as a leader in the aeronautical and space
sciences and their technologies is preserved and steadily enhanced. We have also
assumed that a steady growth in the scale and intensity of our efforts, especially for
the next 5 years, is an essential basis for consistent and fruitful efforts in meeting
this requirement.02
As NASA prepared to forge ahead on its 10-year program in 1960,
the agency enjoyed increased support from Eisenhower, and Glennan
won an important advantage for the Saturn program in terms of a high
priority endorsement. "As we have agreed," the President wrote to
Glennan on 14 January, "it is essential to push forward vigorously to
increase our capability in high thrust space vehicles." In the same
directive to Glennan, Eisenhower gave his authorization to prepare an
additional funding request for the balance of fiscal 1960 and 1961, "to
accelerate the super booster program," and to use overtime as needed,
"consistent with my decision to assign a high priority to the Saturn
development." Four days later, on 18 January, the rating for highest
national priority (DX rating) became official, authorizing the use of
overtime wages and giving Saturn precedence for materials and other
program requirements.53
The configurations of the Saturn family were still in a state of flux,
however, and the Nova was still a probability in the NASA scheme.
Straightening out the lines of development and mission application
became an issue that absorbed personnel in program studies and
committee meetings for another two and a half years. Although the
Saturn Vehicle Team did not mention Nova in their recommendations,
the towering booster figured prominently in plans for manned lunar
landings. During a meeting on advanced propulsion requirements at
NASA Headquarters in early June 1960, the Huntsville group discussed
Nova "for manned lunar landing and return," in a configuration that
50
AEROSPACE ALPHABET: ABMA, ARPA, MSEC
would boost a 81 600-kilogram payload to escape velocity and return
6800 kilograms to Earth. The vehicle featured eight of the 6 700 000-newton
(1.5-million-pound) thrust engines in the first stage, four LH2 engines in
the second stage, and one LH2 engine each in the third and fourth stages.
Data for a C-2 launch with assisted boost from Minuteman missile
solid-fuel strap-ons were also discussed, although "Marshall people were
not enamored with the idea of any changes to the C-2."54 Therefore, the
Saturn configurations remained keyed to liquid propulsion engines,
especially the LH2 propulsion systems. NASA planners considered using
the Saturn "C" series of vehicles for manned space stations, manned
circumlunar missions, and unmanned lunar and planetary probes. Manned
lunar excursions, Homer Stewart reminded NASA Administrator Glennan,
would definitely require the application of the 6 700 000-newton
(1.5-million-pound) thrust engine (known as the F-l) used in a cluster,
probably in a Nova vehicle, and if the LH2 program developed any snags,
he warned, the Saturn program would quickly find itself in dire trouble.55
Toward the end of 1960, NASA planners decided it was time to
review the space program once again and make more specific recom-
mendations for future development in the Saturn and Nova projects.
Early in November, NASA laid out its milestone for the next 10 years. "A
ten-year interval has no special significance," the report asserted, "yet it is
considered to be an appropriate interval since past experience has shown
that the time required to translate research knowledge into operationally
effective systems in similar new fields of technology is generally of this
order." This time span permitted opportunity to establish mission goals
and plans and coordinate the development of spacecraft and appropriate
booster hardware. Apparently there was already some confusion about
terminology, since the "Proposed Long Range Plan," as drafted by the
Headquarters Office of Program Planning & Evaluation, included some
definitions. "Launching vehicle" meant a first-stage booster and upper
stages to inject a spacecraft into proper trajectory. "Spacecraft" included
the basic payload as well as guidance and its own propulsion systems for
trajectory modifications following injection. The term "space vehicle"
encompassed the entire system — launching vehicle plus spacecraft.06
With definitions thus established, the document discussed the major
launch vehicles, or boosters, under NASA cognizance: C-l, C-2, and
Nova. The C-l and C-2 descriptions closely followed the analysis pre-
pared by the Silverstein committee the previous year, the descriptions
reaffirming the building block concept with the C-l as a three-stage
vehicle and the C-2 as a four-stage booster including a newly developed
second stage with a cluster of four 890 000-newton (200 000-pound)
thrust hydrogen engines. The R&D for the Centaur and the new hydro-
gen engines appeared to be the biggest gamble in the long-range plan.
The decision to use LOX-LH2 engines in C-l and C-2 upper stages "was
based on a calculated risk," the report stated, that such engine technology
51
STAGES TO SATURN
would come along smoothly enough to keep the building block sequence
on schedule. By FY 1964- 1967, according to the "Proposed Long Range
Plan," the C-l should be operational in support of preliminary Apollo
orbital missions, as well as planetary probes and as a test bed for
advanced technology electron engines and nuclear engines. The C-2
should be ready somewhat later to place twice the payload into orbit, as
well as for launching deep-space probes.57
As for the Nova, "its primary mission is to accomplish manned lunar
landings," the plan said. Nova was admittedly still in the conceptual stage,
since its size and ultimate configuration depended on space environmen-
tal research, progress in advanced chemical engines such as the F-l, and
potential development of nuclear engines. The Nova, with an F-l cluster
combination to total 53 million newtons (12 million pounds) of thrust in
the first stage, seemed to be the most feasible, and the Nova booster could
make a manned lunar landing mission by direct staging to the moon and
return or by a series of launches to boost hardware into low orbit for a
series of rendezvous operations, building up a space vehicle in low orbit
for the final lunar mission.58
As a prelude to the ambitious moon missions, a lot of basic research
had to be integrated into the plans for the launch vehicle development.
Guidance and control was one area singled out for special attention,
requiring advances in the state of the art in accelerometers; in cryogenic,
electromagnetic, and electrostatic support systems for gyros and attitude
control; inertia wheels; in long-life gyro spin axis bearings. The long-
range plan noted research challenges in terms of heating and other
aerodynamic problems, along with mechanical, hydraulic, electrical,
electronic, and structural difficulties. The space environment created a
wide range of potential trouble spots in metals, plastics, seals, and
lubricants. The scaled-up size of Saturn and Nova suggested difficulties
in devising adequate automatic test equipment and techniques for the
fabrication and assembly of oversized components. The long-range plan
provided the opportunity to look ahead and anticipate these problem
areas, giving NASA designers and engineers the chance to start working
on solutions to these and other problems that were sure to crop up in the
course of launch vehicle development.
The long-range plan also projected a series of key dates in the
development of launch vehicles:
1961 first suborbital astronaut flight
first launch Saturn 1st stage
1963 launch 2-stage C-l
launch 3-stage C-l
1964 qualification of 200K LH2 engine
1965 qualification of 1.5-million-pound engine
52
AEROSPACE ALPHABET: ABMA, ARPA, MSFC
1966-1967 launch 3-stage C-2
1 968 - 1 970 Apollo manned orbiting lab and circumlunar flights
Beyond 1970 manned lunar landing
The long-range plan also estimated the costs.59 NASA's plans at this
time found support from the President's Scientific Advisory Committee,
which had formed a special ad hoc group to examine the space program
to date and analyze its goals, missions, and costs. In its report, released on
14 November, the group advanced the rationale that "at present the most
impelling reason for our effort has been the international political
situation which demands that we demonstrate our technological capabili-
ties if we are to maintain our position of leadership." The report
considered the scientific motive of much less significance than prestige
but commented that "it may be argued that much of the motivation and
drive for the scientific exploration of space is derived from the dream of
man's getting into space himself."63 The committee wondered if 25 test
flights for the C-l and 16 for the C-2 were enough to qualify the vehicles
for manned launches but gave NASA good marks overall on their plans
and schedules. Further, the committee endorsed the R&D plans for
liquid hydrogen technology and encouraged development of larger
post-Saturn launch vehicles like the Nova.61
But NASA was not entirely free from difficulties. NASA Adminis-
trator Glennan departed NASA at the end of the Eisenhower Adminis-
tration and resumed his position as president of Case Institute. Several
weeks passed before President John F. Kennedy's new Administration
settled on a successor. Lyndon Johnson, the Vice-President, still played a
strong hand in space program planning, and favored someone with
strong administrative credentials. Other advisers contended that NASA
needed a technical man at the helm. As the Kennedy Administration
prepared to take over early in 1961, the space agency received some hard
knocks from the President-elect's science advisor, Jerome B. Wiesner, of
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Kennedy announced Wiesner's
appointment on 1 1 January and released the "Wiesner Report" the next
day.62 Officially titled "Report to the President-Elect of the Ad Hoc
Committee on Space," the report gave due credit to the "dedication and
talent" that had achieved notable advances in space exploration during
the past few years but implied deficiencies in the booster program. "Our
scientific accomplishments to date are impressive," the document observed,
"but unfortunately, against the background of Soviet accomplishments
with large boosters, they have not been impressive enough."
Among other recommendations, the Wiesner report urged technical
competence in the positions of Administrator and Deputy Administrator,
along with technical directors for propulsion and vehicles, scientific pro-
grams, nonmilitary space applications, and aeronautical programs.63
For several weeks, contact with the new Kennedy Administration was
STAGES TO SATURN
haphazard. The Wiesner report aroused real concern among NASA
personnel; there was a definite feeling that the report was neither fair
nor carefully prepared. The issue of NASA leadership was resolved in
February, when James E. Webb was nominated as Administrator. Vice-
President Johnson had found the managerial talent he wanted. A lawyer
and ex-officer in Marine Corps aviation, Webb had headed the Bureau of
the Budget and served as Undersecretary of State during the Truman
Administration. At the time of his appointment, Webb was actively
involved in the management of large corporations and was an active
member of several professional administrative and policy organizations.
Webb was sworn in by 14 February, with Dryden again as Deputy
Administrator. Members of the Wiesner committee were subsequently
given a deeper insight into the NASA program and organization that
produced a much more positive feeling on their part. The organizational
structure of the space agency was indeed firmed up, and a healthy
rapport was established with the new Administration.
During the 1960 campaign, Kennedy had made an issue of the
Eisenhower record in space, although the question was addressed more
in terms of the so-called "missile gap" than in terms of space exploration.
After the election, however, the Kennedy Administration evinced a
growing interest in NASA's programs. In February, Webb was asked to
conduct a thorough review and make recommendations; although a
revised NASA budget request was trimmed, the space agency went to
Congress in March with a program that amounted to over $125 million
more than Eisenhower's original $1.1 billion for fiscal 1962. On 10 April,
Kennedy submitted a specific request to amend the Space Act, in keeping
with a campaign statement, to revive the dormant National Aeronautics
and Space Council, and to appoint Vice-President Lyndon Johnson, a
partisan of space exploration, as its head. In sum, the national space
program under the new Kennedy Administration began moving with
positive, if modest, momentum. Rapid acceleration occurred as a reaction
to dramatic Russian progress.64
The successive achievements of Russian efforts in space exploration
early in 1961 not only intensified NASA's plans in astronautics, but also
influenced President Kennedy's commitment to a more active program
by the United States. The day after Webb and Dryden were sworn in, the
Soviet Union launched a probe to Venus from a space vehicle in a
parking orbit; Kennedy remarked at a public press conference that the
Russian lead in space boosters was "a matter of great concern."6' Then,
on 12 April, while Congress was debating additional funds for NASA's
budget in the coming year, a Russian booster put Yuri Gagarin into Earth
orbit — the first human to orbit the Earth. On the evening of the following
day, President Kennedy hosted a meeting at the White House, inviting
Webb, Dryden, Wiesner, Theodore Sorensen, and several others, includ-
AEROSPACE ALPHABET: ABMA, ARPA, MSFC
ing a reporter, Hugh Sidey, from Life magazine. The conversations
revealed Kennedy's considerable concern about the Soviet Union's grow-
ing preeminence in space. The President speculated about the steps the
United States could take to improve its own activities and about the costs
involved in an accelerated program. Dryden observed that it might cost
up to $40 billion to fund a program to land on the moon before the
Russians, and even then, the Russians might make it before the Ameri-
cans. But the President clearly wanted action. "There's nothing more
important," he was remembered as saying.66 Not long afterward, in
remarks to the Congress, Kennedy firmly asserted that it was "time for
this nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement, which in
many ways may hold the key to our future on Earth."67 Shortly thereaf-
ter, Kennedy instructed Johnson and the Space Council to study space
projects that would give the United States a visible lead in space
exploration.
Congress also wanted more information from NASA about costs
and the problems of landing on the moon ahead of the Russians. In
mid-April, Webb repeated to Congress what Dryden had told the
President. The cost would be anywhere from $20 to $40 billion. Some
congressmen suggested the possibility that the Russians might attempt a
lunar landing around 1967, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of
the Russian Revolution. With massive infusion of funds, the representa-
tives asked, could the Americans beat a Russian landing? In his response,
Associate Administrator Robert Seamans was wary. The target date of
1967 for the Russians was only an assumption, he said. Current NASA
planning put an American lunar landing in 1969 or 1970 at the earliest.
To reduce American intentions by three years was not necessarily an
impossibility, Seamans stated, but would certainly be tremendously
expensive in the short term.68
During April and May, the executive and legislative branches of
government blossomed committees and working groups like flowers in a
spring garden. Within NASA, planning groups funneled a series of
honed and polished study papers to the White House for Kennedy's
consideration, and the Department of Defense and the space agency
refined mutual goals and individual efforts to ensure cooperation where
necessary and to avoid needless redundancy. The nexus of all these
streams of activity culminated in President Kennedy's State of the Union
message on 25 May 1961. The manned space program would be the
province of NASA, a civilian agency, not a military agency. He proposed
to increase NASA's 1962 budget by more than $500 million. Kennedy left
no doubt as to NASA's objective or its schedule for realization. "This
nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is
out, of landing a man on the Moon, and returning him safely to the
Earth."69
55
STAGES TO SATURN
SUMMARY
Haltingly, a national space program coalesced around a new entity,
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. After turning to the
Department of Defense for its large boosters, funded through ARPA and
under development by ABM A, NASA realized the need to control its
own booster program when the Saturn project was nearly canceled owing
to budgetary cross-currents. The eventual transfer of the von Braun
team and the Saturn booster was a significant step forward for NASA.
During 1959—1960, important agreements on upper stages and the use
of high-energy LH2 technology were also worked out, capped by Presi-
dent Kennedy's decision to achieve a manned lunar landing within
the decade of the 1960s. The next moves required decisions on mission
profiles and production facilities.
Missions, Modes, and Manufacturing
At the time of Kennedy's historic pronouncement, the booster vehicle
program was still in flux. The Saturn rocket was considered a multi-
purpose vehicle, and the Department of Defense was still planning Earth-
orbital missions using Dyna-Soar. During the summer and fall of 1960,
NASA and Air Force executives were still engaged in mission studies
using Dyna-Soar as a payload for Saturn.1 By January 1961, the Dyna-
Soar appeared to have won an even stronger place in Saturn mission
studies. In a planning session at Huntsville, the second stage of the
Saturn C-2 configuration study was firmed up as to trajectory, perfor-
mance, and structural considerations. All of these parameters derived
from a Saturn and Dyna-Soar vehicle combination with the Dyna-Soar as
the upper stage.2 Yet the C-2 configuration itself was only a paper study,
and Saturn configurations changed rapidly in the early months of 1961.
At the opening of the new year, as NASA was still formulating its
mission plans and goals, Glennan injected a note of caution into discus-
sions involving a manned lunar landing because a formal announcement
from the White House had not yet been made. In general, the mood at
NASA was to proceed toward the lunar goal along a broad base of action,
leaving open a variety of options including Department of Defense
missions like Dyna-Soar. If all the options were pursued, then a broad
series of booster vehicles needed to be developed, and von Braun was
already hoisting storm signals about the allocation of manpower in NASA
programs. At current levels, he noted, NASA would most certainly find
itself overextended by trying to maintain parallel development of both
the C-2 and the Nova.3
57
STAGES TO SATURN
CONFIRMING THE CONFIGURATIONS
During 1961, configurations seemed to change month by month. In
January, the C-l vehicle changed from a three-stage to a two-stage
booster, eliminating the S-V upper stage to leave only S-I and S-IV
stages; but S-V development continued during February. By May, the
C-l had become a possible three-stage vehicle again, including Block I
and Block II interim versions. In February, the C-2 was ticketed as a
three-stage vehicle for Earth-escape missions (featuring an S-I I second
stage); in May, there was talk of a need for an even more powerful vehicle
for circumlunar missions; in June the C-2 was dropped in favor of a C-3,
although Nova would continue; later in the year, there were plans for a
C-4, along with a solid-booster C-l. By the end of the year, there was also
the C-5.4 One result of this was the decline of Dyna-Soar, whose position
as a NASA payload essentially evaporated after the C-2 cancellation in
June.5
The rise and fall of vehicle configurations reflected the rapidly
shifting concepts of mission profiles, payloads, schedules, and money.
The fluctuating pattern of Saturn configurations and numbers created
confusion even among those in government who were close to the
program, as Hugh Dryden admitted in a letter to Hugh Odishaw, of the
National Academy of Sciences. Written in March 1961, the letter also
revealed the concern of some observers that future development of
Saturn was a "dead end road." Such talk irritated Dryden. If critics were
referring to the Saturn S-l first stage, with a total thrust of 1.5 million
pounds, then he admitted that maximum development was self-evident,
since the propulsion came from the most advanced engines available
from the ballistic missile program. Dryden complained that critics did not
allow for advanced Saturns of much improved performance, using what
he called "the Saturn engine."6 He could have been referring to either
the F-l or the liquid hydrogen propulsion system (known as the J-2), but
both types of engine would be crucial for advanced configurations
involving more ambitious missions. The C-3 version, for example,
boasted two F-l engines in the first stage (double the thrust of the
existing Saturn C-l first stage), four J-2 engines in the second stage, and
a pair of J-2s in the third stage. During a high-level NASA conference in
late July 1961, Milton Rosen emphasized that the United States was still
in contention in the race for a manned lunar landing "only because we
initiated J-2 and F-l development at a relatively early date." If the United
States intended to maintain a competitive position, Rosen warned, NASA
had to capitalize on the use of these propulsion systems, both of which
were still under development.7
Certainly if the F-l and J-2 were to be the optimum engines, then
the vehicle known as the Saturn C-5 promised to be an optimum booster.
The designers at MSFC made a firm commitment to the C-5 by late 1961,
58
MISSIONS, MODES, AND MANUFACTURING
and NASA Headquarters gave formal approval for development on 25
January 1962. The C-5 was a three-stage vehicle, with five F-l engines in
the first stage, five J-2 liquid-hydrogen engines in the second stage, and
one J-2 in the third stage. The C-5 could handle a number of missions,
including 113000-kilogram payloads into low Earth orbit, or 41 000
kilograms on a lunar mission, which could be a circumlunar voyage or a
manned landing.8
During a spring meeting of various NASA managers at Langley
Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, Ernst Geissler of MSEC reviewed
the status of the booster program. Despite the welter of configuration
changes and confusing nomenclature, one of the guiding principles of
the vehicle development program continued to be the building block
concept, an idea even more significant with the passage of time and
realization of the immense costs and complexities of the program. "By
qualifying individual components, such as stages, a fewer number of
flights are necessary for high reliability of the total vehicle system," he
emphasized. Moreover, the step-by-step approach allowed the space
agency to experiment with various maneuvers in orbit, as required for
different mission concepts.9 The Saturn C-l, at that time, was planned
for vehicle development launches that would also include testing of the
planned lunar spacecraft module in orbit and reentry, culminating in a
series of manned flights. The spacecraft would thus be qualified in plenty
of time, ready for launch aboard the C-5. Qualifying some of the C-5
hardware suggested possible problems, however, unless some prelimi-
nary flight tests occurred. Geissler referred to still a different launch
vehicle, the C-1B. This interim vehicle, using the C-5's intended third
stage as its own second stage, would take advantage of the proven C-l
first-stage booster. Thus, the C-1B would be able to qualify certain
hardware and systems for the C-5, while demonstrating the feasibility of
orbital operations inherent in C-5 mission concepts.10
Geissler summarized three principal modes for a lunar landing
mission with the C-5 vehicle. Lunar orbit rendevous (LOR) involved
descent to the lunar surface from lunar orbit by using a small spacecraft
that separated from a parent lunar satellite and then rejoined the
orbiting spacecraft for the return home. Earth orbit rendezvous (EOR)
involved the landing of a larger vehicle directly on the lunar surface, thus
eliminating the descent and ascent of a separate spacecraft from orbit.
But the EOR mode required rendezvous techniques in building up the
necessary vehicle in Earth orbit. Geissler explained two different approaches.
After launching two vehicles, the upper stages of each could be con-
nected to form the lunar vehicle. An alternative was to transfer oxidizer
from one vehicle to the other in Earth orbit. There was one more feasible
way of going to the moon: if a large enough vehicle could be built, a
single launch would suffice. MSEC refused to give up on Nova. The Nova
in the spring of 1962 was to have 8- 10 F-l engines in the first stage, and a
59
Early design concepts of C-l and C-5 versions of the Saturn launch vehicles.
second stage mounting a powerful new LH2 engine, the M-l, under
development by Aerojet General. Although Geissler predicted a test
launch of the Nova by the autumn of 1967, the logic of development
favored the C-5 because it was predicted to be fully operational by
November 1967.11
Nova, like Dyna-Soar, seemed to evaporate as other issues were
settled that placed a premium on the development of its nearest
competitor, the C-5. On 1 1 July 1962, NASA officially endorsed the C-1B
as a two-stage Saturn for Earth-orbital tests of Apollo hardware. At the
same time, NASA confirmed the choice of the LOR mode for the lunar
mission, thereby focusing development on the C-5. Early in 1963, NASA
Headquarters announced a new nomenclature for its large launch
vehicles. The C-l became Saturn I, C-1B became Saturn IB, and C-5
became Saturn V. Nova was not even mentioned.12
To RENDEZVOUS OR NOT TO RENDEZVOUS
The disarmingly simple NASA statement of 1 1 July 1962, confirming
the choice of LOR as the mode, represented only the tip of a bureaucratic
iceberg. The choice of LOR came after a series of skirmishes and
60
The stable of NASA launch vehicles that were actually built and flown.
engagements among various NASA centers and within Headquarters.
The struggle in reaching the final decision also suggested some of the
problems to be faced by NASA management when one center had
responsibility for the launch vehicle and another organization had the
payload. The problems were compounded when both were trying to
fashion programs and develop hardware without always knowing what
each would require in the end.
The von Braun group, after all, had been developing both payload
and boosters as integral systems for years. Now it would be necessary to
defer to different design teams and accept ouside judgments about
payloads. In the case of Saturn, the payload development stemmed from
the Space Task Group (STG) originally set up in October 1958 to manage
Project Mercury. Located physically at Langley Research Center, Virgin-
ia, STG reported to the Goddard Space Flight Center at Greenbelt,
Maryland. Beginning in 1959, STG received management responsibili-
ties for studies leading to Project Apollo.13 In the spring of 1960, STG
and MSFC began closer contact when STG organized a special liaison
group, the "Advanced Vehicle Team," nine men headed by R.O. Piland
and reporting directly to the STG chief, Robert R. Gilruth. Among other
things, the Advanced Vehicle Team was to maintain appropriate contact
with the various NASA centers, and, specifically, to maintain "the
necessary liaison with the Marshall Space Flight Center in matters
61
STAGES TO SATURN
pertaining to the development and planned use of boosters in the
advanced manned space flight program."1
Early on, participants in the liaison effort discovered that their style
did not always mesh with that of MSEC. One trip report from an STG
team member in October 1960 noted von Braun's desire for additional
meetings in November and December, and added, somewhat peevishly,
"Dr. von Braun wants to participate. This probably means another
ballroom meeting." Apparently the MSEC method was to have a large
gathering for a semiformal presentation, then break into smaller groups
for detailed discussions. "I've reached the opinion that MSEC staff have
no qualms about playing one group against the other ... if we have
separate meetings," the correspondent complained, and warned STG to
be careful.10
Perhaps part of the problem was STG's lesser standing vis-a-vis
Marshall as a full-fledged center. This aspect was improved in January
1960, when STG became a separate field element, reporting directly to
the NASA Director of Space Flight Programs, Abe Silverstein. As
Director of STG, Gilruth had his own staff of some 600, still physically
located at Langley. With a new organizational structure and bureaucratic
independence, STG was authorized to conduct advanced planning
studies for manned vehicle systems, as well as to establish basic design
criteria. STG also had authority to assume technical management of its
projects, including the monitoring of contractors. By November, STG
became even more independent when it was officially redesignated the
Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC),16 and plans were being made to
transfer MSC to its new location near Houston, Texas, by the middle of
1962.
It is interesting that Gilruth and von Braun's emissary, Eberhard
Rees, soon thereafter were stressing the "equality" of the two NASA
centers. Meeting in July 1961, the two men also agreed on setting up four
joint panels to cope with the growing problems of design, hardware,
operational, and bureaucratic coordination: Program Planning Schedul-
ing; Launch Operations; Apollo- Advanced Vehicles; Apollo-Saturn C-l.
Each panel, in addition, included certain working groups for specific
areas, with provisions for ad hoc joint study groups as the need arose. For
problems involving other NASA agencies, there were special technical
liaison teams. In general, technically knowledgeable members were
assigned on a functional, rather than an organizational, basis; wherever
possible, the responsibilities of experienced personnel already assigned
to internal working groups were increased.17
Naturally, all concerned hoped that the joint groups would promote
understanding and reduce friction. That the Apollo-Saturn program
succeeded as well as it did testifies to the value of such efforts, but this is
62
MISSIONS, MODES, AND MANUFACTURING
not to say that differences of opinion were always easily and quickly
adjusted. The issue of EOR vesus LOR, for example, brought Marshall
and the Manned Spacecraft Center into head-on conflict.
Early in 1961, NASA's studies for a manned lunar landing were
keyed to the EOR mode using a Saturn vehicle or to direct ascent with the
Nova.18 In view of MSC's later acceptance of LOR, Gilruth's initial
support of the direct ascent concept is intriguing. "I feel that it is highly
desirable to develop a launch vehicle with sufficient performance and
reliability to carry out the lunar landing mission using the direct
approach," he wrote to NASA Headquarters reliability expert Nicholas
Golovin in the autumn of 1961. As for the rendezvous schemes (and here
he apparently referred only to EOR), Gilruth said that they compromised
mission reliability and flight safety, and that they were a "crutch to
achieve early planned dates for launch vehicle availablity, and to avoid
the difficulty of developing a reliable Nova Class launch vehicle." At the
same time, he understood the need for an Earth parking orbit during any
mission to allow adequate time for final checkout of spacecraft, equip-
ment, and crew readiness before going far from Earth.19
The concept of lunar orbital rendezvous (LOR) had been studied at
Langley Research Center as early as 1960. The idea was passionately
advocated by John Houbolt, a Langley engineer who first encountered it
while investigating rendezvous techniques for orbiting space stations.
The Langley- Houbolt concept of LOR was soon absorbed by the STG-MSC
crew, and MSC eventually became the leading champion of LOR.20
Houbolt played a key role in converting Headquarters planners to the
LOR concept. Convinced that the idea had not received a fair hearing,
Houbolt bypassed everyone and wrote directly to Associate Administra-
tor Robert C. Seamans, Jr., in November. Fulminating at what he viewed
as grandiose plans for using boosters that were too large and lunar
landers that were too complex, Houbolt urged consideration of LOR as a
simple, cost-effective scheme with high likelihood of success. "Give us the
go-ahead, and a C-3," Houbolt pleaded, "and we will put man on the
moon in very short order."'2
Houbolt's letter apparently swayed several managers at Headquar-
ters, especially George Low, Director of Space Craft and Flight Missions,
in the Office of Manned Space Flight (OMSF). But D. Brainerd Holmes,
who presided over OMSF, still had a prickly managerial problem. There
remained people at Headquarters with doubts about LOR, principally
Milton Rosen, newly named Director of Launch Vehicles and Propulsion
in OMSF. Early in November, Holmes and Seamans directed Rosen to
prepare a summary report on the large launch vehicle program, which of
necessity dealt with the issue of EOR-LOR-direct ascent. The Rosen
study came on top of several other committee reports on vehicles and
63
Left, John C. Houbolt goes
through his chalk talk on the
advantages of lunar orbit ren-
dezvous over competing modes.
Below, the typical mission pro-
file using lunar orbit rendezvous.
SATURN V APOLLO
TYPICAL MISSION PROFILE
MISSIONS, MODES, AND MANUFACTURING
landing modes. Rosen's group of 11 people, including 3 from MSFC
(Willy Mrazek, Hans Maus, and James Bramlet), submitted its report on
20 November.22
The issue of how to achieve a lunar landing at the earliest date
became a principal theme in the Rosen group's deliberations. Although
rendezvous offered an early possibility of a manned lunar landing,
Rosen's working group noted that actual rendezvous and docking
experience would not be available until 1964. LOR also seemed the
riskiest and most tricky of the rendezvous modes, and the group
expressed a decided preference for EOR. Either way, a C-5 Saturn with
five F-l engines in the first stage was the recommended vehicle. In spite
of all the discussion of rendezvous, the Rosen committee in the end
favored direct ascent as opposed to either EOR or LOR. "The United
States should place primary emphasis on the direct flight mode for
achieving the first manned lunar landing," the report flatly stated. "This
mode gives greater assurance of accomplishment during this decade."
Therefore, the Nova vehicle "should be developed on a top priority
basis."23 The trend toward LOR strengthened, however. Even though
EOR became the "working mode" for budgetary planning for 1962, the
debate went on.
Holmes hired Joseph Shea, an energetic young engineer, as Chief of
the Office of Systems Engineering in OMSF, with responsibilities to
conduct and coordinate mission mode studies. Holmes also instituted a
top-level series of meetings under the rubric of "The Management
Council," to discuss issues involving Headquarters and more than just
one center alone.24 At just about every meeting of the Management
Council, Rosen and Gilruth got into a debate over the mode choice.
Finally, as Rosen recalled, Gilruth came up to him after one of the
meetings had adjourned and made one more pitch for the LOR mode.
The most dangerous phase of the mission, Gilruth argued, was the actual
landing on the moon. If Rosen's direct ascent idea was followed, then at
the moment for lunar descent, that meant landing an unwieldy vehicle
that was both quite long and quite heavy. A very touchy operation,
Gilruth emphasized. LOR, on the other hand, boasted an important
advantage: the lunar landing and lunar takeoff would be accomplished
by a very light and maneuverable vehicle specifically designed for the
task. Rosen confessed he had been preoccupied with simplicity from one
end of the mission — the launch from Earth — and he had no convincing
counterarguments when Gilruth made him look at simplicity from the
other end, the lunar landing.20
While the consensus at Headquarters now shifted towards LOR, the
split between MSC and MSFC showed few signs of easing. On a swing
through both MSC at Langley and MSFC at Huntsville in January 1962,
Shea was discouraged by the entrenched position of the two centers:
Marshall people displayed an "instinctive reaction" of negativism on the
65
STAGES TO SATURN
issue of LOR, while MSC personnel seemed too enthusiastic, even
unrealistic, about rendezvous problems and the weight situation. Each
center, Shea observed, intent on its own in-house studies, "completely
ignores the capability of the other's hardware."26 During the spring,
however, MSC's research seemed to become more convincing. MSFC also
began to regard LOR with increased interest. In mid-April, an MSC
presentation at Huntsville elicited several favorable comments from von
Braun himself.27
The evidence suggests that von Braun increasingly felt the necessity
of settling the issue so that they could get on with definitive contracts for
launch vehicles and other hardware with long lead times.28 Resolution of
the EOR-LOR controversy finally came on 7 June 1962, when Shea and
his aides were in Huntsville for still another session on the mode of
rendezvous. In his concluding remarks, von Braun noted that the
conference had given six hours of intensive analysis to various proposals,
including Nova-direct as well as EOR and LOR. They all appeared to be
feasible, von Braun commented; the problem was narrowing the choices
to one and then acting on it. "It is absolutely mandatory that we arrive at
a definite mode decision within the next few weeks, preferably by the
first of July 1962," he declared. "We are already losing time in our overall
program as a result of lacking a mocje decision." Then von Braun
announced that LOR was Marshall's first choice.
There were complex technological, economic, and administrative
reasons for Marshall's ultimate decision to go along with LOR. Although
von Braun elaborated on 1 1 principal reasons for choosing LOR, the
basic consideration involved confidence that it provided the best chance
for a successful manned lunar landing within the decade. The concept
promised good performance margins. Separation of the lunar lander
from the reentry vehicle seemed desirable from many considerations of
design and operation, and the overall concept suggested good growth
potential for both the lander and the booster. Von Braun also implied
that both sides could work together without the potential friction of an "I
told you so" attitude. The fact that he felt compelled to proffer such a
verbal olive branch suggests that the heat generated by the EOR-LOR
debate must have been considerable. The MSFC Director observed that
"the issue of 'invented here' versus 'invented there' does not apply,"
because both MSC and MSFC, in effect, adopted an approach originally
put forth by Langley. "I consider it fortunate indeed for the Manned
Lunar Landing Program that both Centers, after much soul searching,
have come to identical conclusions," von Braun emphasized. "This
should give the Office of Manned Space Flight some additional assurance
that our recommendations should not be too far from the truth."
Quickly ticking off the reasons for deciding against EOR, von Braun
pointed out that it was still feasible. A looming negative factor was the
double loss incurred if, for example, the tanker launch went just fine, but
66
MISSIONS, MODES, AND MANUFACTURING
the manned launch was postponed too long on the pad or had to abort
during ascent, wiping out the mission to the cost of two complete launch
vehicles and associated launch expenses. In addition, von Braun noted
complex management and interface problems with dual launches. Using
the C-5 in a direct launch posed some thorny technical problems and
permitted only the thinnest margins in weight allowances for the space-
craft, so the C-5 direct route was rejected. The huge Nova booster could
have solved some of these problems, but it was rejected principally
because of its size, which would have created requirements beyond the
existing scope of fabrication and test facilities available to NASA; there
were also serious problems seen in time, funding, and technical demands
for a booster of Nova's dimensions.29
Even with von Braun's imprimatur in June, the irrevocable decision
for LOR did not come until the end of 1962. The Huntsville conclave
produced agreement at the center level only; NASA Headquarters still
had to formalize the choice and implement the decision. Early in July,
Seamans, Dryden, Webb, and Holmes concurred with a recommendation
for LOR by the Manned Space Flight Management Council, but the
President's Scientific Advisory Committee still actively questioned the
LOR mode. The committee evidently preferred the EOR approach
because it felt the technological development inherent in the EOR
concept had more promise in the long run for civil and military
operations; its argument also suggested that the LOR choice stemmed
from internal NASA expediency — as the cheapest and earliest mission
possibility — even though technical analysis of LOR was incomplete.
Nicholas Golovin and Jerome Wiesner, in particular, remained adamantly
against LOR, and the controversy actually boiled over into a public
exchange between Wiesner and NASA officials at Huntsville while
President Kennedy was touring Marshall Space Flight Center in Septem-
ber.
Host von Braun and the President were standing in front of a chart
showing the LOR maneuver sequence. As von Braun proceeded to
explain the details, Kennedy interrupted, "I understand Dr. Wiesner
doesn't agree with this," and turned around to search the entourage of
newsmen and VIPs around them. "Where is Jerry?" Kennedy demanded.
Wiesner came up to join Kennedy and von Braun, with Webb, Seamans,
and Holmes also in the group. Wiesner proceeded to outline his
objections to LOR, and some lively dialogue ensued, just out of the
earshot of straining newsmen and dozens of onlookers on the other side
of a roped-off aisle. "They obviously knew we were discussing something
other than golf scores," Seamans recalled. In fairness to Wiesner,
Seamans later noted, the President's scientific advisor had to play the
devil's advocate on many issues when a robust agency was vigorously
pressing its position. Wiesner's job was to make sure that the President
received alternative views, and he once confided to Seamans that he was
67
President Kennedy's visit to MSFC
in September 1962 provided a
forum for discussion of LOR:
from the left, the President, MSFC
Director Wernher von Braun,
NASA Administrator James E.
Webb, V ice-President Lyndon B.
Johnson, Secretary of Defense
Robert S. McNamara, and the
President's Science Advisor Jerome
B. Weisner.
not always comfortable in having to take negative points of view as
Kennedy's advisor. Certainly, the LOR issue was one such example. As
Seamans phrased it, "Here the President had his advisors recommending
one approach, and the line operators recommending another." It was
also one notable instance when Kennedy took a tack opposed to the
PSAC position and supported NASA's decision for the LOR mode.30
After a final round of studies, James Webb reaffirmed full commit-
ment to LOR on 7 November and named a prime contractor, Grumman
Aircraft Engineering Corporation, to build the lunar module.31 Thus, by
the end of 1962, the outlines of the Apollo-Saturn program were firmly
delineated, with agreement on a family of three evolutionary Saturn
vehicles, a functionally designed spacecraft, a technique to land men on
the lunar surface, and a technique to return them safely to Earth.
AN AEROSPACE EMPIRE
The Saturn program created a vast new aerospace enterprise, partly
private and partly public, with MSFC directing a group of facilities whose
extent far exceeded anything in the days of the old NACA. The federally
owned facilities under Marshall's immediate jurisdiction eventually included
the sprawling installation at Huntsville; the cavernous Michoud Assembly
Facility (MAF) at New Orleans; the huge Mississippi Test Facility (MTF)
at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi; and the Slidell Computer Facility at Slidell,
Louisiana. Other government-owned facilities directly related to the
Saturn program included the NASA Rocket Engine Test Site at Edwards
68
MISSIONS, MODES, AND MANUFACTURING
Air Force Base in California and the government-owned production
facilities for the S-II second stage at Seal Beach, California.
The growth of Marshall Space Flight Center at Huntsville began
almost as soon as the transfer of the von Braun team from the Army
Ballistic Missile Agency in 1960. This shift involved some 4.8 square
kilometers of land (within the 162 square kilometers of the Redstone
Arsenal) and facilities valued at $96 000 000, along with 4670 employees
from ABMA's Development Operations Division. (For subsequent fig-
ures on manpower, plant value, etc., see the appendixes.) Settling in its
new role, MSFC evolved as a facility of three distinct sectors, divided into
an administrative and planning area, an industrial area, and test area.
Although the transfer gave NASA the bulk of the land and facilities
previously used by ABMA's Development Operations Division, von
Braun's administrative staff was allowed to remain in their old ABM A
offices on a temporary basis only, and a Saturn-sized test area was
needed. Construction began on a new administrative complex and the
first MSFC personnel took occupancy during the spring of 1963. Of the
several approaches to the center, perhaps the most impressive was from
the north. Driving several miles through the green pastures and wooded,
rolling hills of the Alabama countryside, a viewer watched the adminis-
trative complex looming ever larger. Three multistory buildings were
arranged in a "V" shape, with Building 4200, the tallest of the three,
proudly riding the crest of a low hill. With the U.S. flag snapping smartly
from its pole, this impressive office complex rising out of the rural
landscape rarely failed to impress visitors. As director of the Marshall
Space Flight Center, von Braun, with his staff, occupied office suites on
the top two floors of Building 4200, irreverently known as the "von
Braun Hilton."
Once over the crest of the hill, the visitor saw the rest of the Marshall
complex stretching for several miles to the Tennessee River. In the
foreground, the former ABMA laboratories and manufacturing areas
occupied the equivalent of many city blocks. The labs incorporated
facilities for a host of esoteric research projects, computation, astrionics,
test, and other specialized research activities. Buildings for manufactur-
ing, engineering, quality and reliability assurance, and others had cav-
ernous, high bay areas attached to accommodate the outsized Saturn
components. In the background, the skyline was punctuated by the
silhouettes of the assorted test stands and other installations of the
expanded test area. Here were the engine test stands, an F-l engine
turbopump test position, and two especially large installations visible for
miles. One was the big, burly test stand for the S-IC first stage, 123
meters high, completed in 1964. The second was the Dynamic Test
Stand, 129 meters high, designed to accommodate the complete Saturn
"stack" of all three booster stages, the instrument unit, and the Apollo
spacecraft. Inside the Dynamic Test Stand, heavy duty equipment shook
69
STAGES TO SATURN
and pounded the vehicle to determine its bending and vibration charac-
teristics during flight. Still further to the south, specially built roads for
transporting the bulky Saturn flight stages led to docking facilities on the
Tennessee River, where barges picked up or dropped off stages en route
to other test sites or launch facilities at Cape Kennedy.32
Except for the lawns and plantings around the administrative
complex, Huntsville always had a factory look about it. Crisscrossed by
streets and railroad tracks, Marshall still bore the stamp of its heritage as
an Army arsenal, with lean, utilitarian structures, linked together by a
web of electric and phone lines supported by ubiquitous poles. Buildings
in the industrial area were frequently flanked by ranks of high-pressure
gas bottles, cranes, hoists, and assorted large rocket components. A visit
to the Manned Spacecraft Center at Houston, with its sleek, ultramodern
office complexes and well-tailored inner courtyards (complete with
ponds and rocky little streams) was a study in contrasts.
When Marshall was organized in 1960, the Army launch team under
the direction of Kurt Debus became the Launch Operations Directorate,
Marshall Space Flight Center. At the Army's Missile Firing Laboratory,
the Debus team had been launching a series of Army vehicles, including
Redstone and Jupiter, and had launched the first American Earth
satellite, Explorer /.In the months following the transfer to NASA, they
launched the manned Mercury-Redstone suborbital flights. As plans for
the Saturn series were finalized, the Launch Operation Directorate,
through Debus, participated in the search for a new launch site, large
enough and removed far enough from population centers to satisfy the
physical requirements of the big new space boosters. Cape Canaveral was
chosen, and development of the new facilities began, with Launch
Complex 34 becoming operational during the fall of 1961 to launch the
first Saturn I vehicles.
The immense task of constructing new launch pads and developing
the huge installations required for Saturn V operations called for a
separate administrative entity. In March 1962, NASA announced plans
to establish a new Launch Operations Center (LOG) at the Cape, and the
change became effective on 1 July 1962. While close liaison continued,
launch operations ceased to be a prime responsibility of MSFC, and Kurt
Debus proceeded as Director, LOG, to develop the launch facilities for
the Apollo-Saturn program.33
Large as it was, the aerospace complex at MSFC could not begin to
accommodate the escalating dimensions of the Saturn program. Consist-
ent with its heritage as an Army arsenal with an extensive in-house
capability, Marshall manufactured the first eight models of Saturn I's
first stage and did the testing in its backyard. The physical size of other
Saturn stages, the frequency of testing as production models came on line,
and the sheer magnitude of the endeavor dictated the need for addi-
tional facilities located elsewhere. Each major contractor developed the
70
$T*iJCTUftis AND PROPULSION
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND INTEGRATION
^' MATIIMUS AND PROCESSES
SYSTEMS DYNAMICS
AND CONXfKH.
III
TEST lA
DATA SYSTEMS
IN1STR ATlVt COMMIX
Left, an aerial view of
Marshall Space Flight
Center. Below, left to
right, closeups of the Ad-
ministrative Center, Pro-
pulsion and Vehicle En-
gineering Laboratory, and
the test area (the three
large stands are, from
left, the F-l engine test
stand, Saturn V dynamic
test stand, and the Saturn
V booster stand).
HIUHHHB
special industrial capabilities required for the unique sizes inherent in the
Saturn program, including fabrication, manufacturing, and testing.
There was a certain kaleidoscopic aura about all these arrangements,
since some were accomplished entirely by the contractor on privately
owned premises and others were undertaken in government-owned
facilities, with the contractor supplying most of the work force.
For example, the Saturn IB and Saturn V first stages were
manufactured at the Michoud Assembly Facility (known familiarly as
"Michoud") 24 kilometers east of downtown New Orleans. The prime
contractors, Chrysler and Boeing, respectively, jointly occupied Michoud's
186 000 square meters of manufacturing floor space and 68 000 square
meters of office space. The basic manufacturing building, one of the
largest in the country, boasted 43 acres under one roof. By 1964, NASA
added a separate engineering and office building, vertical assembly
71
STAGES TO SATURN
building, (for the S-IC) and test stage building (also for the S-IC). By
1966, other changes to the site included enlarged barge facilities and
other miscellaneous support buildings. Two things remained unchanged: a
pair of chimneys in front of the Administration Building, remnants of an
old sugar plantation. These ungainly artifacts served as reminders of
Michoud's checkered past, from a plantation grant by the King of France
in 1763, to ownership by the wealthy but eccentric New Orleans recluse
and junk dealer, Antoine Michoud. Never a successful plantation, its
sometime production of lumber and other local resources from the
swampy environs helped generate the local slogan, "from muskrats to
moonships."
The plant itself dated back to World War II, when it was built to
produce Liberty ships. A hiatus in contract agreements shifted the
emphasis to cargo planes, but only two C-46 transports rolled out before
the war ended. The government facility remained essentially inactive
until the Korean War, when the Chrysler Corporation employed over
2000 workers to build engines for Army tanks. Dormant since 1954, the
building had been costing the government $140 000 per year to keep up.
With so many jobs in the offing and the obvious level of economic activity
to be generated by the manufacture of large rocket boosters, selection of
the site occurred in a highly charged political atmosphere, with active
lobbying by a number of congressmen and chambers of commerce from
around the country. Eventual selection of the Michoud facility in 1961
followed a series of thorough NASA investigations, and Michoud easily
fulfilled several high-priority considerations: production space and avail-
ability; location near a major metropolitan area; convenient year-round
water transport facilities (to haul the oversized Saturn stages); and
reasonable proximity to MSFC, the Cape, and a contemplated test-firing
site for the finished stages.34
The extent of computer services required for the activities at the
Mississippi Test Facility and Michoud prompted MSFC managers to
consider a major computer installation to serve both operations. Happily,
a location was found that included a structure originally designed to
support sophisticated electronic operations. At Slidell, Louisiana, 32
kilometers northeast of Michoud and 24 kilometers southwest of MTF,
Marshall acquired a modern facility originally built by the Federal
Aviation Administration. For modifications and installation of new
equipment, MSFC spent over $2 000 000 after acquiring the site in the
summer of 1962. The array of digital and analog computers for test,
checkout, simulation, and engineering studies made it one of the largest
computer installations in the country.30
In contrast to Michoud, where the plant facility sat waiting, the
development of the Mississippi Test Facility became a contest with
Mississippi mud — to say nothing of the poisonous snakes and clouds of
mosquitoes that plagued construction workers. Although NASA began
72
MISSIONS, MODES, AND MANUFACTURING
with a list of 34 potential locations, the site for test-firing Saturn V rocket
stages logically had to be close to the production facilities at Michoud and
also be accessible by water for shipment of S-II stages. Other criteria
quickly ruled out most of the other contending sites. The test area had to
be big. Size was a safety factor; test sites had to be widely separated from
critical support and supply facilities in case of accidental destruction of a
stage during a test run. More important, at the time the test facility
location was being debated, NASA designers were looking ahead to big,
deep-space booster stages of up to 111 million newtons (25 million
pounds) of thrust, and lots of noise. Therefore, a test area of expansive
proportions was required but in a location where a minimum number of
people would have to be relocated. After juggling all of these require-
ments, in October 1961 NASA settled on a sparsely populated corner of
Hancock County, Mississippi. A new, $300-million-plus space-age facility
was hacked out of soggy cypress groves, Devil's Swamp, Dead Tiger
Creek, and the Pearl River. By the intracoastal waterway and the Pearl
River, MTF was only a 72-kilometer barge trip from the production
facilities at Michoud, and was accessible by water to MSFC and the Cape.
The central test area, around the test stands, comprised 55 square
kilometers, with a buffer zone of 518 square kilometers surrounding it.
Approximately 850 families from five small hamlets were resettled
outside MTF boundaries. The central test area was exclusively reserved
for NASA use, and although the buffer zone was uninhabited, the area
continued to be lumbered and teemed with wildlife, including wild hogs
descended from abandoned farm stock. An employee picnic in 1967
frugally consigned some of these natural resources to a barbecue pit.36
At the heart of MTF were the monolithic test stands: a dual-position
structure for running the S-IC stage at full throttle, and two separate
stands for the S-II stage. Laboratories, monitoring equipment, control
center, and storage areas, including docks, were all deployed thousands
of meters away. The MTF complex was tied together by 12 kilometers of
canals (with navigation locks and a bascule bridge); 45 kilometers of
railroads; and 56 kilometers of roads and paved highways. Under it all
snaked 966 kilometers of cables, connecting test stands, laboratories, and
data banks. Each month, MTF consumed enough electricity to keep 6000
households functioning.
An arm of MSFC at Huntsville, MTF had an administrative pattern
that was a bit unusual. A comparatively small cadre of NASA personnel
(about 100) carried out overall managerial and supervisory duties. This
select group also made the final evaluation of test results and issued the
flight-worthiness certificates to the stage contractors. Approximately
3000 contractor personnel made up the vast majority of the work force.
North American and Boeing each had several hundred people running
their respective test stands. The General Electric Company, with over
1500 people, had the contract for housekeeping services at MTF and
73
STAGES TO SATURN
provided maintenance for the facility and operational support at the test
stands and elsewhere for the other tenants, including the construction
firms. GE's range of support ran the gamut from 19 special items of cable
equipment (for $1 183 187), to the always popular snake bite kits ($1.25
each). On occasion, GE hired cowboys to round up stray cattle in the
outreaches of MTF, and it was GE that arranged for the transfer of the
cemeteries during resettlement of the area's small towns.
Development of MTF had a hectic air about it. Construction delays
mounted by early 1964, after Mississippi went through a highly unusual
cold snap and a snowstorm. Heavy rains came during January, topping
records that had been on the books for 30 years. The schedules for
construction and testing merged to the point where the first test firings in
1966 were being planned concurrently with ongoing construction. The
MTF director, Jack Balch, observed: "We're sure this is the only way to
do it, but for the next year we'll be riding with one foot on each of two
galloping horses." The government-industry team at MTF did the job;
the first stage-firing test a 15-second test of the S-II stage, was performed
successfully on 23 April 1966 in the test stand designated A-2. On 3
March 1967, a 15-second test of the S-IC-T (test) stage activated the
first-stage facility. In September 1967, the other S-II stand, designated
A-l, was declared operational.37
SATURN I AND IB AND THE LOWER STAGES
While these facilities were being developed, MSFC drew on experi-
ence, accumulated during the days of ABMA and the Army's arsenal
concept, and developed the Saturn I — the vehicle originally designated as
Juno V. On the threshold of starting to work on the large Juno V class of
vehicles and other space hardware in 1959, Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger, von
Braun's chief scientific advisor at ABMA, briefed NASA officials on the
range of expected challenges and research required to develop vehicle
components for space exploration. He noted the potential hazards from
radiation, meteors, temperature extremes, and weightlessness. To cope
with these environments, Stuhlinger stressed the need for research on a
broad front, including special investigation into a list of 1 1 crucial
materials and their current shortcomings in the space environment —
from the decomposition of dielectrics and sealants, to unusual regimes of
friction and wear for bearings and various moving parts, to the degrada-
tion of plastic and exposed surfaces, and to the vaporization and vacuum
sticking of metals.38 Specific investigation of these and other problems
moved on parallel tracks with the integration of components and
materials into the launch vehicle design, even while the launch vehicle
itself was taking form on drawing boards and in machine shops.
74
Left, an aerial view of NASA's Michoud
Operations. Below, the 124 -meter-tall test
stand at the Mississippi Test Facility is
hoisting the first operational S-IC first stage
for the Saturn V into test position. Bottom,
the map shows the acoustic effects of un
S-IC firing.
MISSISSIPPI TEST FACILITY
S-IC ACOUSTIC EFFECTS
MV04MN07W*
STAGES TO SATURN
Like most major development projects, the evolution of the Saturn I
changed between conception and execution, although the configuration
that emerged in 1958 was subjected to remarkably few major design
variations before its first launch in 1961. The basic outlines for ABMA's
concepts of the Saturn I (when it was still called Juno V) were sketched
out in two reports to Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in
October and November 1958; insights on various aspects of early design
choices were provided by von Braun himself in ABMA's presentation to
NASA in December 1958. For example, original concepts for yaw, pitch,
and roll control called for hinged outer engines: two hinged for pitch;
two hinged for yaw; all four for roll. But application of adequate control
forces required fairly high deflection of the engine thrust vector, and the
engine contractor (Rocketdyne) complained that this would put too much
stress on propellant flex lines. Instead, gimbaling of all four outer
engines was adopted, achieving adequate control force with less engine
deflection. The gimbal system for mounting engines permitted each
engine in the cluster to swivel about for either yaw or pitch control.
On the other hand, the original multiengine concept was maintained.
Throughout the early design phase, ABMA stressed the reliability of the
multiengine approach in case one or even two engines were lost.
Particularly in the case of manned missions, von Braun emphasized, the
engine-out capability offered much higher margins of safety in continu-
ing a mission until conditions were less hazardous for separation of the
crew capsule.
The multitank design also persisted as a design choice. In his NASA
presentation, von Braun praised the multitank design for several rea-
sons. Component tanks could be flown by Douglas C-124 Globemasters
to any part of the world and reassembled for launch; this procedure
would provide a high degree of flexibility. The separate tanks eliminated
the technical difficulties of internal horizontal bulkheads, required in a
large tank vehicle, to keep fuel and oxidizer separate. It also meant a
shorter, and more desirable, vehicle. In spite of the added weight, most
rocket propellant tanks included internal fuel slosh baffles, because
splashing and surging of the liquid fuel created problems in keeping the
vehicle stable and under control. In 1958, von Braun predicted that no
fuel slosh baffles would be required in the multitank design because of
the small diameter of the individual tanks (although the flight versions
actually incorporated slosh baffles in their design). A great deal of
attention was also given to booster recovery schemes, in which the spent
first stage would be recovered from the ocean after its descent had been
slowed by retrorockets and parachutes. The Huntsville group foresaw
immense savings in the recovery scheme, since the illustration given by
von Braun assumed "5 or 19 years from now" a launch rate of 100
vehicles per year over a 5-year period, at a cost of about $10 million per
launch.39
76
MISSIONS, MODES, AND MANUFACTURING
More than any of the Saturn vehicles, the Saturn I S-I stage
configuration evolved during flight tests (for details, see chapter 11).
NASA developed the Saturn I as first-generation and second-generation
rockets, designated Block I and Block II. The first four launches used the
Block I vehicle, with inert upper stages and no fins on the first stage, the
S-I. Block II versions carried a live second stage, the S-IV, sported a
corolla of aerodynamic fins at the base, and used uprated H-l engines.
The S-I first stage for the Saturn I also became the first stage of the
Saturn IB; in this application, it was called the S-IB. Again, there were
modifications to the fins, engines, and various internal components.
Nevertheless, the basic details of fabrication and testing of the Saturn I
and Saturn IB remained similar. The first stage of the Saturn I and IB
may have looked like a plumber's nightmare, but it fit the criteria of
conservative design and economy established early in the program. As
Marshall engineers discovered, development of a new booster of Saturn
I's size involved a number of design problems. Fabrication of the tankage
was comparatively easy. Even though the former Redstone and Jupiter
tanks had to be lengthened from 12 to 16 meters to carry added
propellants, the basic diameters of the 178-centimeter Redstone and
267-centimeter Jupiter tanks were retained, so they could be fabricated
from the tooling and welding equipment still available at Huntsville. The
tank arrangement settled on by MSFC gave an alternate pattern of the
four fuel and four oxidizer tanks, clustered around the 267-centimeter
center oxidizer tank. The oxidizer tanks carried the load from the upper
stages of the Saturn, the fuel tanks only contributing to the lateral
stiffness of the cluster. When filled, the oxidizer tanks contracted 63.5
millimeters, which meant that the fuel tanks had to have slip joints at
their upper ends to accommodate other structural elements that fluctu-
ated with the tank shrinkage. All together, the Saturn I first stage carried
340 000 kilograms of propellants in its nine tanks. To keep the propellant
in one tank from depleting too rapidly during flight, which would
seriously unbalance the vehicle, the Saturn I incorporated an interconnecting
pipe system, with regulating equipment to keep propellants at uniform
level in all tanks during a mission. Each of the four outboard fuel tanks
fed two engines, yet interconnected with the other tanks. The 267-centimeter
center liquid-oxygen (LOX) tank provided series flow to the four
outboard LOX tanks, which also fed two engines apiece.
Although the group of tanks eased the potential slosh tendencies of
a single large tank, each separate cylinder contained fixed baffles,
running accordionlike down the tank interiors. Pressurization for the
LOX tanks was done by a heat exchanger, dumping it into the top of the
LOX tanks as gaseous oxygen. Gaseous nitrogen from fiberglass spheres
at the top of the booster pressurized the fuel tanks. The 48 spheres fixed
to the top of the stage were curiously reminiscent of bunches of grapes.
The cluster of tanks was held together at the base by the tail section
77
STAGES TO SATURN
and at the top by an aptly named structural component known as the
"spider beam." The tail section consisted of the thrust structure assembly
as well as the heat shield, shrouding for engine components, holddown
points, stabilizing fins (on the later Saturn I first stages), and other
components. Assembly of the spider beam required a special fixture for
precise alignment and joining of the heavy aluminum I beams, of which it
was made. Starting with a hub assembly, eight radial beams were attached
to it at 45-degree intervals. Then eight more cross beams were joined to
the outer ends of the radials with splice plates. The spider beam played a
dual role. Special hardware attached to it was used during the initial
clustering of the tanks. In other words, the spider beam served as an
assembly fixture, then remained as part of the stage's permanent
structural assemblies, with each outboard oxidizer tank affixed to the
beam. Because a smaller diameter upper stage of 5.6 meters was planned
for the Saturn I, an upper shroud was incorporated as part of the
structural transition from the larger 6.5-meter-diameter first stage. The
upper shroud also enclosed telemetry equipment, umbilical connection
points used in ground test and launch preparation, and space for the
recovery system for the first stage. In the later versions (the Block II
models), the shroud section was eliminated, and instruments were
housed in a separate instrument segment atop the upper stage. The
recovery section was no longer required; additional studies, completed by
early 1962, indicated that the recovery scheme would require extensive
modification to the stage, so the idea was finally dropped.40
In the process of refining the design of the Saturn I, two major
problems emerged: stability and base heating. As with most large rockets,
the Saturn I was highly unstable, with the overall center of gravity located
on the heavy, lower-stage booster, while the center of lift, in most flight
conditions, was high on the upper stages. The nature of the problem
called for more advanced control processes than used on aircraft and
rockets the size of ICBMs. The low natural frequency of the big vehicle
was such that when the gimbaled engines moved to correct rocket
motions, special care had to be taken not to amplify the motions because
the control system frequency was close to that of the vehicle itself.
More worrisome, at least in the early design stage, was the problem
of base heating. Even with a rocket powered by only one engine, the flow
pattern at its base proved nearly impossible to predict for the various
combinations of speed and altitude. Base heating occurred when the
rocket exhaust interacted with the shock waves trailing behind the
vehicle. This clash created unpredictable regions of dead air and zones of
turbulent mixing. Heated by the rocket exhaust, the air trapped in these
areas in turn raised the heat levels at the base of the rocket to undesirable
temperatures. Worse, the fuel-rich exhaust flow from the engine turbopump
could get caught in these "hot-spot" regions, causing fire or explosion.
78
MISSIONS, MODES, AND MANUFACTURING
The base heating phenomenon became worse with multiengine
rockets. The eight-engine Saturn I cluster began to look like a Pandora's
box of base heating. To get an idea of what to expect, and to work out
some fixes ahead of time, the Saturn design team ran some cold flow
tests, using scale-model hardware, and called on NASA's Lewis Research
Center, in Cleveland, to run some unusual wind tunnel tests. These
investigations involved a booster model with eight operating engines,
each putting out 1100 newtons (250 pounds) of thrust. Following the
tests and extensive theoretical studies, designers in Huntsville came up
with several ideas to cope with the base-heating situation. Arranged in a
cross-shaped configuration, the engine pattern of the cluster was con-
ceived to minimize dead air regions and turbulent zones. The four inner
engines were bunched together in the center to reduce excessive heating
in the central area, and the remaining four were positioned to avoid
structural interference as the gimbaled engines swung on their mounts.
The lower skirt was designed to direct large streams of high-energy air
toward the four center engines in particular to prevent dead air regions
from developing in their vicinity. A heavy fire wall was installed across
the base of the booster near the throat of the engines, with flexible engine
skirts to permit gimbaling and, at the same time, keep the super-heated
gas from flowing back up to the turbopumps and propellant lines above.
The problem of the exhaust from the turbopumps received special
attention. For the four center engines, which were fixed, the fuel-rich
exhaust gases were piped to the edge of the booster skirt and dumped
overboard into a region of high-velocity air flow. In later vehicles, the
exhaust gases were dumped exactly into the "centerstar" created by the
four fixed engines. The gimbaled outboard engines required a different
approach. The turbopump was fixed to the gimbaled engines; therefore
an overboard duct for them would have required a flexible coupling that
could withstand the high temperatures of the turbine exhaust gases.
Instead, MSFC devised outboard engine attachments called aspirators,
which forced the turbine exhaust into hoods around the engine exhaust
area and mixed the turbopump exhaust with the engine's main exhaust
flow.41
Successful ignition and operation of an eight-engine cluster of
Saturn's dimensions required extensive testing beforehand. In December
1958, ARPA released funds for modifications to one side of a two-
position Juno test tower in order to test-fire the Saturn I first stage.
Preparations for these static tests, as they were called, required extensive
reworking of the Saturn's side of the tower, including a new steel and
concrete foundation down to bedrock, a steel overhead support structure
and a 110-metric ton overhead crane, a new flame deflector and
fire-control system, and much new instrumentation. The job took a
whole year. By January 1959, ABMA crews installed a full-sized, high-
79
STAGES TO SATURN
fidelity mockup of the first stage in the tower to check all the interfaces
for service and test equipment. Satisfied, they took the mockup out, and
put in the first static-test version. The test booster, SA-T, was installed
during February, and late in March the first firing test, a timid one,
burned only two engines for an eight-second run. Many skeptics still
doubted that the eight-engine cluster would operate satisfactorily. "Peo-
ple at that time still had a lot of difficulty persuading individual rocket
motors to fire up ... reliably," von Braun explained, "and here we said
we would fire up all eight simultaneously." There were a lot of jokes
about "Cluster's Last Stand," von Braun chuckled. Still, the firing crew at
Marshall proceeded cautiously. Not until the third run, on 29 April 1960,
did test engineers fire up all eight barrels, and then only for an
eight-second burst. By the middle of June, the first stage was roaring at
full power for more than two minutes.
Reverberations of the Saturn tests were quickly felt. The acoustical
impact was quite evident in the immediate area around the city of
Huntsville, and the long-range sound propagation occurred at distances
up to 160 kilometers. The result was a rash of accidental damage to
windows and wall plaster, followed by a rash of damage claims (some-
times filed by citizens on days when no tests had been conducted). Aware
that climatic conditions caused very pronounced differences in noise
levels and long-range sound propagation, engineers began taking
meteorological soundings and installed a huge acoustical horn atop a
tower in the vicinity of the test area. No ordinary tooter, the horn was
over 7.6 meters long and had a huge flared aperture over 4.6 meters
high. Its sonorous gawps, bounced off a network of sound recorders,
gave acoustical engineers a good idea whether it was safe to fire the big
rockets on overcast days.42
To make the most use of the expensive test facilities, as soon as a
booster completed its test-firing series and was shipped off to Cape
Canaveral for launch, the SA-T booster was fastened back into place for
further verification and testing of Saturn systems. The complex test
instrumentation was complemented by the growing sophistication of
automatic checkout systems used in the Saturn I first stage. Early
hardware was designed for manual checkout. As more advanced elec-
tronics and computers became available, significant portions of the
procedure were designed for automatic tests and checks. The scope of
automatic test and checkout evolved into a complex network that tied
together diverse, geographic test and manufacturing locations. Later
generations of Saturn vehicles and individual components were electron-
ically monitored, literally, from the time of the first buildup on the shop
floor until the mission was finished in outer space.
Because manufacturing tests of individual stages occurred separately
at diverse locations, a specialized facility was required to verify the
80
MISSIONS, MODES, AND MANUFACTURING
physical interface design, system integration, and system operation of the
total vehicle. During a flight, natural structural frequencies occurred — the
result of vibrations of moving parts, aerodynamic forces, and so on. If the
control-force input of gimbaling engines, for example, reinforced the
structure's natural frequency, the amplification of such structural deflec-
tions could destroy the vehicle. So a dynamic test stand, large enough to
surround a complete two-stage Saturn I, was begun at MSFC in the
summer of 1960 and finished early in 1961. The dynamic test facility was
designed to test the vehicle either in entirety or in separate flight
configurations. Vibration loads could be applied to the vehicle in pitch,
yaw, roll, or longitudinal axis to get data on resonance frequencies and
bending modes. Saturn I tests uncovered several problem areas that were
then solved before launch. Matching frequencies in the gimbal structure
and hydraulic system were uncovered and "decoupled." Static tests
revealed weaknesses in the heat-shield curtains around the engines, so
the flexible curtains were redesigned. Structural failure of the outer
liquid-oxygen tanks required a reworking of the propellant flow system.43
Historically, the style of ABMA operations emphasized in-house
fabrication and production, as Army arsenals had traditionally done. As
the scale of the Saturn program increased, MSFC made the obvious and
logical choice to turn over fabrication and manufacture to private
industry. At the same time, the center retained an unusually strong
in-house capability, to keep abreast of the state of the art, undertake
preliminary work on new prototype hardware, and to make sure that the
contractor did the job properly (for management details, see chapter 9).
The do-it-yourself idea was most strongly reflected in the development of
the Saturn I first stage. Ten Saturn I vehicles were built and launched;
the first eight used S-I first stages manufactured by MSFC, although the
fifth flight vehicle carried a contractor-built second stage (the Douglas
S-IV). The last two Saturn Is to be launched had both stages supplied by
private industry. Douglas supplied the S-IV upper stage, and the
Chrysler Corporation's Space Division supplied the S-I lower stage.
Late in the summer of 1961, while the first Saturn I was en route to
Florida for launch, MSFC began plans to select the private contractor to
take over its S-I stage. The manufacturing site at Michoud was announced
on 7 September, and a preliminary conference for prospective bidders
occurred in New Orleans on 26 September. The first Saturn I was
launched successfully one month later (27 October), and on 17 November,
Chrysler was selected from five candidates to produce the S-I first stage.
The final contract called for the manufacture, checkout, and test of 20
first-stage boosters. Chrysler participated in the renovation of Michoud
as it tooled up for production. In the meantime, the shops at Marshall
turned out the last seven S-I boosters, progressively relinquishing the
primary production responsibility. During December 1961, for example,
81
SATURN H STRUCTURE
VIEW LOOKING FORWARD
Saturn I
Left, the drawing of the
Saturn I S-I stage shows
the multitank configura-
tion. The cutaway shows
the fuel baffles inside the
tanks. Below, in MSFC's
Fabrication and Engi-
neering Laboratory an
S-I is being assembled.
The two end spider beams
are connected to the
central 267 -centimeter-
diameter liquid-oxygen
tank; the first of the eight
1 78-centimeter outer tanks,
used alternately for liquid
oxygen and kerosene, is
being lifted into position.
MSFC manufactured its last 1.78-meter and 2.67-meter tanks, turning
over this job to Chance- Vought, of Dallas, which supplied both MSFC
and Michoud as Chrysler took over the booster production.44
Chrysler, a major automotive manufacturer, was no novice to the
production of rockets, having worked with the von Braun team since
82
MISSIONS, MODES, AND MANUFACTURING
1954 producing Redstone rockets and their successor, the Jupiter.
Chrysler easily shifted from the Saturn I to the larger Saturn IB. In July
1962, when NASA announced its intention to use the lunar orbit
rendezvous, the space agency also released details on the two other
Saturn vehicles. The three-stage Saturn V was planned for the lunar
mission. A corollary decision called for development of an interim vehi-
cle, the Saturn IB, to permit early testing of Apollo-Saturn hardware,
such as the manned command and service modules, and the manned
lunar excursion module in Earth orbit, as well as the S-IVB stage of the
Saturn V. This decision permitted such flight testing a year before the
Saturn V would be available. Chrysler's initial contract, completed late in
1962, called for 13 first-stage Saturn IB boosters and 8 Saturn I
first-stage boosters.45
In most respects, the new S-IB first-stage booster retained the size
and shape of its S-I predecessor. The upper area was modified to take the
larger-diameter and heavier S-IVB upper stage., and the aerodynamic fins
were redesigned for the longer and heavier vehicle. The Saturn IB
mounted its eight H-l engines in the same cluster pattern as the Saturn I,
although successive improvements raised the total thrust of each engine
to 890000 newtons (200000 pounds) and then to 912000 newtons
(205 000 pounds). The thrust increase raised the overall performance of
the Saturn IB; the performance was further enhanced by cutting some
9000 kilograms of weight from the stage cluster. A more compact fin
design accounted for part of the reduction, along with modifications to
the propellant tanks, spider beam, and other components and removal of
various tubes and brackets no longer required. Additional weight savings
accrued from changes in the instrument unit and S-IVB, and the insights
gained from the operational flights of Saturn I. Many times, engineers
came to realize designs had been too conservative — too heavy or unneces-
sarily redundant. The production techniques worked out for the Saturn
S-I stage were directly applicable to the S-IB, so no major retooling or
change in the manufacturing sequence was required. With so few basic
changes in the booster configuration, existing checkout and test proce-
dures could also be applied. At Huntsville, appropriate modifications
were made to the dynamic test stand to account for the different payload
configurations of the Saturn IB and the same static test stand served just
as well for the S-IB first stage, although engineers reworked the stand's
second test position to accept additional S-IB stages.46
SUMMARY
During 1961-1962, several crucial decisions were completed to
clarify configurations of the Saturn program and to agree on the mode to
land astronauts on the moon. Once the idea of direct ascent via a Nova
83
Saturn IB
Right, engineers in a Lewis Research Cen-
ter wind tunnel are aligning a model of the
Saturn IB prior to firing tests to determine
the amount and distribution of base heating
from the blast of the eight engines. Below,
three Saturn IBs are in various stages of
assembly at Michoud.
vehicle was discarded, the major issue became Earth orbital rendezvous
or lunar orbital rendezvous. One of the last holdouts against LOR,
Marshall eventually opted for it because it averted the multiple launches
of an EOR sequence and offered the best chances for a successful mission
before the end of the 1960s.
Once the issue of the mission profile had been settled, the task of
developing the resources for manufacturing and testing of the Saturns
became paramount, and engineers finalized the design of the Saturn I's
first stage, which evolved into the first stage of the Saturn IB as well.
At this point, in the early 1960s, development of the Saturn I and IB
loomed large in press releases and news stories, with special attention on
84
MISSIONS, MODES, AND MANUFACTURING
the lower stages. The work in this area set the baselines for manufactur-
ing procedures, static firing tests of the multibarrel cluster, and the first
launches of the Saturn I, with a live lower stage and a dummy upper
stage. Because NASA and MSFC planners put such special emphasis on
early static-firing tests of each stage, the engines had to be ready. From
the beginning, MSFC maintained a strong effort in research, develop-
ment, and production of Saturn propulsion systems. Meanwhile, parallel
work on other hardware of the Saturn program proceeded: R&D on the
upper stages for the Saturn I and IB (to be modified for the Saturn V);
R&D for the first two stages of the mammoth Saturn V; plans for unique
tooling required for production and fabrication; schemes for guidance
and control of the launch vehicle. The main effort leading to large
launch vehicles for manned lunar voyages was just beginning to build
momentum.
Fire, Smoke, and
Thunder: The Engines
The H-l engine traced its ancestry to postwar American development
of rocket propulsion systems, and the opening section of chapter 4
includes an assessment of this engine's technological heritage. While the
development of other engines discussed in Part Three differed in
specifics, the overall trends in their design, test, and achievement of
operational status paralleled that of the H-l and sprang from the same
evolving technology. Introduced on the Saturn V, the giant F-l engine,
while more akin to the conventional cryogenics of the H-l, experienced
many development problems. The problem of scale affected many
aspects of Saturn hardware development, as the F-l story attests.
Application of liquid hydrogen (LH2) technology constituted one of
the key aspects of Apollo-Saturn's success. The upper stages of the
Saturn I and Saturn IB introduced LH2-fueled RL-10 and J-2 engines,
respectively, as discussed in chapter 5.
87
Conventional Cryogenics: The H-l and F-l
Development of rocket engines was usually conducted several steps
ahead of the stage's tankage and the stage itself. This was done
because of the inherent complexities of propulsion systems and inherent
difficulties in engine research and development. Moreover, the choice of
engine propellants influenced many elements of stage design, including
the location of fuel and oxidizer tanks, propellant lines, and the various
subsystems involved in the interface between the engine and stage.
Much of the ultimate success of the Saturn launch vehicles depended
on the application of cryogenic technology — the use of liquefied gases in
propellant combinations. The first-stage engines of the Saturn I, Saturn
IB, and Saturn V (respectively, the S-I, S-IB, and S-IC stages) used a
noncryogenic fuel called RP-1, derived from kerosene. All Saturn's
engines used liquid oxygen as the oxidizer, and the engines of the S-IV,
S-IVB, and S-II stages relied on liquid hydrogen as fuel. Put simply, the
ability to carry large amounts of cryogenic propellants meant much more
efficient launch vehicles. If designers had tried to build a rocket large
enough to carry gaseous propellants, the size and weight of the tanks
would have made it impossible to construct and launch such a vehicle.
With the gaseous propellants converted to a liquid state, requiring less
volume, designers had the opportunity to come up with a design capable
of getting off the ground. In the 1960s, cryogenic technology experi-
enced a phenomenal rate of growth and state of development. In support
of the space effort, scientists and engineers accomplished a number of
major breakthroughs, not only in the field of cryogenics itself, but also in
the design and production of cryogenic rocket engines.
89
SATURN
ENGINE APPLICATIONS
•I S-IVB
S-IV
i SIX RL10
S-IVB
EIGHT HI
EIGHT H-l
S-IC
FIVE F-l
SATURN I
SATURN IB
SATURN V
CRYOGENIC TECHNOLOGY
The scope of cryogenics was neatly summarized in a NASA report
on cryogenics and space flight:
Cryogenics is the discipline that involves the properties and use of materials at
extremely low temperatures; it included the production, storage, and use of
cryogenic fluids. A gas is considered to be cryogen if it can be changed to a liquid by
the removal of heat and by subsequent temperature reduction to a very low value.
The temperature range that is of interest in cryogenics is not defined precisely;
however, most researchers consider a gas to be cryogenic if it can be liquefied at or
below —240° F. The most common cryogenic fluids are air, argon, helium,
hydrogen, methane, neon, nitrogen, and oxygen.1
In the early post- World- War-I I era, as the United States' military
services struggled to develop their own stable of launch vehicles, they
leaned very heavily on the German wartime experience in technical areas
90
CONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: H-l AND F-l
beyond the basic design of vehicles and rocket engines. Although a
reasonable amount of cryogenic technology was available in the United
States by World War II, there was little experience in applying it to
rocketry. Goddard's work in cryogenics was apparently overlooked or
inappropriate to the scale demanded by the ICBM program.
The development of the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)
required a host of subsidiary technological advances, in such areas as
cryogenic fluid systems, insulation, handling and loading propellants,
and large storage dewars. As some American experts admitted later,
"Initially, the basic V-2 cryogenics data were used because the data
constituted the sole candidate for consideration at the time." Eventually,
the United States built up its own storehouse of cryogenic technology for
rocket development. The ICBM program and other research by civilian
agencies prompted greater interest for governmentally supported research,
and the Cryogenic Laboratory of the National Bureau of Standards in
Boulder, Colorado, opened in 1952. By that date, cryogenics was firmly
established as an industrial and research discipline, ready to support
military requirements and the American space programs, particularly in
the 1960s.2
SATURN ENGINE ANTECEDENTS
The role of cryogenics in American launch vehicles increased
steadily, starting with the liquid-oxygen oxidizer of the Vanguard first
stage. Other rockets like the Redstone (and its derivatives), Thor, Atlas,
Titan I, and finally the Apollo-Saturn series of launch vehicles — the
Saturn I, Saturn IB, and Saturn V — used cryogenic oxidizers, fuels, or
both.3 As in so many engineering achievements, engine development for
the Saturn program represented the culmination of earlier R&D efforts,
as well as the improvement of earlier production items. The large vehicle
boosters of the Saturn program borrowed liberally from the accumulated
engine technology of the ICBMs and the intermediate range ballistic
missiles (IRBMs) developed for the military, particularly the Thor and
Jupiter IRBM programs as well as the Atlas ICBM.4 The H-l traced
its general lineage to no less than five prior designs: the control valves,
gas generator system, turbopump assembly, and thrust chamber derived
specifically from hardware applied in the Thor, Jupiter, and Atlas
engine.5
Thrust increased dramatically, from the 120000 newtons (27000
pounds) of Vanguard's first stage in 1959 to the 33 000 000-newton
(7500000-pound) first-stage booster of the Saturn V in 1967. The
fantastic jump in thrust levels was accompanied by gains in the specific
impulse (a measure of efficiency of a rocket propellant, equal to the
amount of thrust obtained per pound of propellant burned per second),
91
STAGES TO SATURN
especially with the introduction of liquid-hydrogen engines on the upper
stages of the Centaur and Saturn launch vehicles, a major achievement of
the American space program. Concurrently, advances were essential in a
number of supporting technologies — lightweight components, compact
packaging, materials application, and fabrication procedures. Propulsion
system designers and engineers accumulated considerable experience
along the way and refined various elements of the engine for better
operation and introduced more sophisticated components and better
control systems. Taken together, a myriad of improvements through
research and development after the end of World War II contributed to
higher levels of good engine design, with higher specific impulses, thrust
stability, and flexibility in operational status.6
A review of engine advances achieved by the mid-1960s can effectively
characterize the accomplishments leading up to the Saturn and highlight
the innovations that were actually incorporated into the Saturn propul-
sion systems. Problem areas, which limited the desired performance of
these engines, received special attention from a wide variety of research
programs. Many improvements stemmed from the research programs
carried out by industry. Many more evolved from the cooperative efforts
generated by NASA and the various military services. The primary
technological advances can be summarized under the following catego-
ries: thrust chambers, turbopumps, and system design and packaging.
THRUST CHAMBERS
Many early liquid-propellant engines featured a conical nozzle.
Engineering improvements in thrust chambers were aimed at more
efficient shapes for increased performance and decrease in weight.
Designers sought higher performance through higher area-ratio shapes
with higher chamber pressures to minimize the size and weight of the
thrust chamber. In the drive to produce large, high-pressure engines, a
major hurdle was a satisfactory means to cool the thrust chamber. An
early solution used double- wall construction; cold fuel passed through
this space en route to the combustion chamber, thereby reducing the
temperature of the inner chamber wall. But design limitations restricted
coolant velocity in the critically hot throat area of the engine. Thin-walled
tubes promised an ideal solution for the problem of the thrust chamber
walls. Tubes reduced wall thickness and thermal resistance and, more
importantly, increased the coolant velocity in the throat section to carry
off the increased heat flux there. As chamber pressures continued to go
up along with higher temperatures, designers introduced a variable cross
section within the tube. This configuration allowed the tube bundle to be
fabricated to the desired thrust chamber contour, but variations in the
tube's cross section (and coolant velocity) matched the heat transfer at
various points along the tube. The bell-shaped nozzle permitted addi-
92
CONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: H-l AND F-l
tional advantages in reducing size and weight when compared with what
engineers called the "standard 15-degree half-angle conical nozzle."
Without any reduction in performance, the bell shape also permitted a 20
percent reduction in length.
TURBOPUMPS
Advances in one area of the propulsion system created demands on
other parts of the system. As thrust levels and pressures increased, so did
demands on the turbomachinery to supply propellants at greater flow
rates and higher pressures. Problems concerned the development of
higher powered turbomachinery without increases in size or weight.
Advances in turbomachinery design centered on higher speeds, and the
goal of higher speeds encouraged the introduction of rotating compo-
nents with smaller diameters. Essential subsidiary improvements dealt
with high-speed bearings, the performance of high-speed inducers, and
higher speeds for the impeller tips. Engineers succeeded in increasing
the operating speed of bearings through minute attention to details of
the operating environment and the fabrication of bearing parts. Design-
ers reconsidered and redesigned bearings for their optimum size, the
contact angle of surfaces touching the bearing, and the curvature of the
race structure. Better performance was gained by engineering the newly
designed bearings for combating contact fatigue and wear from overheating.
Further refinements included the introduction of new, high-strength
materials and improved surface finishes in the fabrication of precision
parts. The innovative use of the engine's own propellants as "lubricants"
was another advance. Although the propellants were not lubricants in the
usual sense, they served the same purpose. The properties of the
propellant-lubricants were more important in carrying off frictional heat
to keep pump bearings cool and operable. This application simplified
turbopump operation and eliminated the need for externally supplied
lubrication.
Engine designers also attacked propellant cavitation, a condition in
which the formation and collapse of bubbles or vapor pockets while
pumping the propellant caused vibrations and damage to rocket machin-
ery. Study programs found how the cavitation characteristics were
related to the inducer through such minute factors as the angle of blades,
taper, blade sweep, and the profile of the leading edge. More accurate
theories on the phenomenon of cavitation enabled a redesign of the
inducers that doubled their suction. The overall increase in suction
efficiency of the turbopump permitted the pump to operate at higher
speeds. This contributed to weight savings in the vehicle because tank
pressures — and tank weight — could be lowered. The higher operating
speeds and pressures triggered development of pump impellers to
93
STAGES TO SATURN
operate with higher tip speeds. The infusion of high-strength materials,
plus design improvements and fabrication techniques paid off in reliabil-
ity and greater speed. In total, all of these developments enhanced the
incremental gains in power-to-weight ratios.
This cutaway drawing of the turbo-
pump for the H-l engine shows the
back-to-back arrangement of oxidizer
pump (at left end) and fuel pump
(at right end) operating off a com-
mon turbine and gear box (center).
The propellerlike inducer blades can
be seen on the left end of the shaft.
PACKAGING AND SYSTEM DESIGN
Over a brief span of time, the packaging and design of cryogenic
rocket engines made dramatic progress. The size of the thrust chamber
increased, while the "packaging" (pumps, turbomachinery, and related
systems) remained relatively constant or actually decreased in physical
size. At the same time, efficiency and design advantages accrued. In the
early Redstone days, builders situated the turbopump, propellant lines,
and controls above the thrust chamber and achieved directional control
by the use of jet vanes. When gimbaled (movable) thrust chambers
appeared on the scene, the design limitations of pumps, lines, and other
paraphernalia dictated their attachment to the more solid footing of the
vehicle's thrust structure. With the thrust chamber as the only movable
part of the engine, engineers had to develop a new high-pressure feed
line, with great flexibility, to link the propellant pumps to the thrust
chamber. As the rise in chamber pressures and thrust levels put increased
strains on the high-pressure lines, designers began studies of systems
design and packaging to permit mounting the turbopump and associated
gear onto the thrust chamber itself. In this configuration, the pump and
chamber could be gimbaled as a single unit, permitting the installation of
94
CONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: H-l AND F-l
low-pressure "flex lines" between the pump inlets and the vehicle tanks.
As it so happened, improvements in the design and efficiency of
turbomachinery already made it compact and reliable enough to justify
relocation on the thrust chamber.7
PREDICTABLE ENGINE PROBLEM PHASES
In many ways, the H-l was a composite example of rocket engine
development in the 1950s, modified and improved for its role in manned
launches of the Saturn I and Saturn IB. Even though the H-l was
derived from a propulsion system already in production (the S-3D engine
for the Thor and Jupiter), requirements for increased thrust and
generally improved performance led designers and engineers into new
and frustrating problems. The evolution of both the H-l and the F-l
engines fell into the pattern of many launch vehicle development
programs, in which the engines constituted the pacing item.8 Further-
more, the difficulties in engine design were usually predictable, as
Leonard C. Bostwick, a veteran MSFC engine manager, knew all too well.
"The development of liquid rocket engines followed similar patterns
regardless of engine size," he asserted. Despite this ability of the engine
managers to look with a crystal ball into the future, ability to avoid all
expected pitfalls did not follow. "In the development of liquid rocket
engines, problems occur at several distinct intervals," Bostwick contin-
ued. "The type of problem and the time phase can be predicted, but since
the exact nature of the problem cannot be so readily defined, a five to
seven year development program becomes a necessity."9 In general, an
engine development program progressed through four distinct "prob-
lem phases" over the five- to seven-year period.
The designers of each successive generation of rocket engines
commenced their work with facts and figures accumulated — often
painfully — from earlier designs and experience. If, however, the new
engine was expected to perform better than the old ones, the designers
very quickly found themselves in uncharted territory. They proceeded to
push ahead of the state of the art, seeking more flexibility in operations,
greater simplicity, increased thrust, and improved overall performance.
At this point, Bostwick pointed out, "The first problem phase occurs
because of the inability to totally extrapolate and build on existing
knowledge." Just as problems were predictable, so were the problem
areas. Bostwick was specific: "The problems will occur in the combustion
mechanics, propellant movement, or in the propellant control system."
The hardware evolved for this early development period often proved to
be less than adequate, and faults would sometimes not show up until the
engines moved past the initial firing sequence tests, perhaps in the late
tests to maximum projected duration and thrust levels. When the
95
STAGES TO SATURN
problems then showed up, they were "often catastrophic," Bostwick wryly
observed. For this reason, the engines were subject to extensive test
programs to expose their inherent frailties.
Some time after the engine had successfully passed qualification
tests of the basic engine design, or even the preflight rating trials, the
second cycle of problems appeared. The difficulties involved the mating
of the propulsion systems to the vehicle or stage. Because the develop-
ment of the engines usually preceded the development of the stage by
two or three years, the engines would not fit the mounting hardware and
multitudinous connections with the stage. In addition, there were the
peculiarities of late changes in the stage-engine interface requirements or
possibly in the operational environment introduced by new variations in
the flight plans. The stage contractors received prototypes or preflight-
rated engines and cooperated with the engine interface. Inevitably, new
sets of variables, which could not be anticipated from mating with a
nonexistent stage or for changes in mission requirements, created
problems.
As the engines phased out of the developmental stage and into full
production, MSFC personnel and the manufacturer turned their atten-
tion to the third round of problems. They watched the elements of
quality control, tolerances in the manufacturing of components, vendor
selection, choice of manufacturing materials, and definition of the
integral manufacturing process. "A continuing development program is
planned during the period," Bostwick explained, "to provide the trained
personnel, facilities and hardware capabilities, to investigate these prob-
lems and to prove out the required corrective effort."
Defying all these attempts to identify potential failures, to uncover
and correct weaknesses before a multimillion-dollar vehicle left the
launch pad, actual missions inevitably uncovered a fourth set of prob-
lems, because there was no way to duplicate the actual environment in
which the vehicle had to perform. With launch dates carefully scheduled
ahead of time to coincide with the launch "windows" and carefully paced
to the requirements of the Apollo-Saturn program, the problems uncov-
ered by one mission demanded a very fast response to keep the next
phase of the program on schedule. For this reason, NASA and the
contractors maintained a well-staffed cadre of specialists at the contrac-
tors' engineering and test facilities, backed up by the facilities available at
MSFC.
With the four major problem phases successfully handled, the need
for ongoing development and engineering monitoring continued. "When
engine systems are tested to longer durations and more extreme limits,"
warned Bostwick, "problems are uncovered that may have existed for a
long time but were not evident until the more severe testing on a larger
engine sample produced the failure mode." Other factors entered the
picture too, such as changes in process, improvements in manufacture, or
96
CONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: H-l AND F-l
changes in vendors, any or all of which could create a problem in quality
of the hardware or introduce a different and incompatible material.10
Despite the best intentions of all concerned, engine development
and production encountered predicaments throughout the duration of
the Saturn program.
THE H-l ENGINE: MILESTONES AND FACILITIES
With requirements for the first generation of Saturn launch vehicles
established in general terms, planners began to consider the develop-
ment of propulsion systems. To save time and money, NASA opted for
an effort firmly rooted in existing engine technology. The result was a
decision to modify the Thor-Jupiter engine, the 667 000-newton
(150000-pound) thrust S-3D and uprate the engine to a thrust of
836000 newtons (188000 pounds). On 11 September 1958, NASA
awarded the contract for the uprated engine to Rocketdyne, the original
supplier of the S-3D engines for Thor and Jupiter. In the beginning,
engineers designed the H-l for a clustered configuration to gain higher
thrust than could be obtained from any existing single engine. The basic
concept featured four fixed inboard engines and four outboard engines
with gimbal mounts to provide attitude control for the vehicle.11
Although the original specifications called for 836 000 newtons
(188 000 pounds) of thrust, the first models were delivered at 734 000
newtons (165 000 pounds) of thrust — down rated for greater reliability.
Eventually, the H-l engine served the first Saturn vehicles in four
separate versions: 734 (165)-, 836 (188)-, 890 (200)-, and 912 000 newtons
(205 000 pounds) of thrust. Saturn I used the 734 (165) and 836 (188)
engines in clusters of eight; Saturn IB mounted eight units of the
890 (200) model in vehicles SA-201 through SA-205, with the 912 (205)
model earmarked for SA-206 and subsequent vehicles. The engines all
had the same approximate dimensions, standing 218 centimeters high,
with a radius of 168 centimeters at the throat. The H-l engines
incorporated a tubular-walled, regeneratively cooled thrust chamber.
The propellant was supplied by twin pumps, driven through a gearbox
by a single turbine, which was powered in turn by a gas generator
burning a mixture of the vehicle's main propellants.12
Because the engine's basic design was kept to existing components
and propulsion systems, Rocketdyne got off to a running start; the first
734 000-newton (165 000-pound) thrust prototype came off the drawing
boards, was put together in the contractor's shops, and static-tested by 3 1
December 1958, less than four months after the contract was signed.
Development proceeded rapidly; by the spring of 1960, NASA had
performed the initial test of the eight-engine cluster, and the H-l passed
the Preliminary Flight Rating Tests by the fall of the same year. These
97
STAGES TO SATURN
milestones demonstrated the basic ability of this version of the H-l to
meet the flight requirements, and on 27 October 1961, vehicle SA-1 was
launched successfully. Close on the heels of the 734 000-newton
(165 000-pound) thrust engine, NASA and Rocketdyne initiated work
on more powerful models; intended for later Saturn I missions, the
836 000-newton (188000-pound) version of the H-l went through its
preliminary flight-rating test on 28 September 1962. 13
For the S-IB first stage of the Saturn IB launch vehicle, MSFC began
studies for uprated engines with Chrysler, the first-stage contractor. In
November 1963, Chrysler returned its analysis of engine load criteria
and suggestions to mesh the schedules for engines and stages. On this
basis, MSFC directed Rocketdyne to go ahead from the more powerful
890 000-newton (200000-pound) thrust engine to a 912 000-newton
(205 000-pound) thrust system for the most advanced missions contemplated
for the Saturn IB. The schedule for engine deliveries stretched out
through 1968, when, on 30 June 1967, Rocketdyne signed a contract
calling for a final production batch of 60 H-l engines, bringing the total
number purchased to 322. 14
Testing for the H-l engine occurred in several widely separated
areas. Initial development took place in the engineering facilities at
Rocketdyne's main plant in Canoga Park, California. In the nearby Santa
Susana Mountains, the company used one engine test stand, known as
Canyon 3b, for early development testing. For component testing,
single-engine tests, and clustered-engine tests, the H-l program depended
on facilities located at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.
Installations at MSFC for H-l development included a component
testing laboratory, a gas generator test stand, a single-engine test stand,
and a full-sized booster test stand for engine cluster tests. At Rocketdyne's
primary manufacturing complex for the H-l, located in Neosho, Mis-
souri, the company relied on existing installations for manufacture and
acceptance testing. Two dual-position test stands were available, built for
the original purpose of checking out engines manufactured for Air Force
missiles. A rental agreement, negotiated by NASA and the Air Force,
permitted Rocketdyne to use one position on each of the dual stands.15
THE H-l ENGINE: GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The models of the H-l used in the Saturn I and Saturn IB shared
the same seven major systems: thrust chamber and gimbal assembly,
exhaust system, gas generator and control system, propellant feed
system, turbopump, fuel additive blender unit, and electrical system.
Production of the H-l propulsion system involved several design aspects
unique to the Saturn program. For example, the Saturn H-l engine came
out of Rocketdyne's shops in two slightly different models. Each unit had
a gimbal assembly for attachment to the vehicle, but the inboard engines,
98
CONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: H-l AND F-l
not required for thrust vector control, were immobilized by struts which
held them rigidly in place. The outboard engines were equipped with
gimbal actuators, attached to outriggers on the thrust chamber, that
produced the gimbaling action for directional control for the vehicle.
Basically identical, the inboard and outboard engines possessed an
additional physical difference that necessitated a different label for each.
The exhaust system varied for the outboard and inboard engines,
although both types mounted a turbine exhaust hood, a turbine exhaust
duct, and a heat exchanger (with a coil system to convert liquid oxygen to
the gaseous oxygen required to pressure the oxygen tanks). The H-1C
engine, the fixed inboard unit, had a curved exhaust duct to carry the
turbine exhaust gases, and the H-1D engine, the gimbaled outboard unit,
mounted a unit known as an aspirator. The inboard engines simply
ducted the turbine exhaust overboard. The outboard engine exhaust was
ducted into collectors, or aspirators, located at the exit plane of the
nozzle. For the H-1D aspirator, designers chose a welded Hastelloy C
shell assembly, mounted on the outside of the thrust chamber and
extending beyond the thrust chamber exit plane. The aspirator prevented
the fuel-rich exhaust gases of the gas generator from recirculating into
the missile boat tail during flight. Instead, the gases merged into the
engine exhaust plume.
As developed for the Saturn program, the H-l also shed a number
of accessories carried over from the Jupiter engine system. Early versions
of the H-l relied on the Jupiter's lubrication system, which featured a
73-liter (20-gallon) oil tank. The H-l designers arranged for the vehicle's
own fuel, RP-1 (along with some additives), to do the same job. This
arrangement eliminated not only the oil tankage, but also a potential
source of contamination. The new approach required a fuel additive
blender unit as part of the engine system, tapping RP-1 fuel from the fuel
turbopump discharge system. During development, the H-l shed other
remnants of its heritage from the Jupiter. A single-engine ballistic missile
needed complex thrust controls to ensure its accurate impact on target.
The Jupiter, perforce, carried considerable ancillary baggage to accom-
plish its mission — pressure transducers, magnetic amplifiers, hydraulic
servo valves, and a throttling valve for the gas generator and liquid
oxygen. The H-l engine, by contrast, relied on simple, calibrated orifices
within the engine, because thrust control requirements were much less
severe when individual engines were clustered. In the Saturn, this
permitted a marked simplification of the H-l, accompanied by an
attendant gain in reliability.16
THE H-l ENGINE DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS
Lee Belew, manager of the Engine Program Office at MSFC, noted
four major development problems during the H-l era. These included
99
H-l ENGINE
VEHICLI EFFECTIVITY
THRUST (SEA LEVEL) 200,OOOLB 205,QOOLB
THRUST DURATION 155 SEC 155 SEC
SPECIFIC IMPULSE
(LB-SEC/LB) 260.5 MIN 261.0 MIN
ENGINE WT DRY
(INBD)
(QUTBD)
ENGINE WT BURNOUT
(INBD)
(OUTBD)
EXIT-TO-THROAT
AREA RATIO
PROPELLANTS
MIXTURE RATIO
260.5 MIN 261.0 MIN
1,830 LB 2,100 LB
2,100 LB 2,100 LB
2,200 LB 2,200 LB
2,200 LB 2,200 LB
ARE A RATIO 8TO1 8TO1
PROPELLANTS LOX&RP-l LOX&RP-l
MIXTURE RATIO 2.23*22 2.23*2
CONTRACTOR: NAA/ROCKETDYNE
VEHICLE APPLICATION
SATURN IB/S-IB STAGE (EIGHT ENGINES)
JUPITER
S-3D ENGINE SYSTEM
SATURN
H-l ENGINE SYSTEM
The H-l engine statistics are shown at the top; the sketch above
shows the drive for simplification of the H-l engine from its
parent S-3D. Below, left, is the H-l injector plate and at right is
the H-l liquid oxygen dome bolted in position above the injector.
CONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: H-l AND F-l
combustion instability (or combustion oscillation, as he called it), cracks in
the liquid oxygen dome, thrust chamber tube splitting, and problems
with the pump gears and bearings. Other difficulties made their appear-
ance, and each required a different kind of troubleshooting to solve the
case.
The term "combustion instability" described an unsteady or abnor-
mal combustion of fuel, a condition that not only reduced engine
performance, but could destroy the engine — and the rocket as well.
Within NASA and contractor circles, there was early concern about the
potential problem of combustion instability, particularly in the uprated
engines for Saturn I and the even larger engines planned for the Saturn
V. Investigators deliberately set out to introduce combustion instability in
the H-l to see if the engine could recover, and if not, redesign the engine
to overcome this potential danger. Late in 1963, a research group
evolved a technique to induce combustion instability. Workers fixed a
special boss to the face of the injector, and attached a small, 50-grain
bomb to it. Enclosed in a cylindrical nylon case designed for initial
cooling by engine fuel, the bomb was protected during engine start and
run up but soon heated up, and after a time, it ignited. The explosion
disturbed the combustion flame front sufficiently to create an unstable
operating condition. It was hoped that the injector could recover from
the instability in less than 0.1 second, but the Thor-Atlas injectors,
uprated to 836 000 newtons (188 000 pounds) of thrust, failed to effect
recovery in 8 of 16 bomb tests. After some research and development
work, designers rearranged the injector orifices and added some baffles
to the face of the injector. The new design worked beautifully, giving
satisfactory recovery at various thrust levels and an unexpected bonus — an
actual increase in engine performance.17
Another problem required changes in several flight vehicles. While
vehicle SA-7 was undergoing a series of leak checks at Cape Kennedy in
the fall of 1964, technicians came across a crack in the LOX dome of an
H-l engine mounted on the first stage. An investigation team traced the
weakness to stress corrosion of the aluminum alloy, which called for
replacement of the domes on all eight engines. Fortunately, a new type of
aluminum alloy dome with much higher resistance to stress corrosion
had already been developed. Rocketdyne also introduced a new dome
manufacturing process that included an additional heat treatment, as
well as additional machining of the finished part prior to the anodizing
process. The dome cracks henceforth disappeared.18
Difficulties encountered with the tubular-wall thrust chamber exposed
some of the problems encountered in the process of uprating a proven
engine system to higher thrust levels, from 734 000 newtons (165 000
pounds) of thrust to 836 000 newtons (188 000 pounds) of thrust. Early
in 1962, test engineers reported an alarming frequency of longitudinal
splits in the tubes of the regeneratively cooled thrust chamber. Not only
101
STAGES TO SATURN
was this condition a hazardous condition and a hindrance to engine
performance, but investigators also suspected that problems of combus-
tion instability could be traced to fuel spraying embrittlement of the
nickel-alloy tubes, a shortcoming that did not appear in the 734 000-newton
(165 000-pound) engine because it operated at lower temperatures. In
the hotter operating regimes of the 836 000-newton (188 000-pound)
thrust engine, researchers discovered that sulphur in the kerosene-based
RP-1 fuel precipitated out to combine with the nickel alloy of the thrust
chamber tubes. The result: sulphur embrittlement and failure. The "fix"
for this deficiency in the new uprated engine involved changing the
tubular thrust chamber walls from nickel alloy to stainless steel (347
alloy), which did not react with sulphur.19
At frequent intervals, MSFC and contractor personnel met together
to discuss such problems and to consider solutions. At one such meeting,
on 1 December 1966, the debate turned to three recently developed
problems and included continuing consideration on a report about
miscreant materials used in the manufacture of turbine blades. Conven-
ing in the conference room of the Industrial Operations Division of
MSFC, the participants included technical personnel and management
representatives from MSFC, Chrysler (the stage contractor), and Rocketdyne
(the engine contractor). Chrysler and Rocketdyne led off the session,
with commentary about the discovery of a dozen chunks of Teflon
material behind the injector plate of No. 4 engine on the S-IB-7 stage.
Workers at Chrysler (who had first discovered the problem) gathered up
the 12 shards of Teflon and pieced them together into a flat shape about
5 centimeters square, with some nondescript markings. Representatives
from Rocketdyne's Neosho facility, where H-l manufacturing was con-
centrated, went to work to discover the origin of the intruding flotsam.
While this analysis progressed, related data hinted at similar anomalies in
other engines of vehicle S-IB-7. The Rocketdyne spokesman presented
data on engine No. 4 that revealed differences in its performance during
recent static testing as compared with previous testing — no doubt because
of the Teflon pieces obstructing the propellant flow. Rocketdyne was
now concerned about two more engines. The No. 8 engine had perform-
ance data that paralleled No. 4 in some respects, suggesting a second
Teflon interference problem, originating from one of the liquid-oxygen
tanks. Moreover, the plumbing sequence in S-IB-7 caused the conferees
to suspect that loose pieces of Teflon, originating from a particular
liquid-oxygen tank, could also be lodged in the No. 5 engine system as
well. The conference group agreed that engines No. 5 and No. 8 posed
potential dangers and should be detached and opened up for thorough
inspection, despite the impact on launch schedules.
Luckily, soon after the conference, Solar Division of the Interna-
tional Harvester Company, an H-l subcontractor for valve components
and other fittings, found the source of the Teflon pieces. During some of
102
CONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: H-l AND F-l
its welding operations, Solar used Teflon buffers to protect the weld
piece from abrasions caused by clamps. In fabrication and welding of
flexible joints in the liquid-oxygen line, Solar surmised, one of the Teflon
buffers could have slipped inside the line. They presented a sample of
the buffer, which had the same general markings, size, and shape as the
original culprit. With the source of the problem localized, MSFC and
contractor officials agreed to call off the plans to inspect the other
engines, and the case of the Teflon intrusion was closed, although some
stricter fabrication and handling procedures went into effect.
The December 1966 conference took up other details affecting the
Saturn program, such as steel filings that lodged, thankfully, in the mesh
filter of the lubricating system for No. 6 engine sometime during
short-duration firing tests on S-IB-8. The safety screen had done its job.
Still, the discovery of loose filings anywhere in the Saturn's lubrication
system or propellant system raised the specter of disaster. Chrysler, the
stage contractor, was charged with finding the source of the loose filings.
The conference also discussed a frozen turbine shaft of the No. 6 engine
on S-IB-8. After a round of charges and countercharges, the group
found that personnel from all three parties involved (Rocketdyne,
Chrysler, and NASA) had conducted an engine test without conforming
to written procedures. Conference officials agreed on closer enforcement
and possibly new guidelines to prevent recurrences.20
The final problem taken up by the December 1966 meeting — the
turbine blades — involved the inadvertent substitution of the wrong
material during manufacture. During a "hot test" (actually firing the
propellants) on a Saturn IB first stage, one of the H-l engines experi-
enced failure of turbine blades. After the engines were removed and
dismantled, the defective blades were found to have been cast from 316
stainless steel rather than the Stellite 21 material specified in the
production orders. An error at Haynes Stellite (a division of Union
Carbide) created the mix-up. Although the quality control procedures
employed x-ray analysis of each blade for flaws, penetration of welds,
and differences in materials in a production batch, the x-ray check could
not catch this particular mistake if all the blades were of the wrong
material. Revelation of the error came late in 1966, when the Haynes
Stellite plant in Kokomo, Indiana, was in the grip of a strike. The strike,
of course, made communication between MSFC and Haynes Stellite
personnel more difficult. Concern about the substandard turbine blades
extended beyond NASA — the slip probably extended to blades in engines
supplied for Thor and Atlas missiles. The turbine blade imbroglio not
only compromised the Apollo-Saturn program, it shadowed the capabili-
ties of the national defense as well.
Knowing that defective blades existed in H-l and other engines,
investigators from Rocketdyne and MSFC went to work devising a system
to identify the culprits without pulling all eight engines from every S-IB
103
STAGES TO SATURN
stage in the NASA stable, as well as military missiles, and laboriously
tearing them down for lab analysis. As the strike at Haynes Stellite
persisted, NASA and MSFC relied on official leverage to get representa-
tives from Rocketdyne into the Haynes Stellite plant to find out what
really happened. To the limit of its ability under the circumstances,
Haynes Stellite cooperated, and the company itself came up with an
"eddy current" machine to help in the detective work. Properly calibrat-
ed, this handy unit could differentiate between Stellite 21 material and
the undesirable 316 stainless steel. Applied to Saturn propulsion systems,
the investigation tracked down 10 H-l engines with alien turbine blades.
Workers pulled all 10 engines from the stages and replaced the turbine
wheels with new units, followed by a hot fire of each repaired engine to
verify its performance and reliability. In addition to preventive measures
instituted at Rocketdyne and MSFC, the contractor added to the inspec-
tion procedures an identification by alloy type of each mold that was
poured and set up reference standards to catch variations in density
during the x-ray examination. In addition, every blade was tested for
hardness, and a sample of the vendor's shipments of turbine blades was
subjected to a wider array of metallurgical tests.21
With this kind of quality control and inspection, the H-l engines
experienced only one serious problem in 15 launches of the Saturn I and
Saturn IB. During the flight of SA-6 in May 1964, one engine shut down
prematurely. The vehicle's "engine-out" design proved its worth, as the
mission continued to a successful conclusion. Based on information
transmitted during the flight, analysts located the failure in the power
train, "somewhere between the turbine shaft and the C-pinion in the
turbopump." The incident was not entirely unexpected: prior to the
flight, a product improvement team had already developed an improved
power train design. In fact, starting with vehicle SA-7, the new units had
already been installed.22
The development of the H-l represented a case study of predictable
engine problem phases, as outlined by MSFC engine specialist Leonard
Bostwick. True to form, the larger F-l experienced similar growing
pains. If these travails seemed more acute, they reflected the size of a
much more substantial engine.
ORIGINS OF THE F-l
Not long after its formation in 1958, NASA decided to opt for a
"leapfrog" approach in high-thrust engines, instead of the traditional
engineering procedure of measured step-by-step development. This
decision was bolstered by Russian successes in lofting large orbital
payloads into space and also by recent U.S. plans for circumlunar
missions and manned excursions to the moon. NASA's contract award to
104
At left is shown a 1963 test firing of an H-l engine on a Rocketdyne test stand. At
right are H-l engines in Rocketdyne's assembly line at Canoga Park, California.
Rocketdyne in 1959, calling for an engine with a thrust of 6.7 million
newtons (1.5 million pounds), was a significant jump beyond anything
else in operation at the time. Executives within the space program looked
on the big engine as a calculated gamble to overtake the Russians and
realize American hopes for manned lunar missions. It seemed within the
realm of possibility too, by using engine design concepts already proven
in lower thrust systems and by relying on conventional liquid oxygen and
RP-1 propellants.23
The F-l engine had roots outside NASA: the big booster came to the
space agency in 1958 as part of the Air Force legacy. The F-l engine,
developed by Rocketdyne, dated back to an Air Force program in 1955.
NASA carefully husbanded this inheritance during the transfer of
projects to the fledgling space agency, so that no inconsiderable amount
of Air Force expertise, along with voluminous reports, came with the
engine. NASA then conducted its own feasibility studies and Rocketdyne
received, in effect, a follow-on contract in 1959 to step up work on the
i • 24
gargantuan propulsion system.
At that time, no vehicle existed to use the F-l. In fact, no designated
mission existed either. Even though engine development was undertaken
with no specific application in mind, this approach was not unprecedent-
ed. The complexities and uncertainties in the evolution of propulsion
systems encouraged their prior development. This situation, while not
out of the ordinary, did lead to some of the first design problems of the
F-l. When Boeing was selected as prime contractor for the first stage of
an advanced version of the Saturn in December 1961, the configuration
705
STAGES TO SATURN
of the vehicle was still uncertain. Not until 10 January 1962 did NASA
confirm that the advanced Saturn (named Saturn V in February) would
have a first stage (the S-IC stage) powered by five F-l engines. Since the
engine's application was not known at first, designers and engineers tried
to anticipate reasonable requirements, at the same time keeping the
nature of the interface features as simple as possible. The eventual
interface between vehicle and engines required changes, however, and
this aspect of the F-l resulted in redesign to eliminate problems
unintentionally built into the original model.25
The original Air Force prospectus in 1955 called for an engine with
a capability of 4 450 000 newtons (1 000 000 pounds) of thrust or more.
Various studies went into comparisons of single engines and clustered
engines in terms of their availability and reliability. Parallel studies
included detailed consideration of engine subsystems to operate at thrust
levels of 4450000 newtons (1000000 pounds) and up. By 1957,
Rocketdyne had produced full, detailed analyses of a 4 500 000-newton
(1 000 000-pound) thrust engine, and had also produced some models of
components for the big engine, as well as a full-scale thrust chamber. In
fact, work progressed so well that Rocketdyne began the first attempts to
demonstrate main-stage ignition during the same year. The company's
work on the F-l received a big boost from a new Air Force contract
awarded in mid- 1958. This document called for Rocketdyne to proceed
with the design of a 4 500 000-newton (1 000 000-pound) thrust engine,
paralleled by the development of appropriate new fabrication tech-
niques, and capped by running initial tests for a thrust chamber and
injector components. Including the prior effort, Rocketdyne had attempted
several firing tests of the full-sized thrust chamber between 1957 and
1958. In January 1959, Rocketdyne's NASA contract included require-
ments for a series of feasibility firings of the new F-l booster; two months
later the engine hinted at its future success with a brief main-stage
ignition. The trial run demonstrated stable combustion for 200 millisec-
onds and achieved a thrust level of 4500000 newtons (1000000
pounds). In conducting these tests, Rocketdyne used a solid-wall "boiler-
plate" thrust chamber and injector — a far cry from flight hardware — but
the unheard of mark of 4 500 000 newtons (1 000 000 pounds) of thrust
had been reached by a single engine.26
Engineers quickly sketched out the dimensions and general configuration
of the big new propulsion system, drawing on their prior experience
under the aegis of the Air Force and the results of the early "hot" test of
preliminary components. At Edwards Air Force Base, where much of the
early F-l research had been accomplished, Rocketdyne unveiled the first
full-scale F-l mock-up on Armed Forces Day, 1960. Edwards continued
as the center for full-scale engine testing. Basic research, development,
and manufacturing took place at Rocketdyne facilities in Canoga Park,
California, and many component tests were conducted at the company's
106
CONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: H-l AND F-l
Santa Susana Field Laboratory in the mountains nearby. The company
lost little time in getting started on real engine hardware. Full-scale tests
on the engine's gas generator began in March 1960, and testing of the
prototype turbopump got under way in November of the same year.
Given the size and cost of the F-l program, component testing represented
an important practice — a technique that Rocketdyne continued to refine
during the development phase of the total propulsion system. This
"piecemeal" approach avoided the costs and complexities, as well as
months of delay, that would have resulted from using the total engine
system for the initial tests. Company personnel also conducted "compo-
nent extended limits" testing, which called for the hardware under test to
be pushed beyond its normal performance specifications to establish
comprehensive guidelines of reliability and confidence. This concept
proved to be so successful that Rocketdyne applied the same extended
limits test concept to other engine test programs in progress.
The ability to put components like the gas generator and turbopump
through test runs so quickly brought compliments from NASA's engine
program managers at MSFC, who appreciated the problems connected
with testing such an oversized propulsion system. Rocketdyne personnel
pulled off another coup; they not only conducted tests on many full-scale
components within a year of the initial contract, but on 6 April 1961, only
27 months from start, they went through a test run of a full-sized thrust
chamber assembly prototype at Edwards Air Force Base. During the run,
the thrust of the prototype chamber peaked at 7 295 000 newtons
(1 640000 pounds) of thrust — an unprecedented achievement for liquid-
propellant rocket engines. Even with the advantages of the Air Force
research effort, this was a noteworthy record of accomplishment.27 But a
good many predicaments — and sophisticated test work — were to come.
A BIG ENGINE. BIG PROBLEMS
The story of the F-l development embodied an apparent contradic-
tion: an awesome advance in engine performance and thrust, but an
advance based on conventional rocket propellants (liquid oxygen and
RP-1) and the existing state of the art. Designers and engineers, whether
at government installations or at contractor plants, always had to remem-
ber the official NASA admonition about the F-l: keep within the
framework of past experience concerning the liquid-fueled rocket engines.
Joseph P. McNamara, a top executive at North American and early
general manager at Rocketdyne, remarked that the F-l was really "a big
dumb engine" when compared to some of its contemporaries that burned
exotic fuels and featured more sophisticated features. Still, it was big.
Despite its thoroughly conventional lineage, it was still a major step
forward in rocket engine technology. "The giant stride in thrust was to be
107
STAGES TO SATURN
the major design advancement," said William Brennan, a top Rocketdyne
executive. The very size of the engines portended some challenges.
MSFC conceded that making "an enlargement of this magnitude is in
itself an innovation."28
The scale of the engine always seemed to threaten the goal of
keeping the system "old-fashioned" rather than creating a daring new
concept. For example, NASA continually emphasized engine reliability
because of its intended use for manned missions. In this context, NASA
limited the options for fuel and oxidizers for the F-l to proven types —
liquid oxygen and RP-1 — and stressed the greatest simplicity in overall
engine design. This approach in turn dictated the incorporation of
proven component designs wherever possible, combined with advanced
metallurgy for added reliability. Once designers got into advanced
metallurgy, they got into innovation. Coupled with the factors of size and
operating requirements of the F- 1 , there ensued a number of technologi-
cal advances and innovations in fabrication techniques.
Despite the accelerating tempo of technological advances in other
rocket engines during the development of the maturing F-l, its teething
troubles multiplied. Several factors affected early schedules. In the first
place, testing programs for the oversized ¥-\ required new facilities,
which had to be constructed. Test equipment had to be compatible with
the king-sized proportions of the F-l test complexes. The design and
fabrication of the test equipment alone, in the judgment of MSFC,
constituted a "major development." Second, the size of the thrust
chamber called for a new brazing process for joining the propellant tubes
together. Third, the goal to simplify the engine and related systems
resulted in considerable new work to rely on the vehicle's own fuel at high
pressure to operate the engine control systems. In eliminating the
original plans for a separate hydraulic system, some important redesign
had to be done. A fourth area of extra effort stemmed from the
extraordinary rate of propellant consumption of the engine (which
reached three metric tons of fuel and oxidizer per second). The devel-
opment of components to meet such demands involved very steep
hardware costs and necessitated stringent procedures to obtain maxi-
mum use of data acquired from each test. Finally, the application of the
F-l in manned flights created additional requirements for reliability and
quality control above the limits normally established for unmanned
vehicles. So, despite all the effort to rely on proven systems and
components, a distinctly different kind of engine development story
emerged. As acknowledged by the manager of the MSFC Engine
Program Office, "the development of the F-l engine, while attempting to
stay within the state of the art, did, by size alone, require major facilities,
test equipment, and other accomplishments which had not been attempted
prior to F-l development."29
108
CONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: H-l AND F-l
Fabricated as a bell-shaped engine with tubular walls for regenera-
tive cooling, the F-l had an expansion area ratio of 16 to 1 (with nozzle
extension) and a normal thrust of 6 670 000 newtons (1 500 000 pounds).
All engines were identical except for the center engine in each Saturn V,
which did not gimbal. To accomplish its mission, the F-l relied on several
subsystems, including the thrust chamber assembly (with the injector and
other hardware as integral parts), the turbopump, gas generator system,
propellant tank pressurization system, control system, flight instrumenta-
tion system, and electrical system. Additional paraphernalia, such as the
thermal insulation blankets, were finally adopted as part of the overall
F-l engine propulsion system.30
At nearly every step of the way, the unusually large engine exhibited
growing pains, and each component required special design attention in
one form or another. In some cases, these problems were unanticipated;
but even when designers expected a difficult development period, the
solutions did not come easily. Such was the case with the F-l injector.
THE F-l INJECTOR
The injector sprayed fuel and oxygen into the thrust chamber,
introducing it in a pattern calculated to produce the most efficient
combustion. To the casual observer, the final production model looked
simple enough. The face of the injector, or the combustion side,
contained the injection orifice pattern, determined by alternating fuel
rings and oxidizer rings, both made from copper. Across the face of the
injector, designers installed radial and circumferential copper baffles.
These baffles extended downward and divided the injector face into a
series of compartments. Along with a separate fuel igniter system, the
injector and baffles were housed in a stainless steel body.
In operation, the liquid oxygen dome, or LOX dome, located atop
the thrust chamber assembly, channeled oxidizer directly into the injec-
tor. Fuel injection followed a somewhat more indirect route, entering the
injector from the thrust chamber's fuel inlet manifold. As a means of
ensuring the engine start and operating pressure, part of the fuel flowed
directly into the thrust chamber, but the remainder was channeled by
alternating tubes down the length of the regeneratively cooled thrust
chamber, then back up again through the remaining tubes. The fuel
entered a fuel collector manifold, consisting of 32 spokes leading to the
injector. Finally, the fuel squirted through 3700 orifices into the combus-
tion chamber to mix with the oxidizer, which entered through 2600 other
orifices in the injector face.
Obviously, the injector demanded rigorous design work for toler-
ances and durability under extreme heat and pressures. At Rocketdyne,
109
F-l ENGINE
VEHICLI EFFECTIVITY
SA-504 &
SAr501B«USA-503 SUBS£QutNT
THRUST (SEA LEVEL) 1,500,000 LB 1,522,000 LB
THRUST DURATION 150 SEC 165 SEC
SPECIFIC IMPULSE
(LB-SEC/LB) 260SECMIN 263 MIN
ENGINE WEIGHT
DRY 18,416 LB I8,500LB
ENGINE WEIGHT
BURNOUT 20,096 LB 20,180 LB
EXIT-TO-THROAT
AREA RATIO 16TO1 16TO1
PROPELLANTS LOX & RP 1 LOX& RP 1
MIXTURE RATIO 2.2712% 2.27±2%
CONTRACTOR: NAA/ROCKETDYNE
VEHICLE APPLICATION:
SATURN V/S-IC STAGE (FIVE ENGINES)
David E. Aldnch, the F-l Project Manager, and Dominick Sanchini, his
chief assistant, wasted little time in initiating work on the injector,
.oncernmg development testing, experience has shown that the injector
presents the first major hurdle," Aldrich and Sanchini asserted. "Stable
jbustion must be attained before injector cooling and other thrust-
chamber development problems can be investigated,'' they explained. At
110
ENGINE START
Engine start is part of the terminal countdown
sequence. When this point in the countdown is
reached, the ignition sequencer controls
starting of all five engines.
Checkout valve moves to engine return position.
Electrical signal fires igniters (4 each engine).
a) Gas generator combustor and turbine
exhaust igniters burn igniter links to
trigger electrical signal to start
solenoid of 4-way control valve.
b) Igniters burn approximately six
seconds.
Start solenoid of 4-way control valve directs GSE
hydraulic pressure to main lox valves.
5> Main lox valves allow lox to flow to thrust chamber
and GSE hydraulic pressure to flow through
sequence valve to open gas generator ball valve.
Propellants, under tank pressure, flow into gas
generator combustor.
Propellants are ignited by flame of igniters.
8) Combustion gas passes through turbopump, heat
r exchanger, exhaust manifold and nozzle extension.
&
Fuel rich turbine combustion gas is ignited by
flame from igniters.
a) Ignition of this gas prevents backfiring
and burping.
b) Thiso relatively cool gas (approximately
550 C) is the coolant for the nozzle
extension.
Illy Combustion gas accelerates the turbopump, causinc
r the pump discharge pressure to increase.
As fuel pressure increases to approximately
26,400 grams-per square centimeter (375
psig), it ruptures the hypergol cartridge.
The hypergolic fluid and fuel are forced into the
thrust chamber where they mix with the lox
to cause ignition.
TRANSITION TO MAINSTAGE
Ignition causes the combustion zone pressure
to increase.
As pressure reaches 1 400 grams per square
centimeter (20 psig), the ignition monitor valve
directs fluid pressure to the main fuel valves.
Fluid pressure opens main fuel valves.
Fuel enters thrust chamber. As pressure increases
the transition to mainstage is accomplished.
The thrust OK pressure switch (which senses fuel
injection pressure) picks up at approximately
74,500 grams per square centimeter (1060 psi)
and provides a THRUST OK signal to the IU.
the outset, it might have seemed logical to scale up designs successfully
developed for smaller engines. However, development of a stable injec-
tor for the 1 780 000-newton (400 000-pound) thrust E-l engine required
18 months, and it seemed more than likely that the 4.5-million-newton
(1.5-million-pound) F-l would require something more than just a
"bigger and better" design concept.
Rocketdyne's ability to run injector and thrust chamber tests with
full-scale hardware in March 1959, only two months from the date of the
original contract, derived from its earlier Air Force activities. Some
experimental hardware was already on hand, and Rocketdyne also had a
usable test stand left over from prior experiments. The first firings were
made with components several steps removed from what could be
expected as production models. Because the injector paced so much of
the overall design and because designers and engineers wanted to start as
111
STAGES TO SATURN
soon as possible, the thrust chamber tests used rough, heavy-duty
hardware; it was cheap, and it was easy to work with.
Investigation began with a critical review of all prior operational
injector work and current experimental studies to develop a promising
avenue of design for the new component. Advanced theories were
needed to understand the operation of an injector at much higher
densities and higher chamber pressures than ever attempted. As a result
of this preliminary theoretical work, the F-l injector evolved as a
construction of copper rings. This promised the necessary structural
rigidity, resistance to localized hot spots, and overheating at the injector
face.
With a heavy-duty component in hand, the design work progressed
to the next stage of design assessment, featuring a series of water-flow
and calibration tests. These procedures verified spacing and shape of
injector orifices. The next step involved statistics derived from the flow
and calibration tests, giving engineers the kind of data they needed to
plan appropriate start sequences for the injector and engine system. The
culmination of these investigations occurred in the first hot tests, "one of
the most critical stages in an injector development program." These trial
runs late in 1960 and early in 1961 marked Rocketdyne's first wave of
troubles concerning stability of the injector at rated thrust level for
duration firing.31
THE INJECTOR AND COMBUSTION INSTABILITY
At the outset, planners considered three different injector designs,
all of them more or less based on the H-l injector configuration.
"However, stability characteristics were notably poorer," reported Leonard
Bostwick, the F-l engine manager at MSFC. "None of the F-l injectors
exhibited dynamic stability." Once instability got started in the engine,
nothing stopped it until the test engineers cut off the propellants and
shut down the entire engine. Obviously, this was not the way to successful
missions. The design team tried variations of baffled injectors and
flat-faced injectors with little improvement, except that the flat-faced
designs could be expected to create more damage than their counterparts
with baffles. Finally, all hands agreed that the attempt to scale up the H-l
injector to the F-l size just would not work. There were too many
variables: high chamber pressures, a lower contraction ratio, greater
density requirements for the injector, and much larger diameter of the
thrust chamber. With the concurrence of MSFC, Rocketdyne began a
new path of investigation to select an injector design with inherently
LI I • I • • ^9 '
stable combustion characteristics.
The snags in the F-l's progress sharpened high-level skepticism
about the feasibility of an engine the F-l's size. During a meeting of the
112
CONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: H-l AND F-l
President's Science Advisory Committee early in 1961, one member,
Donald Hornig, reportedly expressed strong reservations about the F-l
engine program because of fundamental problems in its development,
adding that it might just be too big to make it work. Hugh Dryden,
NASA's Deputy Administrator, got wind of these comments and wrote to
Hugh Odishaw, of the National Academy of Sciences, to help set the
record straight in the scientific advisory community. Dryden reported
encouraging progress on new injector designs and characterized the
tribulations of the F-l as inevitable in engine work. "Such development
problems are the common experience of every engine development with
which I am familiar and are nothing to be concerned about," he
counseled, "so long as one makes sure that the developing agency is
taking a multipronged approach to obtaining a solution."33 Several new
radial injector designs now become candidates for the F-l engine. To
acquire more accurate data, engineers ran tests with scaled-down models
in a special low-pressure, two-dimensional transparent thrust chamber.
This permitted the use of high-speed photography and "streak movies"
to anlayze the performance of the injectors in simulated operation. The
most promising designs graduated to full-sized models in hot-fire tests
which included bomb experiments (as in the H-l) and erratic propellant
flows produced by an explosively driven piston. The new designs
appeared to have combustion instability, an early concern, under control
until 28 June 1962, when combustion instability resulted in the total loss
of an F-l engine. From there on, as von Braun drily remarked, "This
problem assumed new proportions."3
Working quickly, MSFC established a combustion stability ad hoc
committee, chaired by Jerry Thomson of Marshall, with six permanent
members and five consultants chosen from MSFC, Lewis Research
Center, the Air Force, industry, and universities. The group got together
at Huntsville on 16 July to consider the recent loss of the F-l engine and
to review Rocketdyne's R&D efforts, as well as to provide technical
assistance and coordinate all research on the problem. Rocketdyne had
established its own stability council by the autumn of i962 to pursue the
issue of F-l instability and also enlisted the support of leading authorities
from government and universities. Rocketdyne's group was headed by
Paul Castenholz and Dan Klute, temporarily relieved of their current
duties for full-time attention to combustion instability. They reported
directly to William J. Brennan, Rocketdyne's chief of propulsion engi-
neering at the time.35
Reacting to deep concern expressed within the Office of Manned
Space Flight, von Braun prepared a memo in November 1962 to reassure
Seamans and others at Headquarters. Von Braun emphasized Marshall's
concern and praised the steps taken by Rocketdyne to deal with the
situation, but promised no quick or easy solutions. The memo from von
113
STAGES TO SATURN
Braun gave a clear insight into the frustrations in searching for answers.
Although various organizations had pursued combustion-instability research
for the past 10 years, nobody had yet. come up with an adequate
understanding of the process itself. Therefore, it had not been possible to
use suitable criteria in designing injectors to avoid combustion instability.
"Lack of suitable design criteria has forced the industry to adopt almost a
completely empirical approach to injector and combustor development,"
von Braun said. This approach is not only "costly and time consuming,"
he continued, but also " . . .does not add to our understanding because a
solution suitable for one engine system is usually not applicable to
another." Von Braun urged more extensive research on the task, and
suggested that universities in particular could put Ph.D. candidates to
work on aspects of combustion and combustion instability for their
dissertations.36
In the meantime, two more engines were lost in tests. D. Brainerd
Holmes wanted a special briefing on the problem, which he received on
31 January 1963. At the end of the presentation, Holmes commented
that the goal of beating the Russians to the moon seemed to mired in F-l
problems. He asked if it was not time to start work on a backup scheme.
The briefing team, which included representatives from MSFC and
Rocketdyne, convinced Holmes that new work would detract from
solving F-l difficulties, which appeared to be succumbing to intensive
government-industry engineering and university research.37 In March,
however, Holmes wrote to von Braun, reemphasizing the need to get the
F-l effort on schedule to avoid slips in launch dates and the lunar landing
goal. "I regard this problem as one of great seriousness," Holmes wrote,
and asked to be kept informed on a daily basis.38
It took 12 months for Rocketdyne to work out a baffled injector
design that functioned well enough to pass the preflight rating tests.
Some vexatious anomalies persisted, however, especially in the injector's
inability to recover from combustion oscillations artificially induced by
bombs detonated inside the thrust chamber. This situation called for
added research before the F- 1 could pass muster for the final flight-rated
design. By July 1964, with combustion stability work continuing, Rocketdyne
received an additional contract of $22 million, including miscellaneous
hardware and services, with a special allocation to accelerate the compa-
ny's research in combustion stability.39
Significant theoretical work was accomplished by two Princeton
researchers, David Harrje and Luigi Crocco, along with Richard Priem of
the Lewis Research Center. When Crocco was in Europe on sabbatical
during the academic year 1963-1964, he maintained correspondence
with MSFC; NASA Headquarters even approved von Braun's request to
send Rocketdyne and Marshall representatives to talk with Crocco in
114
CONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: H-l AND F-l
Rome.40 To investigate the phenomenon of unstable combustion, engi-
neers and researchers employed a wide range of instrumented apparatus
and other aids. Among other paraphernalia, investigators introduced
high-speed instrumentation to diagnose combustion in the thrust cham-
ber and to evaluate modifications to the original designs. The exacting
attention to details led to apparently minor changes that actually proved
to be of major significance. After careful calculations of the effect,
enlarging the diameters of the fuel injection orifices was later judged one
of the most important single contributions to improved stability. Other
careful changes included readjustment of the angles at which the fuel
and oxidizer impinged.41 Several techniques of rather dramatic nature
were also applied in the instability research. For the layman, the most
bizarre aspect of F-l testing (like the H-l) involved the use of small
bombs to upset the thrust exhaust pattern to measure the engine's ability
to recover from the disturbance. By varying the size of the bombs, test
engineers could create instability of different intensities and evaluate the
ability of the engine to restore stable conditions.
This procedure offered an immense saving in time and costs,
because it eliminated the old methods of running hundreds of engine
tests in an effort to acquire a quantity of useful statistics. Moreover, the
ability to artificially subject the F- 1 injector to severe operational stresses
eventually resulted in a superior design with excellent damping charac-
teristics. During early tests, self-triggered instability continued for more
than 1600 milliseconds — a highly dangerous condition. The successful
design recovered from deliberately triggered instability in less than 100
milliseconds. The final product included the redesigned orifices for LOX
and fuel to improve the distribution pattern of propellants as well as a
rearrangement of the injector baffles. The baffled injector, as opposed to
the flat-faced type, was particularly effective in recovery during the
deliberately triggered instability tests. The minute, exacting require-
ments of engine development were such that these seemingly insignifi-
cant changes required some 18 months to prove out, and the flight-rated
model of the F-l injector did not receive MSFC's imprimatur until
January 1965.42
In the course of F-l engine development, Rocketdyne personnel
consistently emphasized the combustion stability investigations as one of
the company's stiffest challenges, and its solution as one of its most
satisfying achievements. Although engineers expected difficulties in this
area because big engines with high chamber pressures inevitably developed
random and unpredictable combustion instability, the size of the F-l
dramatically increased the size of the challenge. Rocketdyne managed to
cope with the problem, although, as Brennan admitted in an address to
the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1967, "the
115
STAGES TO SATURN
causes of such instability are still not completely understood."43 Even
though the F-l engine performed satisfactorily, uncertainty concerning
combustion instability persisted a decade later.*
Although combustion instability and injector development became
the pacing items in the F-l program, other thrust chamber problem areas
required constant troubleshooting by Marshall and Rocketdyne engi-
neers. During the first half of 1965, MSFC monitors at Rocketdyne's
production facilities in Canoga Park, California, were worried about
cracks in the thrust chamber jacket, while MSFC monitors at the Edwards
Air Force Base test site were frustrated by cracks in the thrust chamber
tubes. Engine 014 had been in and out of the test stand more than once
for injector changes and thrust chamber tube repairs. In April 1965, the
MSFC monitor at Edwards reported to Huntsville that the engine was
back in the test stand once more. "Engine 014 apparently has a dog of a
thrust chamber," he wrote in exasperation.44 Another troubleshooting
effort that required considerable attention concerned a manufacturing
sequence for the injectors. Unhappily, the problem appeared after a
number of engine deliveries to the Boeing Company, the contractor for
the S-IC first stage of the Saturn V. The injector incorporated multiorificed
copper fuel and oxidizer rings, held by steel lands (rings) installed in a
stainless steel body. To attach the copper rings to the steel lands of the
injector body, workers performed a brazing operation. As test runs on
R&D engines accumulated more and more time, the brazed bond joint
failed, with very bad separation between the copper rings and steel lands.
Analysis of all prior engine deliveries disclosed similar minute failures. In
a somewhat elegant solution, new procedures called for replacements
using gold-plated lands to offer a superior bonding surface during
brazing. During the spring and summer of 1965, this investigation
involved considerable testing and metallurgical analysis, not only to
pinpoint the problem, but to confirm the effectiveness of the new
procedures. Finally, several engines had to be retrofitted with the new
"gold-plated" injectors.45
THE F-l TURBOPUMP
As one group of specialists grappled with injector or thrust chamber
problems, another group labored on the problem of pumping hundreds
of thousands of liters of propellants out of the S-IC's propellant tanks
and into the five F-l engines. The turbopump absorbed more design
effort and time for fabrication than any other component of the engine.
* In a note to the author (8 July 1976), John Sloop, a senior NASA propulsion engineer, noted
that combustion instability, like engine knock, has long been studied, and engineers had learned to
deal with it. But neither was yet fully comprehended.
116
CONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: H-l AND F-l
The development program began with tests of various models of
turbopump evaluating the performance levels and durability of fuel and
oxidizer pumps, inducers, and turbines. With a satisfactory preliminary
design worked out from the model testing, workers assembled a full-sized
turbopump and started tests in November I960.46
Rocketdyne designed the turbopump as a direct-drive unit, with the
oxidizer pump, fuel pump, and turbine mounted on a common shaft.
During operation, the engine bearings were cooled by fuel, but this
Above, a cutway drawing of the
liquid oxygen dome and the injector
plate of the F-l engine; below, a
cutaway drawing of the Mark 10
turbopump for the F-l enigne.
STAGES TO SATURN
convenient feature required a special heater to keep the ball bearings
from freezing up when the pump was chilled by liquid oxygen prior to
engine start. The oxidizer pump, rated at 102 230 liters (24 81 1 gallons)
per minute, supplied oxidizer to the thrust chamber as well as to the gas
generator. Oxygen entered the pump through an inlet connected to the
oxidizer tank by a duct, and the inlet had an inducer mounted in it to
increase the pressure of the oxidizer before it reached an impeller. This
sequence prevented cavitation in the liquid oxygen stream. The impeller
brought the oxygen to the correct pressure, then discharged it through
appropriate routes to the thrust chamber and gas generator. With a rated
capacity of 57 392 liters (15 741 gallons) per minute, the fuel pump
supplied the thrust chamber and gas generator in the same manner as
the oxidizer pump. The fuel pump system also employed an inducer
section to prevent cavitation before the fuel reached the impeller.
The turbine to drive the separate propellant pumps was an impres-
sive piece of machinery itself — it developed 410 000 watts (55 000 brake
horsepower). Designers located the turbine on the fuel-pump end of the
turbopump. In this position, the units of the turbopump with the most
extreme temperature differences (816°C [1500°F] for the turbine and
— 184°C [— 300°F] for the oxidizer pump) were separated. Hot gases for
the turbopump turbine originated in the gas generator and entered the
turbine at 77 kilograms per second.47 A series of failures, 11 in all,
dogged the development of the turbopumps for the F-l engine. Two
incidents were traced to structural failures of the LOX pump impeller,
which called for redesign of the unit with increased strength. Explosions
occurred in the other nine instances, with five during engine tests and
four during component tests of the turbopump. The explosions developed
from a variety of causes, such as shock loads due to high acceleration of
the turbopump shaft, rubbing between critical seals and other moving
parts, fatigue in the impeller section, and other problems. With some new
design work and manufacturing techniques, these conditions disappeared,
and investigators proceeded to cope with other problems that continued
to crop up, such as the engine turbine. For the engine turbine manifold,
Rocketdyne chose a new material known as Rene 41. This material was
quite new to the manufacturers of rocket engines, and the welding
process produced cracks adjacent to the weld in the heat-affected zone
created by the welding pass. As a result, the company devoted considera-
ble time and effort to ascertaining proper welding conditions and to
training welders on the production lines. With the proper welding
requirements finally established, Rocketdyne adopted an automatic welding
procedure to complete the "fix" on this situation.48
The turbopump was a good example of the emphasis on simplicity
and reliability in design philosophy. "The primary consideration in the
selection of the turbopump design," MSFC managers emphasized, "was
to attain reliability by using a minimum number of parts and proven
118
CONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: H-l AND F-l
design concepts." Engineers were anxious to have a turbopump capable
of operating at low inlet pressures, both to simplify design requirements
and to have low pressure in the propellant tankage. The packaging
concept of the F-l influenced the design of the turbopump system. The
main objectives in the engine configuration included designing compo-
nents to be as small as possible and keeping machinery as accessible as
possible. In general, the configuration of the engine package followed
the pattern of the Atlas sustainer engine (the S-4), Rocketdyne's first
large liquid-propellant gimbaled engine with the turbopump mounted
directly on the thrust chamber. Designers located all other associated
equipment on the turbopump, thrust chamber, or somewhere in between.
The attraction of this approach, as in the H-l, lay in the ability to avoid
flexing the high-pressure propellant ducts in concert with the gimbaling
engines during a launch.
The F-l turbopump assembly featured a variety of manufacturing
techniques, heat treatment, and other processes to impart the most
desirable properties to the high-performance engines. A good example
of evolutionary steps in the process of engine development, these aspects
of the F-l fabrication grew out of the special materials programs
associated with the H-l engine. In both cases, designers selected materi-
als intended to provide extra margins of safety whenever possible. For
the pump's inlets, volutes, and impellers, the F-l incorporated a light-
weight, but sturdy, aluminum-alloy casting. For turbine wheels and
manifold assemblies that performed under higher operating tempera-
tures, designers favored a nickel alloy with high strength at high
temperatures. After running hundreds of tests on final designs of the F-l
turbopump assembly, its developers were at last satisfied with the
performance of the materials chosen and the design philosophies that
were used.49
THE F-l THRUST CHAMBER AND FURNACE BRAZING
At a rate of three metric tons per second (one metric ton of RP- 1 fuel
and two metric tons of liquid oxygen), the F-l was designed to burn its
propellants at approximately 79 000 newtons per square centimeter
(1 150 pounds per square inch) at the injector face (the high pressure was
emphasized as a matter of efficient design), and within the thrust
chamber convert this furious activity into a high-temperature, high-
velocity gas with a yield of 4.5 million newtons (1.5 million pounds) of
thrust.
Before entering the thrust chamber body tubes, RP-1 entered the
fuel manifold from two diametrically opposed inlets. The bypass (which
channeled about 30 percent of the fuel flow directly to the injector)
reduced the power requirement for the fuel pumps — they did not have
to force all the fuel down the cooling tubes and up again to the
119
STAGES TO SATURN
combustion chamber. The remainder of the RP-1 was diverted down
through 89 tubes to the nozzle exit, where a return manifold directed
fuel back through the 89 return tubes. In the lower sections, the tubes
were actually bifurcated units. From the fuel mainfold down to the point
where the engine attained a 3.1 expansion ratio, the tubes were installed
as single pieces. Below that point, the manufacturing process included
two secondary fuel tubes, each spliced into the primary carrier. Designers
went to this configuration to compensate for the increasing flare of the
bell-shaped nozzle. The bifurcated units in the flaring nozzle permitted
the engine to retain a desirable cross-sectional area in each tube and still
achieve the wide, flared bell shape.50
Transforming the thrust chamber's individual tubes into a vessel
capable of handling the F-l pressure and heat required specialized
metallurgical research in Rocketdyne laboratories and at MSFC. To form
the regeneratively cooled engine, the F-l was fabricated as "a tube bundle
surrounded by a heavily jacketed combustion chamber, a series of bands
around the nozzle, and two end rings." The basic thrust chamber
included 178 primary tubes and 356 secondaries, requiring 900 meters of
brazed joints between them to keep the combustion gases contained
within the thrust chamber. Rocketdyne personnel expended a great deal
of effort on the perfection of brazing operations required for the
nickel-alloy thrust chamber assembly; it was a major challenge to perfect
an alloy and a brazing technique to seal the hundreds of tubes together in
a bond that would withstand high temperatures and pressures. The joints
carried some of the stresses created by the expanding combustion gases,
but the jacket and reinforcement bands around the tube bundle carried
the primary load. This basic F-l design reflected the features of other
regeneratively cooled engines with tubular walls, such as the Atlas and
H-l engines. The greatly increased operational factors of the F-l
required more sophisticated fabrication methods, which led the compa-
ny, finally, into the design and construction of the largest brazing furnace
of its type in the world.
In the production of less powerful liquid-rocket tubular-walled
thrust chambers, usually of pure nickel, manufacturing engineers depended
on manual torch brazing with alloys of a silver-based type. With the F-l's
thrust levels up to 10 times those of prior engines, investigators knew that
the old procedures needed some rethinking if the big new engine was
going to hold together during a launch. For the tubes themselves, the
nickel-alloy Inconel X-750 provided the high strength-to-weight ratio
that was needed, but it imposed certain restraints in the brazing process.
After experimentation, designers realized that technical reasons prohibited
the conventional technique of torch brazing, and dictated a furnace
brazing process. Then a secondary set of problems cropped up. Inconel
X-750 included enough aluminum and titanium to form refractory
oxides under brazing temperatures, so that "the surface of the Inconel is
120
CONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: H-l AND F-l
not readily wet by most brazing alloys at elevated temperatures." Thus
the brazing procedures had to begin by electrolytically depositing a thin
layer of pure nickel on the tubes to eliminate the refractory oxides on the
brazing surface. Despite this minor drawback in the operation, furnace
brazing promised several distinct advantages over the torch method by
minimizing differences in thermal stresses, combining age-hardening of
the tubes with the brazing operation, and eliminating the variables of
hand rnethods.51
With the furnace activated in 1965, furnace brazing for F-l produc-
tion proceeded in several carefully regulated sequences. After prelimi-
nary brazing operations to unite the thrust chamber tubes and other
components, the scene was set for the final furnace brazing cycles to
create a properly sealed thrust chamber. Inside a "clean-room" area,
workers assembled the complete thrust chamber, using a special fixture
devised by Rocketdyne to ensure proper alignment of the tube bundle,
jacket, and end rings. In addition to the 900 meters of tube-to-tube alloy
joints to be sealed inside and outside, the exterior required some 7000
tube-to-band joints to be brazed. The brazing alloy, in a powder form,
was applied by workers using hand-held spray guns, an application
technique also especially developed by Rocketdyne.
Despite the highly refined and closely monitored steps leading up to
the first major furnace brazing operation, this operation remained
heavily laden with drama since it could almost as easily go sour as
succeed. As one Rocketdyne engineer emphasized, "The furnace brazing
operation represents a final step in which all the material, time, and
resources expended in the fabrication of hundreds of thrust chamber
parts and subassemblies are committed. In many respects it is similar to
the launch of the vehicle itself, since failure of any one of the numerous
controls exercised during the furnace brazing operation could result in a
poorly brazed, unacceptable piece of hardware." No wonder, then, that
Rocketdyne expended so much attention on the furnace, which incorpo-
rated several unique features of design and performance.52
OTHER COMPONENTS AND SUBSYSTEMS
The F-l design included a thrust chamber extension, or "nozzle
skirt." As engineers pondered the design of the F-l and the problem of
disposing of the turbine exhaust, the idea of the nozzle skirt promised
several design advantages. A circumferential exhaust manifold collected
the turbine exhaust gases and directed them through the nozzle skirt into
the engine's exhaust plume. The skirt was designed with double walls,
and numerous slots in the wall allowed the gases to exit with the jet
stream of the exhaust. The effect was to introduce a cooler boundary
layer to protect the walls of the thrust chamber extension. With the
727
Above, a cutaway drawing of
the F-l thrust chamber; right,
the hugh furnace at Rocket-
dyne in which the tricky braz-
ing operation was performed
on F-l engine thrust chambers
at 1260°C.
disposal of the turbine exhaust gases into the thrust chamber by way of
the nozzle extension, Rocketdyne designers realized the advantages of a
neat, comparatively lightweight system. There was no need for extra
attachments such as a turbine exhaust duct, and the extension favorably
increased the expansion ratio. Designed with simple bolted attachments,
the extension could be conveniently removed for shipping and handling
of engines and stage. The simplicity of the design allowed the engine to
be easily test-fired following reattachment of the nozzle skirt at the test
site.
To help keep the S-IC propellant tanks under pressure, the engine
contractor supplied elements of the propellant tank pressurization sys-
tem. The key to the system was the heat exchanger, which heated gaseous
oxygen and helium to pressurize the oxidizer tank and fuel tank,
respectively. Using the vehicle's own oxidizer as part of the propellant
tank pressurization system illustrated harmoniously integrated design of
many of the rocket systems and subsystems. Another good example
involved the use of the fuel as the fluid medium in the hydraulic control
system. The hydraulic design itself constituted a notable design advance-
ment for an engine the size of the F-l. The system cut out many sets of
722
CONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: H-l AND F-l
previously required pneumatic controls and electrical components and
automatically increased reliability. Once the fuel used as the hydraulic
fluid had performed its programmed chores in engine components, a
myriad of tubing routed it back to the turbopump fuel inlet for
combustion in the thrust chamber.
The frustrations of perfecting an engine the size of the F-l ran the
gamut from internal hardware to external accessories. The high operat-
ing temperatures of the engine called for varied insulation at many
points, and the super-hot blasts from the clustered engines created the
need for special insulation to protect the engines from their own exhaust.
During the vehicle's ascent, the plumes from the five F-l engines
expanded with decreasing ambient pressure until they become one
searing, gargantuan sheet of flame, and a backlash stream of hot gases
played over all the exterior surfaces of the engines. For this reason,
designers had to protect the engines from thermal attack during the
flight, as well as consider the high heat radiation encountered as the
engines built up to mainstage thrust levels at liftoff. Thus, the F-l engine
acquired its distinctive external insulation "cocoon," molded into seg-
ments and attached to the engine with brackets. Despite its deceptively
simple appearance, the development of this insulation cocoon also
experienced its share of problems in attachment and weight.
Engineers employed a direct and brutal method to test the engine
insulation cocoon installed on the F-l. Workers placed an engine,
enclosed in its protective wraps, inside a special wind tunnel. At one end,
they installed a J-57 jet engine, complete with an afterburner, and
positioned it to aim the devastating jet exhaust directly at the insulated
F-l. With added quilting, thicker inner skin, and improvements in
stressed areas, the engine insulation received qualification for flight.
Only one more hitch occurred. In the humid, semitropical environment
of Cape Kennedy, the internal quilting acted like a sponge and became
thoroughly saturated during a stiff thundershower. While a Saturn V
waited on the pad, engineers ran frantic tests with water-soaked insula-
tion panels under simulated flight conditions. These tests introduced the
final modifications to the insulated cocoons — strategically placed vents to
let off steam from the moisture-laden internal quilting.53
FROM STATIC TEST THROUGH FLIGHT TEST
From the beginning, the most complete facilities for full-scale F-l
testing existed at Edwards Air Force Base, where Air Force work on the
engine first began. Their facilities included several engine test stands and
a thrust chamber stand, also used for injector design studies. The first
engine tests using prototype hardware occurred in the test stand origi-
nally built for the Atlas program and converted to take the larger F-l
123
STAGES TO SATURN
dimensions. Researchers scheduled advanced engine work to use a new
stand, capable of holding a pair of engines side by side. It was a towering
complex, equivalent to an 1 1 -story building, built with heavily reinforced
concrete base and a steel girder framework anchored deeply in the desert
granite to withstand the punishment of the F-l engines at full throttle. At
the peak of the development program, Rocketdyne used five separate
engine stands at the Rocket Engine Test Site, an integral unit of the
Edwards Air Force Base complex. The equipment at the Edwards Rocket
Engine Test Site also included a component test stand, a dual-position
facility used for chamber and injector work at full thrust levels. Techni-
cians began some of the first preliminary design work on this stand, even
though it was not feasible at the time to build supply tanks to deliver
propellants for more than a 20-second run. Despite the short duration of
the experiments, the 20 seconds of roaring engine operation called for
some equipment of remarkable proportions. Workmen put together the
high-pressure propellant tanks with stainless steel plates 13 centimeters
thick and installed fuel and oxidizer control valves that weighed 6 metric
tons each. With such a complement of metal, the "battleship test" stand
was aptly named.54
To accelerate the test schedules for production models of the F- 1 ,
executives at MSFC decided to test the engines in Huntsville and ordered
appropriate modifications to the west side of MSFC's static test tov/er.
Thus, while the engine test stands at Edwards supported ongoing
research and development, Marshall personnel checked out the first
batch of production engines during 1963, sending the F-l's thundering
roar through the Tennessee River valley. The tempo of F-l engine tests
picked up during 1964, as MSFC personnel ran numerous static tests in
Huntsville, and Rocketdyne supervised continuing work at Edwards Air
Force Base. In October, the new dual-position test stand at Edwards
became operational. The Director of MSFC, Wernher von Braun, flew
out to California for the ceremonies, where he accepted the newly
activated stand on behalf of NASA and then assigned operational
responsibility to Rocketdyne. With all test stands utilized at full capacity,
the Flight Rating Tests of the F-l propulsion system soon concluded, and
flight qualification was verified by NASA spokesman by the last month of
the year. The concurrent lines of development of stages and engines now
began to converge in Huntsville where a "live" test stage (the S-IC-T),
with a full complement of five F-l engines, awaited its first dramatic test
firing. The use of MSFC facilities on 16 April 1965 put this phase of
testing two months ahead of schedule, and the 6.5-second ignition of the
S-IC-T stage generated 33 000 000 newtons (7 500 000 pounds) of thrust,
more collective rocket power than ever before achieved.
During 1966, the last year before the F-l and J-2 powered Saturn V
was scheduled for its first unmanned launch, the F-l passed NASA's first
article configuration inspection, the first major Apollo-Saturn propulsion
124
The F-l test stand in the Mohave
Desert towered 76 meters (note man
at base).
system to pass this exam, and on 6 September the F-l received complete
qualification for manned missions. The final tests for MSFC occurred on
15 November, with the acceptance firing of the S-IC-3 first stage;
subsequent acceptance firings were earmarked for the Mississippi Test
Facility near the Gulf, a more convenient location in terms of logistics
between the test site and launch facilities at KSC. Before the epochal
voyage of Apollo 1 1 began on 16 July 1969, five Saturn V launch vehicles
lifted off from Cape Kennedy: one in 1967; two in 1968; and two more in
early 1969. Despite the thousands of metric tons of cryogenic materials
already consumed in research and in the hundreds upon hundreds of
tests already accomplished, the pace of research involving the F-l only
seemed to quicken in the concluding months before Apollo 1 1 began its
flight. Dozens of additional tests of the complete engine were run at
Huntsville and at Edwards, as contractors and NASA engineers determinedly
verified the maturity and reliability of the mammoth rocket engine.55
SUMMARY: H-l AND F-l
The H-l and F-l engines, as well as other engines in the Saturn
series of vehicles, achieved remarkable records in operational reliability
and longevity during the Apollo program. Both the H-l and F-l
demonstrated consistent performance characteristics during flight mis-
sions, a credit to all the government and contractor personnel who
725
The production line for F -I engine
thrust chambers at Rocketdyne.
contributed to their success. When the Saturn V took the central role in
the late 1960s and early 1970s, the remaining nine Saturn S-IB first
stages, along with their 72 H-l engines, went into storage. When they
were earmarked for use in the Skylab program, many people wondered
if such old equipment would still be reliable.
In the spring of 1971, nine years after the delivery of the last
production unit, technicians pulled one of the H-l engines out of
hibernation, to test the "certified lifetime" of seals, gaskets, and other
components. The test was important, not only for the immediate purpose
of Skylab, but to know how other liquid-fueled rocket engines stored
away for future missions were faring. After an extensive pretest examina-
tion, the H-l was installed in a test stand at MSFC. Engineers put the
engine through its paces: three separate starts, followed by a full-duration
run of 140 seconds. The engine performed as well as at its qualification
test firing, 108 months earlier. MSFC personnel tore the engine down
after firing to see if they could discover any weaknesses, but all the seals
and other critical parts were still in good shape and fully serviceable.
Marshall officials sent the engine back into storage, satisfied that they
could all be called upon to serve any time within yet another 8-10 years.
A year later, during June 1972, Rocketdyne personnel did similar tests
on an F-l engine that had been delivered to MSFC in 1965, tested in
1966, and put into storage. The engine was run through two extended
duration firings at Edwards Air Force Base, then subjected to rigorous
inspection and analysis. The engine showed no abnormalities.56 Faith in
the engines' lifetime was justified by the successful launch of the Orbital
126
CONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: H-l AND F-l
Workshop aboard a two-stage Saturn V (S-IC first stage and S-II second
stage), followed by the three successful manned launches of the Saturn
IB in support of the Skylab program in 1973, followed by another Saturn
IB in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975 (see chapter 13).
To appreciate the efficiency and dependability of the H-l, the
contributions of engine technology from the Thor, Jupiter, and Atlas
programs must be remembered. These missile propulsion systems con-
tributed handsomely to the H-l engine's thrust chamber, turbopump
assembly, gas generator system, control valves, and other engine assem-
blies. But the H-l emerged from its R&D gestation period as a separate
and distinct engine system. Its components had been completely repackaged
for compactness and improved accessibility — the latter a special problem
for the H-l, created by the first-stage "boat tail." Various components
were refined and strengthened for higher pressures, temperatures, and
propellant flow to achieve the higher thrust levels demanded for the
Saturn missions. Altogether, the designers contrived an assembly that
was smaller and lighter in comparison to its enhanced performance.57
Although the F-l had its roots in early Air Force studies, it was a
"newer" engine than the H-l. Troubles with the F-l, however, were
primarily a function of proportions, not innovations. Both engines used
the same liquid oxygen and RP-1 propellants, but size and performance
characteristics made the F-l fundamentally different. The H-l experi-
enced R&D problems as it was uprated in thrust. Taking proven H-l
components, such as the injector, and scaling them up to F-l require-
ments turned out to be not only difficult but basically impossible. The job
necessitated a fresh approach. Reworking the engine and the injector to
cope with combustion instability entailed an R&D effort of notable scope,
embracing scientific and technical specialists from MSFC and other
NASA centers, the contractor, other government agencies, private indus-
try, and universities. In addition to other F-l complications, the nature of
the facilities for testing and manufacturing (furnace brazing, for example)
of the F- 1 also differentiated it from the smaller H- 1 .
The extent to which cryogenic oxidizers and fuels of the RP-1 type
had been used in earlier engines made the H-l and F-l conventional
propulsion systems. Other Saturn cryogenic engines used a different,
more potent fuel: liquid hydrogen. As the first large rocket engines to
use a cyrogenic fuel, the RL-10 and J-2 were unconventional.
727
Unconventional Cryogenics: RL-10 and J-2
Liquid hydrogen fuel appealed to rocket designers because of its high
specific impulse, a basic measure of rocket performance. Compared
to an RP- 1 (kerosene) fueled engine of similar size, liquid hydrogen fuel
could increase the specific impulse of an engine by 40 percent.1
Research into, and application of, gaseous hydrogen technology
waxed and waned over a period of two centuries. Hydrogen's buoyant
qualities when used in balloons made it an early favorite of daring
balloonists in the late 18th century, until the latent flammability of
hydrogen ended too many balloon flights — and balloonists' careers — in
dramatic fashion. Beginning in World War II, development of large
dirigibles brought hydrogen into the limelight once again. In the 1920s
and 1930s, mammoth airships bearing the flags of the United States,
England, France, and Germany challenged the ocean of air. Because the
United States withheld helium for strategic reasons, the great German
zeppelins had to use hydrogen for buoyancy. With stringent safety
precautions, the zeppelins operated with astonishing reliability and safety
on intercontinental routes for some years, until the cataclysmic destruc-
tion of the Hindenburg in 1937 brought another halt in the development
of hydrogen for travel. Following World War II, the public associated
hydrogen with doomsday weapons, as the Cold War era culminated
progressive development of nuclear arms in the hydrogen bomb, or
"H-Bomb," of the 1950s. While use of hydrogen was being perfected for
destructive purposes, developments in rocketry opened the way for a
more benign application in NASA's space program.
Serious consideration of liquid hydrogen as a rocket fuel dated from
1903 when Tsiolkovsky, in his Treatise on Space Travel, proposed a rocket
129
STAGES TO SATURN
engine powered by a combination of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.
However, liquid hydrogen could not be obtained in quantities for
extensive experimental investigations, and for many years, it remained a
laboratory curiosity with a tantalizing potential.2 Significant research and
development of liquid hydrogen fuel and engines faltered in the United
States until the closing months of World War II, when wartime rocket
development led to consideration of succeeding generations of rocket
engines and fuels.
THE LURE OF LIQUID HYDROGEN
Late in 1945, the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics inaugurated a
program to investigate the potential of liquid hydrogen as a rocket
propellant. During the following year, the Navy formed the Committee
for Evaluating the Feasibility of Space Rocketry (CEFSR), within the
naval Bureau of Aeronautics, to review the problems of fuels, engines,
vehicle structures, and other ramifications of advanced rockets. Within
the year, CEFSR proposed a single-stage rocket, with liquid hydrogen as
propellant, to boost a satellite into orbit. It was a very advanced concept,
requiring hardware well ahead of the state of the art. Members of the
CEFSR dubbed their vehicle the High Altitude Test Vehicle, or HATV.
The bureau then negotiated a contract for additional studies with the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the California Institute of Technology.
Investigators at JPL confirmed the feasibility of the concept of a satellite
booster fueled with liquid hydrogen. Led by Dr. Theodore von Karman,
several JPL engineers, intrigued by the esoteric problems of aerodynam-
ics and space flight, had already organized a small and highly specialized
corporation, the Aerojet Engineering Corporation, which seemed ideally
suited to tangle with some of the hardware problems associated with the
development of liquid hydrogen propellants, engines, and related sys-
tems. Under a separate Navy contract, Aerojet took on the responsibility
of setting up a plant to produce liquid hydrogen in volume, and
developing test stands to try out experimental liquid hydrogen rocket
engines.3
The work at Aerojet included the design, construction, and opera-
tion of high-performance injectors and thrust chambers that operated in
the range from 1780 newtons (400 pounds) of thrust to 13 350 newtons
(3000 pounds) of thrust. The company also successfully tested a liquid
hydrogen engine pump, a single-stage centrifugal model that performed
with shaft speeds up to 35 000 revolutions per minute. In 1947, the
Aerojet General Corporation announced a working 13 350-newton
(3000-pound) thrust liquid hydrogen engine. The direction of the work,
and the attendant requirements for cryogenic supplies and storage, led to
the design, construction, and operation of a plant to produce liquid
hydrogen by 1949. Investigation of cryogenic engines was also under way
130
UNCONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: RL-10 AND J-2
at Ohio State University, under the direction of Dr. Herrick L.Johnston,
whose research team successfully fired a liquid-hydrogen engine of
significant size in 1945. Dr. Johnston served as a consultant in the design
of the California plant and contributed several technical devices used in
the operational layout. The insulation procedures for this pioneering
facility were also adapted from Johnston's research at Ohio State.4
The Aerojet operation afforded invaluable experience in the pro-
duction and handling of liquid hydrogen, which seemed to be less ticklish
than hydrogen gas. "On the whole," some early personnel recalled,
"liquid hydrogen is less hazardous than high-pressure gaseous oxygen,
and it may, in fact, be regarded as a highly volatile gasoline." Much of the
concern with liquid hydrogen centered on the "boil-off" rate and the
problems of transfer between production lines, storage, and test sites.
Designers planned the production facility to achieve a capacity of 6
kilograms of liquid hydrogen per hour, probably the largest plant of its
kind in existence. Actual production from September 1948 to June 1949
totaled 336 kilograms of liquid hydrogen, including 2406 kilograms in
the last four months of the production period.5 Small by later standards,
when compared to the hundreds of thousands of kilograms used in
Saturn missions, this output represented a notable pioneering effort in
the development of liquid hydrogen technology.
The phaseout of Aerojet's production plant and early engine work
coincided with the demise of the Navy's hopes for the HATV program
under the CEFSR. With cost estimates fluctuating between $8 million and
$82 million, the Navy hierarchy blanched at the idea of HATV, especially
because there seemed to be no immediate military application for it.
Undaunted, the CEFSR group tried several routes between 1946 and
1948, including the Army and Air Force; both finally said no. Before the
final curtain for the HATV project, CEFSR let a contract to North
American Aviation in 1946 to do preliminary studies for a liquid
hydrogen rocket engine designed for a HATV rocket 34 meters high and
5 meters in diameter. With a weight of about 46 053 kilograms, including
40 406 kilograms of propellants, the vehicle design specifications called
for a propulsion system delivering up to 1 334 400 newtons (300 000
pounds) of thrust at liftoff. The HATV project never materialized as an
operational system, although it served a useful function in the accumu-
lation of basic technology that contributed to the successful Apollo-
Saturn program. As one acute observer summed it up, "The Navy's
HATV had laid the groundwork for the hydrogen engine, the first new
advance in rocketry since the V-2."6
ENTER THE CENTAUR
The distinction of being the first liquid hydrogen rocket system to
reach development went to the Centaur, developed and managed by the
131
STAGES TO SATURN
Astronautics Division of General Dynamics Corporation. An important
aspect of the Centaur story can be traced to the research supported by
the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), at its Lewis
Laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio.
Researchers at the Lewis facility concentrated on military piston
engines during World War II, until NACA abruptly changed the
direciion of the research efforts. John L. Sloop, one of the Lewis staff
members during the "big switch" in the autumn of 1945, recounted the
sudden reordering of priorities. "While the laboratory was thus engaged
(in military piston engines), others were rapidly progressing in jet engine
R&D," he recalled. "The moment of truth came to NACA in 1945 and
overnight the NACA management switched the laboratory emphasis
from piston engines to jet engines, and the staff was reorganized from
stem to stern in the process." The changeover to jet engine, or turbine,
research included one or two other esoteric areas of investigation,
assigned without warning to many of the lower level supervisors and
researchers who had not been informed of the impending changes. Sloop
himself went home on the eve of the change, "deeply engaged in writing
a report on spark plug fouling." When he reported back to work in the
morning, still engrossed in dirty spark plugs, Sloop found his desk gone,
himself relocated to a different building, and learned that he was
forthwith involved in the problem of cooling rocket engines.
The NACA executives kept the rocket engine business cloaked in
obscurity. The political climate at the time was such that "NACA leaders
in Washington did not want to proclaim publicly that they were sanctioning
work on guided missiles in an aeronautical laboratory, so the group was
officially called the High Pressure Combustion Section." This subterfuge
remained in force for four years, until Abe Silverstein took over technical
management of the Lewis Laboratory in 1949. He acknowledged the
significance of the work on rocketry, upgraded the then small group in
rank and priority, and officially named it the Rocket Research Branch.7
As they surveyed the past work accomplished in rocket research, the
former piston-engine and spark-plug experts realized the vast amount of
catching up they had ahead of them. When documents became available,
the researchers read reports from wartime German work "with great
interest," and the research papers of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory also
became basic texts. After comparing their inexperience with the more
advanced and sophisticated research elsewhere, the rocket group at
Lewis made a historic decision to dig into some of the lesser known areas
of liquid propellants. By this route, they plowed ahead into the compara-
tively uncharted seas of high-energy liquid engines — their propellants,
combustion characteristics, and cooling problems. After computing
theoretical performances of a number of high-energy fuels, the group's
first choices narrowed down to hydrazine, diborane, and ammonia, with
oxidizers like chlorine trifluoride, hydrogen peroxide, and liquid oxy-
132
UNCONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: RL-10 AND J-2
gen. In the late 1940s, the group was most attracted to the combination of
liquid fluorine oxidizer and diborane as fuel. On the first hot-firing test,
the engine melted. Interest in diborane fuels rapidly waned after this
unsettling experience, but interest in a fluoride oxidizer continued. After
several other candidate fuels were tried and set aside, fluoride and liquid
hydrogen came under intensive development in the latter half of the
1950s. The Lewis group kept a file on hydrogen work, so they were
aware of the Navy-JPL proposals, the Aerojet liquefaction plant and
engines, and the work being done at Ohio State under Herrick Johnston.
Consistent with the Lewis group's own activities in high-energy propel-
lants, experimental facilities for liquid hydrogen, among others, were
proposed in 1952, but the facility for extensive work in this field was not
put into operation until 1956.
The group's work succeeded in technical refinements, such as
simulating altitude performance techniques, and in garnering growing
support from Lewis Laboratory's director, Abe Silverstein. He developed
increasing enthusiasm for liquid hydrogen for applications in high-
altitude aircraft, as well as high-energy rockets. Buttressed by Silverstein's
endorsement, the rocket research team rapidly progressed in the design
of lightweight, regeneratively cooled hydrogen engines of up to 90 000
newtons (20 000 pounds) of thrust. Much of this rapport and enthusiasm
was generated during free-wheeling, after-hours bull sessions, hosted by
Silverstein, which were honorifically dubbed as "design conferences."
The participants unwound and exchanged ideas over beer and pretzels.
From one of these diffuse sessions came an important Lewis design
known as the "showerhead injector" for liquid rocket engines.8
By the late 1950s, the rocket group at Lewis worked with both
hydrogen-fluorine and hydrogen-oxygen propellants, fired in a re-
generatively cooled engine. Liquid fluorine presented special problems
in operations, however, and Silverstein apparently had growing doubts
about it. "Later, when he witnessed a hydrogen-oxygen rocket engine
operation, the sweetness of the hydrogen-oxygen combination came
through to him, and to us, loud and clear," Sloop said. By this time,
rocket research at the Lewis Laboratory had increased considerably. Some
assignments included preparatory work on propulsion systems for satel-
lites and missions to the moon. Looking back, Sloop and his associates
took quiet pride in their contributions to liquid hydrogen engine tech-
nology. "We believe that the Lewis work on hydrogen in rocket engines,
although not first, was both timely and significant," said Sloop. "We
showed that lightweight, regeneratively cooled thrust chambers of 22 250
and 90 000 newtons (5000 and 20 000 pounds) of thrust could operate at
very high efficiencies."
Of special significance was the relationship of the Lewis activity to
the Centaur program — under the auspices of the Advanced Research
Projects Agency (ARPA) — and particularly to the hydrogen engines
133
STAGES TO SATURN
produced by Pratt & Whitney. One of the ARPA personnel, Richard
Canright, also served as a member of N ACA's Special Subcommittee for
Rocket Engines, and thereby became very familiar with the work at
Lewis. A number of key personnel from United Aircraft and Pratt &
Whitney, who also worked on hydrogen engines, paid numerous visits to
Lewis to see what was going on and to talk with the rocket group there.
Eventually, the Pratt & Whitney observers graciously conceded their debt
to Lewis's various injector designs, as well as to crucial experimental
statistics employed in the development of the XLR-15 engine (an early
designation for the RL-10 engine used in the Centaur and, later, in the
Saturn upper stages).
Last but not least, the Lewis experience had a definite impact on the
direction of the Saturn program very early in the game. After the
organization of NASA, Silverstein went to Washington to serve as
Director of Space Flight Development. In anticipation of the Army's
transfer of Saturn to NASA, NASA's Associate Administrator tapped
Silverstein to chair a special interagency committee to consider the scope
of Saturn's development, and to submit recommendations on goals and
implementation, particularly the configuration of the upper stages.
"With a persuasive chairman occupying a key position and sold on
hydrogen-oxygen, it is not surprising that the group recommended that
the upper stages of Saturn be hydrogen-oxygen," observed Sloop,
somewhat sardonically. Perhaps the most notable contribution of the
Lewis rocket group, he concluded, lay in its influence on the decision that
shaped the design of the Saturn's upper stages.9
CENTAUR: THE LEGACY OF A PIONEER
The ultimate goal and purpose of astronautics is to gain for man himself access
to space and then to other worlds. The guided missile does not carry a man. It is a
bridge between the space-flight concepts at the beginning and the space-flight
reality yet to come. Achieving this reality requires yet another stepping stone: the
high-energy upper stage which is boosted aloft by the missile and which, in turn,
places the manned spaceship within the reach of the planet to be explored. The
upper stage, a logical follow-on to the missile, now takes its place within the
development chain designed at getting man to the stars. This, then is Centaur . . .
This slice of slightly overripe prose, a product of Centaur's public
relations office,10 manages to summarize some characteristic trends in
America's space program. The Centaur effort, particularly the propul-
sion system, illustrates both the triumphs and the tribulations of liquid
hydrogen technology. The effort also highlights some of the differentia-
tions found in rocket vehicles such as the Centaur, S-IV, and S-IVB on
the basis of a type of propellant system common to all three.
With Atlas operational and successful, General Dynamics/Astronautics
(GD/A) began to consider its uses as a launch vehicle for space missions.
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UNCONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: RL-10 AND J-2
By adding on a second stage, the company's planners hoped to achieve a
design capable of heavier payloads than currently employed as missile
warheads. Serious studies began in 1956, contemplating payloads like
high-altitude satellites for early missile warning, global reconnaissance,
weather scanning, and communications. Such payloads required a
very-high-energy stage to boost them into orbit. The GD/A investigating
team chose liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants.1 1 The team
had looked into a number of high-energy propellant combinations,
including fluorine as an oxidizer, but fluorine did not promise a
significant gain in specific impulse and performance. Besides, the choice
of liquid oxygen would continue the use of well grounded operational
technology, and save considerable time and development efforts. When it
came to the choice of fuel, the team again considered several options, but
chose to rely on liquid hydrogen, because its specific impulse came closest
to the upper limits that could be attained with chemical propellants.
Selection of liquid hydrogen was a knowledgeable gamble: Pratt &
Whitney was not a total stranger to this new area of cryogenic technology.
In the mid-1950s, the Air Force had been working on experimental jet
engines using LH2 fuel, and Pratt & Whitney had been deeply involved in
this research. Even though liquid hydrogen entailed problems as a jet
engine fuel, many company engineers viewed hydrogen as the most
promising fuel for applications in future rocket technology, either for
chemical or nuclear propulsion. "Also," the company noted, "this vehicle
would offer a favorable starting point for the development of this
technology, because of its limited size and because none of the missions
yet required very long storage periods in space, as would be the case with
future hydrogen-powered vehicles."1
In its formal proposal, GD/A outlined a program with potential for
various high-altitude satellites for strategic use, adding the possibilities of
deep-space probes and even manned orbital configurations. As a launch
vehicle, the GD/A specifications recommended a modified Atlas ICBM
first stage with conventional liquid oxygen and RP-1 propellants, and a
four-engine second stage (still on the drawing boards) using oxygen-
hydrogen as oxidizer and propellant. It was the proposed second stage
that appealed to the USAF Air Research and Development Command,
who selected it from several unsolicited proposals involving satellites for
communications. On 14 November 1958, GD/A received a contract to
manufacture a total of six hydrogen-oxygen upper stages for ARPA,
marking the formal origins of the Centaur program. The Air Force
tagged the Atlas-Centaur as its launch system for Advent, a synchronous-
orbit equatorial communications satellite.
While GD/A tooled up for the fabrication of the vehicle's tanks and
structure in San Diego, Pratt & Whitney started to work on the engines at
its West Palm Beach facility in Florida. One of the basic problems was
getting an adequate quantity of liquid hydrogen for R&D work on the
135
A Centaur stage with the two RL-10
liquid-hydrogen-fueled engines used
on the S-IV stage of Saturn I.
propulsion systems. In conjunction with development and testing of the
Pratt & Whitney engine, the USAF planned a production facility for
liquid hydrogen near Pratt & Whitney's West Palm Beach location. As the
program developed, and the Centaur's engines were conscripted for use
in NASA's space program, engine testing also occurred at Marshall Space
Flight Center (MSFC), Lewis Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base,
and two other Pratt & Whitney Centaur test areas in California. The
Douglas Aircraft Rocket Test area near Sacramento also test-fired the
Pratt & Whitney engines on the six-engined S-IV upper stage of the
Saturn I.13
Even before the Silverstein recommendations in December 1959,
the channels that brought high-energy hydrogen-oxygen engines into
the Saturn program had begun to converge. At Huntsville, Alabama in
the spring of 1959, preliminary upper-stage vehicle studies for the
Saturn program included the Centaur as a third stage. The final
recommendations of the Silverstein committee, coupled with the prior
interest in the high-energy Centaur, finally locked liquid hydrogen into
the Saturn's development. Oswald Lange, a key figure in the early Saturn
program at MSFC, considered the Centaur's engines "a major technolog-
ical breakthrough." Before the Army Ballistic Missiles Agency phased
out, the ABMA Saturn project designated the Pratt & Whitney engines as
the propulsion system for the Saturn's third stage. "The early choice of
Centaur," said Lange, "had far-reaching effects on the Saturn develop-
ment program."14 Following the organization of the National Aeronau-
tics and Space Administration, Centaur was assigned to the civilian space
program under the aegis of NASA's MSFC. Centaur was ticketed as one
136
UNCONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: RL-10 AND J-2
of the upper stages for Surveyor and Mariner lunar and planetary
missions, and MSFC began to plan Centaur's role in the development of
the Saturn vehicles. MSFC's role in Centaur management was somewhat
controversial. Some people at NASA Headquarters argued that the Air
Force should manage the Centaur engine because of its original military
mission as a communications-satellite booster. At Huntsville, the Centaur
engine effort might have been submerged by the Saturn program.15
The Saturn program's association with the development of liquid
hydrogen-oxygen engines officially commenced on 10 August 1960,
when MSFC signed a contract with Pratt & Whitney for the development
and production of an engine, known as the LR-119, to be used in the
S-IV and S-V stages of the C-l vehicle envisioned in the Silverstein
report. Designed to give 66 700 newtons (17 500 pounds) of thrust, the
LR-1 19 was an uprated version of an early Centaur engine concept, the
LR-115. Problems with the development of this new version led to the
reconsideration of the original Centaur propulsion system, and in March
1961, the management of MSFC recommended the design of a liquid-
hydrogen S-IV stage using the original LR-115 hardware. To compen-
sate for the loss of thrust, MSFC decided to cluster six engines instead of
four. On 29 March 1961, NASA Headquarters concurred, and the new
six-engine cluster became the official configuration. In the course of
development, Pratt & Whitney assigned various designations to the basic
liquid hydrogen-oxygen engine. The final design, RL-10-A-1, replaced
both the LR-1 15 and 119, and the RL-10 configuration became standard
for both the Centaur and S-IV vehicles by 1961. An early version of the
RL-10 design went through its first successful firing in August 1959, and
by the winter of 1961, technicians finished the last of the RL-10-A-1
preflight rating tests. The engine's 66 700 newtons (15 000 pounds) of
thrust performed 30 percent better than similar designs using hydrocarbon
fuels. The A-l designation identified a test article; on 9 June 1962, Pratt
& Whitney finished the preliminary flight rating tests on the RL-10-A-3,
intended for installation in operational flight versions of the second stage
of the C-l launch vehicle.16 The nation's first operational liquid hydrogen-
oxygen engine was cleared for production.
THE RL-10 PROPULSION SYSTEM
Pratt & Whitney engine design unquestionably benefited from the
work at Lewis during 1953—1957, especially the virtues of regenerative
cooling with liquid hydrogen.17 Pratt & Whitney added other innovative
features. The Saturn program's RL-10 engines were mounted on the
S-IV booster manufactured by Douglas as the second stage for the Saturn
I. In physical terms, the RL-10 was about as tall as an average man. Its
major components included the thrust chamber, fuel and oxidizer
137
STAGES TO SATURN
turbopump assembly, liquid oxygen flow control valve, spark ignition
subsystem, thrust control assembly, and miscellaneous control valves.
The contours of the nozzle configuration owed much to the influ-
ence of applied mathematics. Pratt & Whitney wanted a nozzle designed
for optimum size and weight in relation to performance, but liquid
hydrogen technology was so new that few ground rules were available.
Applied math bypassed a lot of costly hardware experimentation, and
Pratt & Whitney claimed that the procedures established during the
effort became widely used within the rocket propulsion industry.18
The injector, part of the thrust chamber assembly, featured a porous
injector face, which was an important innovation. The RL-10 injector
strongly resembled a large dish with a shallow, concave surface. Fabri-
cated from material that looked like a heavy screen, the injector's
propellant orifices poked through the mesh in concentric rings. The
porous injector face did, in fact, consist of layers of stainless steel mesh,
produced by a carefully controlled sintering procedure that caused the
layers of mesh to become a coherent structure without melting. A
controlled flow of gaseous hydrogen filtered through, cooling the
injector face and reducing thermal stresses. The material, called Rigi-
Mesh by its supplier (the Pall Corporation), apparently originated as a
filter used in nuclear research. The product had been extensively used in
hydraulic and pneumatic filters in aircraft and jet engines, where
extreme vibration environments, high temperatures, and other opera-
tional requirements discouraged the use of nonmetallic filters. How
Rigi-Mesh was first suggested for use in rocket thrust chambers is
unclear. In any case, the Pratt & Whitney injector approach, using the
porous mesh face, was a distinct improvement over conventional, flat-
face injectors that Lewis Research Center had used.19
The fuel and oxidizer pumps were driven in a "boot strap" arrange-
ment from a turbine assembly rated at 479 to 513 kilowatts. The
propellant pumps consisted of a two-stage centrifugal fuel pump and a
single-stage centrifugal oxidizer pump. General Dynamics/Astronautics
described the engine's turbopump as the key to operating the RL-10
production version, in which the "boot strap" sequence used gaseous
hydrogen. At the start, liquid hydrogen trickled through the turbopump
and down through the thrust chamber tubes of the regeneratively cooled
engine. Even before the ignition sequence and main stage operation, the
flowing liquid hydrogen became gaseous, and could be forced back
through the turbopump with enough pressure to start it. This pressure
set the hydrogen fuel pump in motion, and a gear train from the
hydrogen turbine's main shaft began to drive the liquid oxygen pump — the
"boot strap" sequence. After the start of combustion, the heat produced
enough gas in the chamber walls to drive the high-speed turbine and also
to maintain the combustion level.20
138
RLIOA-3 Propellanl Flo. Sckti.nl
Top left, the RL-10 statistics; above, right, the
RL-10 injector, with a textured surface of Rigi-
mesh for transpiration cooling. At left is a sche-
matic of RL-10 propellantflow. At bottom left is
the RL-10 production line at Pratt & Whitney in
Florida. Bottom right shows a Saturn I S-IV
second stage with its cluster of six RL-10 engines.
STAGES TO SATURN
This design offered two main advantages. First, the engine did not
require a third propellant or a bipropellant to service a gas generator
system (at a weight penalty) for the turbopump. Second, the designers
obtained an efficient performance advantage because the hydrogen
gases, after driving the turbine, were exhausted into the combustion
chamber. All propellants, then, contributed directly to maximum thrust
and highest specific impulse. The operation of the turbomachinery
incorporated another interesting design feature. The RL-10 was the first
production engine to use liquid hydrogen in place of conventional
lubrication systems.21
During the test program, NASA and contractor personnel pushed
the design to extremes to verify the engine's capability. Designed for a
total firing time of 470 seconds, test engineers piled more than 3.5 times
that duration onto one engine, running it for a total of 1680 seconds.
Some of the test engines successfully operated through 5 to 70 separate
firings with no maintenance or replacement of parts, equivalent in some
instances to 10 round trips to the moon. "This philosophy of 'limits'
testing has proven successful in developing an engine with a high
reliability and a high degree of confidence," explained key personnel in
MSFC's engine program office. They characterized the pioneering
RL-10 as a system of notable sophistication and versatility.22
ORIGINS OF THE J-2 ENGINE
Because of the known high-energy qualities of hydrogen as a fuel,
modern rocket propulsion engineers manifested a continuing interest in
liquid hydrogen as an attractive rocket propellant, able to lift payloads at
a very favorable fuel-to-payload ratio. The potential of the liquid
hydrogen RL-10 engine was encouraging; nevertheless, designers were
thinking ahead of the RL-10's 67 000 newtons (15 000 pounds) of thrust
to even heftier propulsion systems. In the fall of 1959, various NASA
studies and contracts already included examination of 665 000-newton
(150 000-pound) thrust engines, used singly or in clusters, which burned
LOX and LH2. When very large space vehicles came into consideration,
NASA began to revise its thinking toward even larger LH2-fueled
engines for high-energy upper stages — engines rated at 890 000 newtons
(200 000 pounds) of thrust. Such a remarkable goal achieved official
sanction during the deliberations of the Saturn Vehicle Team, better
known as the Silverstein committee, which finished its work and reported
its recommendations to NASA on 15 December 1959.23
Following the Silverstein committee's recommendations, a source
evaluation board was formed to nominate a contractor. The board
included a pair of special teams — a technical evaluation team and a
business evaluation team — to examine proposals on two separate levels.
140
UNCONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: RL-10 AND J-2
Members, who met in Washington for six weeks, were chosen from
Marshall, Lewis, and NASA Headquarters. The full board, chaired by
MSFC's Hermann Weidner (a Peenemuende veteran and a senior MSFC
propulsion engineer), submitted its final recommendation to NASA
Administrator Glennan for approval. Glennan made the final announce-
ment. In competition with four other companies, Rocketdyne Division of
North American Aviation won NASA's approval on 1 June 1960 to
develop a high-energy rocket engine, fueled by liquid oxygen and
hydrogen, to be known as the J-2. Specifications for the liquid-hydrogen
engine originated at MSFC, and the contractor then went to work on the
initial design concepts and hardware. At every step of the way, the
contractor and the customer (MSFC) exchanged information and ideas
derived from earlier programs, modifying them for the requirements of
the LH2 engine technology, and devising new techniques to implement
the design goals of the new rocket powerplant.
The final contract, negotiated by Rocketdyne in September 1960,
included an especially notable feature. For the first time, a high-energy,
high-thrust rocket engine contract specified a design to "insure maxi-
mum safety for manned flight." Beginning with the first specifications
through the subsequent stages of design, development, and final qualifi-
cation, planning for manned missions became a mainline theme for
Rocketdyne engineers. Other engines in NASA's space program stemmed
from propulsion systems engineered for unmanned satellites or ballistic
missiles such as the Vanguard, Redstone, Atlas, and Thor. From the
start, exceedingly stiff reliability specifications for the J-2 reflected the
engine's role in a manned mission. Reliability reviews began at the
drawing board stage, and follow-up tests to verify the preceding test and
design specifications continued in relentless succession. The technical
management organization established to monitor the J-2 development
consisted of three major groups. First, the design review board scruti-
nized each part of the J-2, analyzed it from a technical viewpoint, and
investigated all of its design factors. Next, a reliability task force developed
statistical methods tailored specifically to proposed test programs for the
engine. Finally, all elements dovetailed in the Performance Evaluation
and Review Technique (PERT), a reporting system used by the overall
program management team.24
EARLY J-2 MILESTONES
Rocketdyne launched the development of the J-2 with an analytical
computer model that simulated engine operations and aided in establishing
design configurations. One outgrowth of the model, a full-sized mockup
with which to judge position of all components, remained an important
tool throughout the J-2 program.25
141
STAGES TO SATURN
Rocketdyne's physical plant and long experience as a rocket engine
manufacturer allowed the company to respond quickly. The main
complex at Canoga Park, in the northwest sector of Los Angeles,
combined engineering offices with elaborate laboratories for preliminary
R&D. Development and production of the F-l and the H-l (and its
immediate predecessor, the S-3D), coupled with extensive experimental
work on advanced propulsion systems, equipped the company with
excellent facilities and experienced R&D teams. Rocketdyne carried out
J-2 firing tests and major-component tests at its Santa Susanna Field
Laboratory, a rambling network of test stands and test cells set up in
canyons and arroyos of the Santa Susanna Mountains, directly above the
manufacturing area at Canoga Park. In days gone by, the canyon walls
and gulches echoed with the drumbeat hooves of galloping horses and
the sharp crackle of gunfire as Hollywood production crews cranked out
yet another Western epic. Now the arroyo walls enveloped test beds for
rocket engines, the steep slopes shielding the rest of the test areas and
their crews in case something went wrong and an engine blew up. A visit
to the surrealistic environs of Santa Susanna made a lasting impression. It
was a tortured, sun-baked tumble of rocks and scraggly underbrush, with
the separate test areas connected by long runs of piping for water and
miscellaneous esoteric liquids required in rocket development. The pipes
erratically twisted their way over the boulder-strewn landscape and up to
the test fixtures — austere monoliths of concrete and stark steel girders
jutting into the hot California sky. It seemed a fitting environment for
the exotic world of rocket engine testing.26
Within two months of winning its contract, an R&D team put
together the J-2's first experimental component, a full-scale injector.
Using a temporary test facility at Santa Susana, Rocketdyne technicians
conducted the first hot- firing tests on 11 November 1960, to check out
the workability of its design. In simultaneous programs, the company
began developing means to test engines as well as engine components,
modifying test stands as required. A large vacuum chamber to test engine
subsystems under simulated space conditions was completed. By the end
of 1960, the manufacturing planners, with an eye on problems encountered
during the early design and phase, began to try to resolve some of the
sticky manufacturing problems looming on the horizon. The schedule
was obviously getting tighter as the research and development teams
began the fabrication and assembly of the first experimental components
and emplaced them in the test cells. Inaugurating Rocketdyne's first test
facility built exclusively for the J-2 program, workers activated a compo-
nent test cell in November 1961, and engineers began trial runs of the J-2
liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen turbopumps. Early in 1962, only 18
142
UNCONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: RL-10 AND J-2
months after contract award, Rocketdyne conducted the first engine
system test for ignition, lasting 2.57 seconds. The test unit used an
uncooled thrust chamber with the turbopumps driven by externally
supplied gaseous hydrogen, instead of using the engine's internal gas
generator.
Drawing further on its considerable fund of experience in develop-
ing rocket engines for Army and Air Force programs, Rocketdyne
personnel fabricated additional test components of the new J-2 in
remarkably short order, and began to piece together the first experimen-
tal engine in the closing months of 1961. Technicians made final checks
on the engine in the company's Canoga Park complex during January
1962 and stowed it on a truck, to be driven up the winding mountain to
the Santa Susanna Field Laboratory. Short-run tests began the same
month and continued through the summer. Technicians were achieving
full-thrust testing of 50 to 94 seconds duration by early autumn, and on 4
October 1962, Rocketdyne successfully ran the engine through a long-
duration test of 250 seconds.27
During the early developmental period in J-2 testing, the engine's
place in Saturn rocket configurations also stabilized. In July 1962, NASA
and Rocketdyne concluded contracts for continued development and
formalized the production agreements for the J-2 through 1965. About
the same time, NASA announced plans for a new two-stage vehicle, the
Saturn C-1B (later the IB) for operations leading to Earth-orbital
missions with a full-sized Apollo spacecraft.28 The J-2 engine was
intended to power the S-IVB stage of two Saturn vehicles — the second
stage of the Saturn IB and the third stage of the Saturn V. In addition, a
cluster of five J-2 engines was also planned for the S-II second stage of
the three-stage Saturn V vehicle, making the J-2 the most used cryogenic
propulsion system in the Saturn program.
NASA and Rocketdyne signed a contract for 55 engines and
development of appropriate support technology on 1 July 1962. Later in
the month, Rocketdyne announced its plans for the construction of two
new manufacturing buildings for the Saturn engines, including the J-2.
The buildings were completed in record time; the company moved in just
a year later. In November 1963, Rocketdyne began delivery of five
engine simulators. Up to the point of actual firing, the simulators played
an important role in the process of electrical and mechanical design of
the ground support equipment furnished by Rocketdyne, and permitted
technicians to work out the interfacing details involved in mounting the
engine to the appropriate stage — the S-II stage manufactured by North
American, or the S-IVB stage manufactured by Douglas. Ground sup-
port equipment, operating consoles, and special handling gear for the
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STAGES TO SATURN
engines and propellants were used in Rocketdyne's own manufacturing
and test operations in California, at other test sites (Marshall and
Mississippi Test Facility), and in launch operations at Cape Kennedy.29
THE J-2: LEGACIES AND INNOVATIONS
Confident with the test results during 1962, Rocketdyne began to
release the first production drawings to the manufacturing shops early in
1963. The J-2 engine emerged from the drafting boards as a self-
contained propulsion system — a significant concept because the J-2 had
to start in flight, shut itself down, then (in some versions) restart in orbit.
Explaining the engine at a meeting of the American Institute of Aero-
nautics and Astronautics, Paul Fuller (Rocketdyne's project manager for
the J-2 in 1965) stressed the effort given to the self-contained design
philosophy. "The J-2 engine is not just a rocket engine supplying thrust
for the vehicle, but is a fully integrated propulsion system," Fuller
emphasized. "The engine provides all functions important to the vehi-
cle's operation and mission capability." For this reason, engine and stage
operation systems were closely integrated. To maintain tank pressure
and still control the weight of the vehicles, the S-IV and S-IVB pressur-
ized their fuel tanks by tapping hydrogen gas from the fuel manifold on
the thrust chamber. To keep up pressure in the LOX tank, designers
included a heat exchanger on the oxygen pump exhaust duct. In the S-II
second stage, hot oxygen from the exchanger served as the pressurant,
while in the S-IVB, stored helium ran through the exchanger and back
into the LOX tank. These systems eliminated the need for other
pressurants along with their extra weight and complexity.
The S-IVB, with a programmed restart in Earth orbit, included a
"self-servicing" concept for the reignition sequence. The helium tanks
included enough gas for the duration of the mission, but to get enough
hydrogen gas to accelerate turbomachinery for the restart cycle, the
engine system automatically diverted 1 kilogram of LH2 from the fuel
system for storage in the depleted hydrogen start tank.To ensure proper
functioning of the entire system during a mission, the engine's designers
included integral instrumentation on the J-2 to monitor engine functions
on 72 different channels.30
For the integrated engine system philosophy, designers of the J-2
borrowed from many earlier liquid propellant engines, including the
liquid hydrogen technology of the RL-10 program, and added a few
innovations along the way. In the process, technicians and manufactur-
ing engineers learned to cope with the problems generated by the J-2 as a
newer and much larger generation of liquid-hydrogen engine systems.
Like the RL-10, the J-2 injector had to promote stable, controlled
burning. But the 890 000-newton (200 000-pound) thrust J-2 burned
144
UNCONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: RL-10 AND J-2
much greater quantities of cryogenic propellants than the 67 000-newton
(15 000-pound) thrust RL-10. When Rocketdyne started work on the
injector in 1960, the company tried a design familiar to its engineers, and
built flat-faced copper injectors similar to LOX-RP-1 designs. The heat
fluxes of LOX-LH2 designs turned out to be much different at the
injector face, and the injectors started burning out. Bob Pease, an MSFC
propulsion engineer who monitored some of the early tests, recalled that
green flames shot out of one injector as the flame front started burning
its way through the copper.
As one Marshall engineer observed, it was the general nature of a
contractor to be reluctant to take on a competitor's innovation. Rocketdyne's
injectors kept burning out, but the company seemed adamant against
incorporating the porous injector face style of Pratt & Whitney's RL-10.
Rocketdyne had been experimenting with this type of injector at NASA's
insistence, and Marshall began to feel that their J-2 contractor needed a
shove in this direction, instead of the persistent nudges delivered by
MSFC up to this point. Lewis Research Center had all the information
and hardware samples for the porous injector face. Jerry Thomson and
other Marshall engineers dragooned Rocketdyne personnel into a special
trip to Lewis in 1962 to look at the samples, and pressured Rocketdyne to
use Rigi-Mesh in the injector face. With Rigi-Mesh adapted to the J-2, the
problems of injector face burning disappeared.31
Still, Rocketdyne's larger engine and its operational characteristics
presented difficulties in manufacturing. The successful design led to the
next set of problems: how to "mass produce" a rocket engine injector
with more than 600 uniform injection posts. After some trial and error,
manufacturing engineers finally evolved a method of producing an
injector with 614 uniform posts from a single piece of metal, using a
special technique of electrical discharge machining. Fuel from the upper
fuel manifold flowed into the combustion area through fuel orifices
designed to be concentric with the oxidizer orifices. Design of the injector
and angles of the orifices was calculated for highest combustion efficien-
cy. As the hydrogen passed through the injector to the annular orifices, 5
percent of the flow seeped through the porous injector face, acting as a
coolant to reduce thermal stresses created by the roaring combustion
chamber.32
The J-2's thrust chamber consisted of several hundred steel tubes,
designed and shaped according to data derived by computer. The
computer helped solve the frustrating interplay of "the general energy
equation, momentum equation, continuity equation, equation of state,
and heat balance equation across tube walls." The readout of the
computer proved to be very accurate, the final design of a tapered,
formed tube bearing very close conformance with the original analytical
model. Designers made optimum use of the marvelous facility of LH2 for
heat transfer in designing the thrust chamber. Fuel entered the chamber
145
STAGES TO SATURN
through a manifold at the chamber's midpoint, making a one-half pass
down through 180 tubes on the outside, then up the inside of the
chamber's throat in a complete pass through 360 tubes to the fuel
injector. The liquid hydrogen entered the tubes at -253°C (-423°F) and
warmed up in passage to "only" -162°C (-260°F), at which point it
became gaseous. The design of the tubes permitted extremely wide
variations in LH2 velocities, ranging from 18 meters per second at the
bottom of the pass at the chamber's edge to 300 meters per second at the
throat, and 240 meters per second at the injector entry ports. At different
points within the tubes, cross sections varied correspondingly to accom-
modate changes in density and flow rates.33 With so many variables in the
design, it is no wonder that the computer played such a pivotal role in
engine development.
Turbopump design borrowed liberally from North American's
experience in manufacturing jet aircraft engines and the early rocket
engines for the Air Force. As in jet engines, the turbopump turbine
blades featured a "fir tree" attachment technique. The bases of the blades
were tapered and notched, giving them the silhouette of an inverted fir
tree. Centrifugal forces in the turbopumps were terrifically high, and the
notched blades kept them securely in place. From the Atlas program,
Rocketdyne borrowed turbopump inducer designs and the inducer
tunnel assembly, but many, many more components had to be conceived
and fabricated to the characteristics of the new LOX-LH2 technology.
In designing the J-2 turbopumps to deliver propellants to the
injector and the combustion chamber, the system was split into two
different components, the LOX pump and LH2 pump mounted separately
on either side of the combustion chamber. This approach avoided
compromises in the efficiency of either pump and eliminated a compli-
cated set of gears to run both pumps from a single shaft. On the LOX
side, the J-2 used a radial pump, common to most rocket engines, which
operated in the 6000 revolutions per minute range. The LH2 pump, by
contrast, used a pump uncommon in large thrust engines, at the time — a
seven-stage axial flow design with an operating capability of over 25 000
revolutions per minute. With proper calibration, the pumps delivered
propellants to the thrust chamber at a rate of 2.3 kilograms of liquid
oxygen to 0.4 kilogram of hydrogen.34
Power for the turbopumps came from a two-stage, velocity-compound
turbine fired by a gas generator. The original design for the J-2 engine
envisioned a "tank-head" start, in which pressure from the fuel tanks
started the gas generator. Once in operation, the feed pressures and
power increased as the turbopump attained its operational limits, draw-
ing propellants from the tanks. The "tank-head" start was attractively
simple but turned out to be too slow to be used in flight operations for the
Saturn. So the turbine power system acquired augmentation for the
spinup of the gas generator, using a spherical tank to store compressed
146
UNCONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: RL-10 AND J-2
hydrogen gas with a storage capacity of 0. 1 cubic meter. Gas from the
hydrogen sphere started the gas generator and achieved rapid accelera-
tion and operation from the start. This "gas-spin" start could be initiated
at will during the flight, important for reignition of the S-IVB stage in
Earth parking orbit. The only requirement involved a brief cycle during
the engine run, in which hydrogen gas was tapped to recharge the
hydrogen sphere.35 The design of the hydrogen storage tank constituted
a unique feature of the J-2 engine: it incorporated a "tank within a tank,"
combining hydrogen storage with a helium storage tank. The helium,
required for the pneumatic control system, tended to vent off unless kept
under pressure at a low temperature. In a neat solution to the problem,
Rocketdyne designed the helium storage tank as an integral unit inside
the hydrogen start tank, and thereby saved space as well as weight. Both
tanks were filled on the ground prior to launch — the outside tank with
hydrogen, the inner tank with helium.36
The l'/2-pass fuel circuit permitted another design variation, in the
disposal of the exhaust gas from the turbopumps. The gas delivered
from the gas generator to the propellant turbopumps passed in sequence
through the hydrogen axial flow turbines, then through a duct into the
radial turbine of the LOX pump. The series arrangement yielded a very
high efficiency and permitted easy control of the thrust and mixture
ratios. Having already performed double duty in both the fuel and
oxidizer turbopumps, the turbine gas exhausted into the thrust chamber
to be used as fuel. In this way, the engine handled the turbine exhaust
very conveniently and enhanced the engine's specific impulse at the same
time.37
The high speeds at which the J-2's moving parts functioned required
some special lubricants, which were acquired from the propellants
themselves. Ball bearings in the turbopumps present special problems in
lubrication — particularly the super-cold LH2 pumps. Normal lubricating
oils proved troublesome because of the extremely low temperatures of
cryogenic operation, so Rocketdyne built the LOX and LH2 turbopumps
to have their ball bearings lubricated by the respective propellants. At
Ohio State University, Herrick Johnston first demonstrated the potential
of LH2 lubricants. The use of cryogenic lubricants in the RL-10 paved the
way for this lubrication in the J-2.38
PRODUCTION AND TESTING
In May 1963, production lines for the operational model of the J-2
went into full swing, but concurrent testing programs at Rocketdyne and
at MSFC were also maintained throughout the production run. Engi-
neers from both the contractor and the customer were on hand when
Douglas began firing up S-IVB stage hardware. The first production
147
STAGES TO SATURN
engine, delivered in April 1964, went to Douglas for static tests on the
S-IVB. battleship stage at the Douglas test facility near Sacramento,
California.
The first full-duration static test of 410 seconds occurred on the
battleship stand late in December. The mission requirements of the third
stage for the Saturn V called for an application of 500 seconds, but each
engine possessed a minimum usable life of 3750 seconds. Even so, the
testing program often forced the engines beyond this. L. F. Belew, MSFC
engine program manager, characterized the philosophy of "limit testing"
as a combination of requirements for manned flight and cost control. "A
major emphasis is placed on limits testing as a means of demonstrating
reliability and confidence without a prohibitively large test sample," he
explained.39
Intensive engine testing, including tests on MSFC's new S-IVB test
stand in Huntsville, and flight rating tests of the 890 000-newton
(200 000-pound) thrust engine for the Saturn IB and Saturn V at Santa
Susanna Field Laboratory, continued throughout the summer of 1965.
The last of the stringent qualification tests of the J-2 engine occurred
from December 1965 into January 1966, conforming very closely to
Belew's estimate. The J-2 proved its ability to perform well over its
specified operational range. One engine ignited successfully in 30
successive firings, including five tests at full duration of 470 seconds
each. The total firing time of 3774 seconds represented a level of
accumulated operational time almost eight times greater than the flight
requirements. As successful single engine tests moved toward their
climax, integration tests of the propulsion system with the S-IVB acceler-
ated with the availability of more production engines. Time schedules for
testing the flight stages of the S-IVB became ever more pressing. The
first operational flight, AS-201, was scheduled in early 1966 for the
Saturn IB using the S-IB first stage and the S-IVB as the second stage.
At Sacramento, the first tests of S-IVB-201 in July 1966 were
inconclusive when a component malfunction in one of the pneumatic
consoles prematurely ended the test after a successful propellant loading
and automatic countdown. Test conductors regained confidence on 8
August, when the S-IVB-201 performed beautifully on a full-duration
firing of 452 seconds. The test commanded extra attention because of the
first use of computers to control the entire operational sequence,
including automatic checkout, propellant loading, and static firing.40 The
successful test was no fluke. On 26 February 1966, AS-201 went through
a flawless launch.
In July 1966, NASA confirmed J-2 production contracts through
1968, by which time Rocketdyne agreed to finish deliveries of 155 J-2
engines. The new contract included an uprated model of the J-2 engine
with a thrust of 1 023 000 newtons (230 000 pounds). Rocketdyne began
work on the uprated version in 1965 and delivered the first engine to
148
UNCONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: RL-10 AND J-2
MSFC for testing during the spring of 1966. Mission planners intended
to use the new engine in the second stage of the Saturn IB beginning with
AS-208, as well as the second and third stages of the Saturn V beginning
with AS-504. Meanwhile, an intensive test program continued. Following
a preliminary series of simulated altitude tests using Rocketdyne facili-
ties, a more stringent series of tests was conducted using the advanced
equipment of the Arnold Engineering Development Center. The center
was run by the Air Force at Tullahoma, Tennessee, not far from MSFC.
Specialists at Arnold ran a series of altitude tests on J-2 engines for the
S-IVB/IB stage and followed up with an equally successful test series on
engines for the S-IVB/V in March 1967. Using facilities that duplicated
temperatures and environmental conditions at 305 000 meters, Arnold
cooperated with NASA on a string of initial start, stop, and the crucial
reignition sequences. Throughout the year, Rocketdyne continued to test
and verify the J-2 reliability at Santa Susanna. The company's research
and development program included 203 separate tests on the J-2,
accumulating a total of 33 579 seconds of firing time. In a concurrent
program, production engines from the assembly lines in the valley kept
rolling up the mountainside in trucks for their production qualification
tests.41
J-2 PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
Development of the J-2 engine turned up the inevitable gaggle of
problems to perplex project designers, engineers, and workers. In using
cryogenic propellants, it was obvious that great care was needed to ensure
installation of very efficient insulation at critical points to control thermal
losses. In the case of most early rocket technology using LOX as the
oxidizer, the problem was not immediate. Designers simply took advan-
tage of the fact that LOX components had a tendency to frost over. The
frosty coating worked surprisingly well as natural insulation — so well that
many components were designed without insulation from the start. The
super-cold liquid hydrogen permitted no such easy design shortcuts.
When air touched the extremely cold LH2 surfaces, it did not frost, but
actually liquified. As a result, streaming liquid air not only became an
annoyance, but also created a serious heat leak. For J-2 parts operating
with LH2, it became imperative to provide adequate insulation. Vacuum
jackets sufficed for most of the liquid hydrogen hardware, and similar
treatment, or moisture-sealed insulation, worked for pump fittings and
ducts. The main LH2 inlet duct, however, presented a more intricate
challenge. The duct had to move with the gimbal action of the engine
through 10.5 degrees, maintaining a full flow of fuel all the while. With a
diameter of 20 centimeters, and a length of 53 centimeters, the duct also
experienced extension and compression of -11.4 centimeters, with a
149
STAGES TO SATURN
twisting, angular movement. The final design featured a vacuum jacket
built like a double bellows, stabilized with externally mounted scissorlike
supports. Top engine program managers from NASA agreed that the
vacuum-jacketed flex inlet lines marked a significant design achievement
intheJ-2.42
The prickly, minute, intricate problems of liquid hydrogen technol-
ogy followed the design engineers down to the last details of the J-2,
including the myriad of joints where different ducts, tubes, and lines met
each other or fastened to specified engine parts. At each juncture there
existed the danger of an LH2 leak and a devastating explosion. Rather
laconically, W. R. Studhalter, one of Rocketdyne's engineers in the J-2
program, summed up a tedious, frustrating job. "The static seals for
hydrogen had particular design attention," he said, "not only to prevent
loss under vacuum operation, but to prevent hazardous mixing of
hydrogen with air during sea-level testing and handling." To alleviate
sealing complications, he continued, "the engine design has concentrated
on the elimination of joints requiring sealing by a uniquely complete
utilization of welded connections." Some seal points were not suitable for
welding, and with specifications for zero-measurable leakage, the J-2
team met the problem with a device known as a "pressure-actuated
combination seal." "This seal has such excellent demonstrated perform-
ance that it is used throughout the J-2 engine," said Studhalter, "not only
for liquid hydrogen but for liquid oxygen, helium, and generator gas."
The J-2 had 112 various seals, mostly for instrument connections. Most
were small, although the biggest installation required a comparatively
large unit for the thrust chamber- injector seal point.43
Modifications never seemed to end. Marshall engineers noted that
they could test components to exhaustion, but "you would never know
for sure they would work until you put them together in the engine."
Even if two engines tested successfully, a new problem might show up on
the third. There was a lot of "cut-and-try" work to solve these complica-
tions, and the engine men admitted that they were not always sure which
"fix" corrected a problem — or created a new one. The engineers were
reconciled to a process of changes, of trying to find out what went wrong
(or what could go wrong), and trying to correct the difficulty. "Happiness
should be finding a failure, rather than not finding a [potential] failure,"
said MSFC's Bob Pease. It was accepted that many problems would be
caught after the engines were already in production. The Saturn
program always needed production hardware to meet schedules, and the
stage contractors needed engines as early as possible to verify the fuel
system, electronic compatibility, and so on. For these reasons, drawings
for production engines were released, even though test engines were still
exhibiting failures. Engineers expected to find solutions and crank
necessary changes into the production line. Occasionally, modification
kits were dispatched to engines in the field.44
150
VEHICLE EFFECTIVITY
] 5*2081
THRUST ALTITUDE 2{Wori6L6M5,OOOLB;230/OOOL.
THRUST DURATION j 500 SEC \ 500 SEC ; 500SEC
SPECIFIC IMPULSE
LB-SEC/LB I 418MIN ; 419MIN 421MIN
ENGINE WEIGHT DRY j 3.480LB ! 3480LB ; 3,492 LB
ENGINE WEIGHT
BURNOUT | 3.609LB I 3,609LB ; 3,621LB
EXIT TO THROAT A1
RATIO i 27.5TO1 27.5TOli27.5TOl
PROPELLANTS LOX&LH0, LOX&lHjLOX&LH,
RATIO ; 27-5 TO1 2
PROPELLANTS | LGX&LH2, L
MIXTURE RATIO 5,00 i? / 5.
CONTRACTOR: NAA/ROCKETDYNE
VEHICLE APPLICATION:
SAT IB/S-IVB STAGE ONE ENGINE
SAT \^S-II STAGE FIVE ENGINES
SAT V/S-IVB STAGE ONE ENGINE
UX&LMj LWAaLnjItv-'^ "-nj
5,00127. 5.50*2 7. ! 5.50*21
The f-2 liquid-hydrogen-fueled engine: statistics are presented
at top left; at top right, the J-2's injector; above, left, a
schematic of the J-2 engine systems; above, Rocketdyne workmen
in a ''clean room" in the Canoga Park plant are stacking the
coolant tubes that will form the wall of a J-2 engine thrust
chamber; at left, final assembly of J-2 engines at Canoga
Park— J -2s for both the Saturn IB and the Saturn V; below
left engineers study a J-2 engine that has simulated frigid
space conditions; below, right, a cluster of five J-2 engines are
readied for firing at Santa Susanna.
STAGES TO SATURN
Various areas of concern in the production of the engine, such as
reorganizing the gas generator system sequence to refine the LOX flow
and halt burned-out gas generator walls, cropped up along the way. A
more serious problem concerned the tendency of the fuel pump to stall.
After considerable investigation, researchers isolated the problem as one
of excessive gas buildup in the thrust chamber. With the J-2's regenera-
tive full flow mode, a substantial volume of hydrogen gas was created
when1 the first fuel passed through the comparatively warm chamber.
The amount of this gas exceeded the rate of flow designed into the
injector, and this impeded the rate of flow of fuel downstream in the
system while the engine was starting. To solve the problem, the designers
developed the prechill sequence for the chamber and pumps alike and
established temperature condition limits for the engine before attempting a
start. In these and other engine difficulties, Marshall and Rocketdyne
applied all the latest analytical methods and computer programs. It still
came down to the issue of making an adjustment, however, and then
trying it out to see what happened.45
Rocketdyne officials hoped to utilize existing engine facilities to test
the J-2 engines and components. The unusual characteristics of liquid
hydrogen engines generated an excess of problems in the test equipment —
valves, transfer lines, and tanks designed for the earlier liquid oxygen
technology. To use LH2 at -253°C, the available equipment had to have
its materials rechecked for insulation, sealing, and embrittlement with
the new fuel. In 1961, Rocketdyne established a special cryogenic
laboratory to devote its attention exclusively to LH2 paraphernalia. The
difficulties extended to numerous items of equipment such as the piping
for the LH2 test-run tanks. A typical test installation included three
cryogenic tanks, one with a capacity of 307 000 liters (90 000 gallons) of
LH2 and two smaller tanks each holding 73 000 liters (20 000 gallons) of
LOX. The LH2 tank was a conventional pressure-vessel type, with the
addition of a complete vacuum jacket of unusually large design. The
liquid hydrogen transfer pipes at the test installation likewise required
the vacuum jacket treatment. For years, engineers relied on a double- wall
design in transfer pipes that used a bellows in the inside pipe to absorb
expansion and contraction. The interior bellows segment presented
difficult maintenance problems under normal cryogenic conditions —
problems that became pernicious with the introduction of liquid hydro-
gen. Rocketdyne sought a new approach, and after rejecting a number of
candidates, adopted a piping design based on the use of Invar, an alloy
pipe with very low expansion characteristics. At the time, the use of Invar
piping for such extensive cryogenic operations was the exception to the
rule, and the company perforce had to engage in extensive evaluation
programs. In its application by Rocketdyne, the use of Invar was
"reduced to practice." Invar's virtually negligible thermal contraction
permitted long inner pipe runs with no expansion mechanism at all
752
UNCONVENTIONAL CRYOGENICS: RL-10 AND J-2
(although the stainless steel outer jacket retained a bellows section for
thermal movement). Rocketdyne installed 8-centimeter and 9-centimeter
pipe sizes in runs of up to 370 meters and used some welded pipe of up to
25 centimeters in diameter. Technicians also perfected methods for
reliable ship welding and field welds of Invar at the test sites.46
SUMMARY: RL-10 AND J-2
The differences in thrust and mission requirements gave the RL-10
and J-2 distinctive variations in operating methods and specific details of
design. In other ways, there were interesting similarities. In retrospect,
the development of the RL-10 and J-2 engines progressed with remarka-
bly few serious hassles. The liquid-hydrogen-fueled engines, just like
RP-1 -fueled engines, experienced a normal rash of complications and
problem phases. It is worth noting that despite the F-l's size and
attendant vicissitudes, Rocketdyne was fortunate in having the experi-
ence of its H-l engine development as a base. Although the liquid
hydrogen engines were developed and built by two different contractors,
the government managed both programs so that information from one
program was available to subsequent programs. Lewis Research Center,
NASA's facility in Cleveland, represented an interesting intermediary
influence, providing a pool of knowledge about liquid hydrogen technol-
ogy used by Pratt & Whitney and Rocketdyne alike. Just as early work at
Lewis was a benefit to Pratt & Whitney's RL-10, Rocketdyne's later J-2
benefited from both Pratt & Whitney and Lewis.
It has been noted that engine development normally preceded
development of the stages, and that the engine program often became
the pacing item. The Saturn program generally reflected this trend,
although at one point it was a stage, not an engine, that threatened to
disrupt the tight schedule of Apollo-Saturn.
Building the Saturn V
It might seem logical to narrate the story of Saturn V's various stages
from the bottom up, beginning with the S-IC stage. However, the
stages were not built that way. The Saturn V third stage, the S-IVB,
evolved first, based on upper stages of the Saturn I and Saturn IB. As the
first large unitary Saturn tankage (not a cluster of individual tanks), a
rather detailed discussion in chapter 7 of some of the procedures used in
S-IV-IVB fabrication and manufacture eliminates repetitious discussion
of similar procedures for other stages in succeeding chapters.
The S-IC and S-II stages, while sharing a common diameter, used
different propellants. Although S-II contracts were let prior to those of
the S-IC, the S-II became the pacing item in the Saturn program,
completing its firing tests later than the other components. Chapter 8
explores S-IC and S-II commonalities and contrasts, emphasizing the
imbroglio of the S-II program and its eventual recovery.
Computer technology played a consistent role in the evolution of the
Saturn vehicles. Chapter 9 surveys computer activity from manufactur-
ing, through stage test, to launch. In flight, the computers of the
instrument unit guided and controlled the Saturn V, including the fiery
separation of Saturn V stages during their journey into space.
155
From the S-IV to the S-IVB
The upper stage of both the Saturn IB and Saturn V evolved from the
upper stage of the Saturn I. All three upper stages were manufactured
by Douglas Aircraft Company, used liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen
as propellants, and shared the same basic design concepts and manufac-
turing techniques. The Saturn I upper stage (the S-IV) used a cluster of
six engines, but the Saturn IB and Saturn V upper stages (designated the
S-IVB for both versions) possessed a larger diameter and mounted a
single engine of different design. During one early period of Saturn
planning (about 1958— 1959), the S-IV was planned as the fourth stage of
a vehicle known as the C-4, but the changes and deletions involving the
original "C" series left the S-IV in a different role.1 Instead of entering
service as a fourth stage, the S-IV became the second stage of the Saturn
I. During late 1959 and early 1960, NASA began plans to name a major
contractor for the S-IV stage.
Because the S-IV was the first major Saturn stage hardware to be
built under contract, NASA proceeded very carefully. The situation was
even more delicate because Wernher von Braun and the Army Ballistic
Missile Agency (ABM A) team had not yet been officially transferred
from the Army into NASA, although the ABMA group was to be deeply
involved in the contractor selection process for the Saturn upper stage.*
NASA Headquarters assiduously followed the negotiations.
* Although NASA assumed technical direction of the Saturn program on 18 Nov. 1958,
administrative direction was not completely transferred by the Department of Defense until 16 Mar.
1960. On 1 July 1960, the von Braun team was formally transferred to NASA and MSFC began
official operations.
757
STAGES TO SATURN
CONTRACTS FOR THE S-IV
At Huntsville, Alabama, on 6 January 1960, Abraham Hyatt, Deputy
Director of Launch Vehicle Programs at NASA Headquarters, met with
von Braun, Eberhard Rees (von Braun's technical adviser), and ABMA
staff to ensure that S-IV contract procedures met NASA expectations.
Hyatt got the ABMA team to loosen up a little on strict constraints that
would limit the number of potential applicants; it was agreed that at least
20 companies would get specific invitations to submit proposals. Any
other company could request to participate, although Hyatt felt that
"most companies will realize that this is a 'big league' competition and I
doubt that there will be any companies aside from those selected who
would seriously consider submitting a full scale proposal."
During the all-day session at Huntsville, ABMA agreed to set up a
technical evaluation team and a business evaluation team to analyze
proposals from the various contractors. A source selection board, staffed
by ABMA and NASA Headquarters representatives, would then review
the findings of the evaluation teams and make a final recommendation to
the Administrator. A calendar called for a bidders conference at Huntsville,
26— 27 January, contractor proposals submitted 29 February, and source
selection board recommendations by 1 April. ABMA was also directed to
submit second-stage specifications, a funding plan, and a management
plan to Headquarters.
By the time of the bidders' conference, not all the S-IV specifications
had been established. Rather than delay the conference, NASA and
ABMA agreed to have bidders submit proposals for a stage to load
54 500 kilograms. Within a month, ABMA promised to determine the
precise loading and use this figure in negotiating final details with the
winning contractor. Von Braun explained this situation to the first
session of the bidders' conference on 26 January. The prospective
contractors got an extensive briefing from top NASA and ABMA
managers and received a bulky packet of materials to use as guidelines in
submitting proposals. The next day was spent answering questions.
Following that, the prospective contractors had one month to prepare
their detailed proposals; NASA and ABMA had the following month to
evalutate them.3 After considering the scope of the project and the
guidelines laid down by ABMA, only 1 1 contractors submitted propos-
als.4
The source selection board made its presentation to NASA Adminis-
trator T. Keith Glennan on 19 April 1960. By 26 May, Glennan had
reviewed all the relevant materials, and NASA announced that Douglas
Aircraft Company had been selected for further discussions leading to a
FROM THE S-IV TO THE S-IVB
final contract for the S-IV stage.5 Douglas* and Convair had been the
leading contenders, and Glennan finally based his decision on certain
subjective factors. The findings of the Source Selection Board tended to
give Convair a slight edge in technical competence, although Glennan
remarked that "the Douglas proposal, in some ways, seemed more
imaginative." Convair, however, scored lower in the business and man-
agement areas. No matter who was chosen, Glennan said, minor short-
comings in either the business or the technical areas could be easily
corrected. Other reasons, therefore, favored Douglas.
Glennan pointed out that Convair would have a continuing business
in liquid hydrogen rockets because of its own Centaur program. More-
over, the Centaur was ticketed for use in proposed Saturn vehicles as an
upper stage called the S-V. Glennan apparently had a strong reservation
about giving Convair the S-IV stage as well, because "a monopolistic
position in this field seems possible." In short, Glennan chose Douglas
because "broadening the industrial base in hydrogen technology is in the
best national interest."6
The choice of Douglas, and the reasons for that choice, stirred a
minor controversy. On 12 May, the Committee on Science and Astronautics,
House of Representatives, asked the General Accounting Office to
investigate NASA's selection of Douglas. The report of the General
Accounting Office, dated 22 June 1960, generally sustained Glennan's
statements on the matter and noted that his decision "was consistent with
the written presentation of the Source Selection Board and other related
documents." The report also supported the NASA position on problems
concerning logistics and other questions.7
During May and June, NASA, Huntsville, and Douglas went ahead
with the negotiations that preceded the signing of a final contract.
Meeting two or three times a week on the West Coast, conferees
hammered out details of costs for planning, tooling, engineering, testing,
and manufacturing. A second group worked out details of technical
design and engineering and set up continuing working panels that
included both government and contractor counterparts. This combina-
tion of close collaboration and monitoring by NASA set the pattern for
future relationships with Douglas, as well as other stage contractors.8 (For
details of NASA-contractor relationships, see chapter 9.) During the
succeeding months, decisions on engines, configurations, and missions
influenced the evolution of the S-IV and led to two versions of its
successor, the S-IVB.
*In 1967, Douglas Aircraft Co. and the McDonnell Corp. merged, becoming the McDonnell
Douglas Corp., with headquarters in St. Louis, Mo. The former Douglas division in California,
responsible for the S-IV and S-IVB, became McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co. (MDAC). For
convenience, the term Douglas is used in the narrative.
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STAGES TO SATURN
NUMBERS AND NOMENCLATURE: S-IV AND S-IVB
In August 1960, NASA announced that the S-IV would use a cluster
of four Pratt & Whitney rocket engines.9 When the development of the
Pratt & Whitney LR-1 19 engines ran into snags, MSFC officials began to
lean more and more to the idea of using six less powerful versions.
Moreover, the cluster of six engines opened the possibilities of raising the
payload capability and promised better inflight control. Finally, the
RL-10 type was adopted (see chapter 4). By May 1961, Pratt & Whitney
had put together final mockup of the RL-10 and shipped copies to both
Douglas and Convair for installation and interface compatibility checks.
On 25 January 1962, NASA Headquarters confirmed the role of
MSFC as the lead center to proceed with the two-stage C-l and to design
and develop a three-stage vehicle, the C-5. Mission planners envisioned a
series of development flights, testing each stage in successive combina-
tions before a full-dress flight test of the three-stage C-5 vehicles.
Eventually, the C-5 would be topped off by an improved S-IV, known as
the S-IVB. For this stage, a single J-2 engine would provide the thrust to
escape Earth orbit and boost a 44-metric ton payload to the vicinity of the
moon.10 Under this scheme, the S-IVB would have been the last stage to
be flight-tested and the "junior member" of the Saturn C-5 vehicle when
the big rocket finally lifted off as a complete stack. The reverse happened.
The single-engine S-IVB became the real veteran of the Saturn program,
active in more launches than any other stage. This was because it became
part of an interim Saturn vehicle, between the C-l and the C-5.11 The
new Saturn class vehicle, designated C-1B, relied on a uprated version of
the original C-l first stage but included the S-IVB as the second stage.
NASA acquired the S-IVB under a sole-source procurement con-
tract with the Douglas Aircraft Company. Plans for this variation of the
S-IV stage began with an ad hoc working group established at MSFC in
August 1961, and NASA Headquarters approved Douglas as the sole-
source contractor in December. The space agency seemed somewhat
sensitive about the S-IVB contract, because there had been no bidders'
conference or active competition by other firms. NASA awarded the
contract to Douglas for reasons of cost and schedules: "The similarity of
the S-IVB and S-IV stages permits the exploitation of both facilities and
technical skills of the contractor now developing the S-IV stage, resulting
in substantial savings in both time and money to NASA." In a memo to
Associate Administrator Robert Seamans, D. Brainerd Holmes stressed
the similarities in configurations which permitted use of the same tooling
and materials, as well as facilities for checkout, static testing, and captive
firing.12
Mission planners at NASA saw a means to accelerate the Apollo
program by using the high-energy S-IVB stage of the C-1B to launch
manned, Earth-orbital missions with a full-scale Apollo spacecraft. The
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FROM THE S-IV TO THE S-IVB
new vehicle, launched with the instrument unit (IU) segment used on the
C-l, also provided opportunities to refine the maneuvers for the lunar
missions. The NASA announcement of the C-1B on 1 1 July 1962
included word that lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR) was the technique
chosen for the manned lunar landing missions with the Saturn C-5
launch vehicle. The S-IVB, with its capability for heavier payloads and
reignition for translunar injection, was an important element of the LOR
scheme. The C-1B offered a fruitful method to try out the critical
transposition maneuver, docking of the command and service modules
(CSM) and the lunar module (LM), and the translunar sequence of the
S-IVB upper stage. During the summer of 1962, Douglas complied with
MSFC directives to make the comparatively uncomplicated modifications
of the S-IVB to fly on the C-1B vehicle. Early in February 1963, the "C"
designation was dropped once and for all. The three Saturns now
became the Saturn I, Saturn IB, and Saturn V.13
MISSION PROFILE AND DESIGN
Nearly all of the LOX-kerosene boosters in use when the Saturn
program began reflected a direct linage from the ballistic missiles of the
1950s. Although the Thor performed yeoman service for unmanned
satellites and probes, and the Atlas and Titan operated successfully
through the Mercury and Gemini programs, these boosters had not been
designed for such missions. Nor were they capable of orbiting the
manned payloads expected in the Saturn program. For these reasons, a
unique, staged, large payload-oriented launch vehicle was indicated.
Cutaway drawings compare the S-IV stages on Saturn I, IB, and V.
S-IV SATURN-I
SECOND STAGE
S-IVB SATURN-IB
SECOND STAGE
S-IVB SATURN-V
THIRD STAGE
STAGES TO SATURN
The upper stages of such a vehicle were critical to the eventual
success of the mission — especially the top stage, which inserted the
payload into the final, stabilized orbit. Douglas engineers were emphatic.
"The overall performance of the end-stage has greater influence than the
primary stages. The Saturn V launch vehicle for the lunar mission
requires 50 pounds [23 kilograms] of booster weight at liftoff for each
pound of payload injected into a translunar trajectory," they explained.
"Without high-energy upper stages this factor would be significantly
greater."14 The key to these high-energy stages was liquid hydrogen as
the fuel. An engineer from Douglas, the eventual contractor of the S-IV
and the S-IVB, summed up the significance of the decision to use liquid
hydrogen. "The combination of hydrogen and oxygen for propellants
made the moon shot feasible," he declared. "Its use in upper stages
results in a significant increase in performance over the propellant
combinations of oxygen and kerosene then in use in first-stage boost-
ers."15
Many aspects of the S-IV design were transferred directly to the
S-IVB, even though it mounted only one engine, instead of a cluster of
six. The configurations of both upper stages depended on the mission
requirement, and ultimately, on the location of the stages in the various
Saturn vehicles. Originally, Douglas planned a 5.6-meter-diameter stage
for the S-IVB, designed for Earth orbit rendezvous (EOR), requiring a
coast in low Earth orbit for as long as 30 days. This permitted time for
subsequent launches of other Saturn and Apollo hardware, rendezvous,
and preparation for injection into lunar transfer orbit. As the mission
profile changed from EOR to LOR, the S-IVB design requirements
shifted to a four-day coast period, although the final mission profile
called for a four-and-a-half hour coast in low Earth orbit, followed by a
translunar injection burn and a two-hour period in translunar coast.
Throughout this time of design discussions with MSFC, the proposed
stage diameter remained at 5.6 meters, with an interstage to adapt to the
10-meter diameter of the S-II stage of the preliminary C-5 design.
Shortly before NASA's final contract definition of the Saturn V version,
Douglas received a design change notice to go from a 5.6-meter version to
a 6.6-meter tank. The reason for the change related to the mission of the
interim Saturn IB, and the increased diameter allowed added payload
capability for launching and testing Apollo components in Earth orbit.
The increased S-IVB capability was also compatible with its ultimate
role in Saturn V as envisioned at MSFC. By 1964, the details were fairly
well defined and the program manager for the S-IVB, Roy Godfrey,
outlined them at a NASA conference in Houston. Briefly, the Saturn V
was to place a spacecraft into a translunar trajectory, enable a soft landing
on the moon with a manned payload, and return to Earth. In the mission,
the S-IVB had two critical responsibilities: get the Apollo craft into orbit,
then restart and insert the payload into the translunar trajectory. The
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FROM THE S-IV TO THE S-IVB
orbital phase left the S-IVB, instrument unit, and Apollo spacecraft in an
Earth orbit of 185 kilometers, where it remained for about four and a
half hours, or time for three orbits of the Earth. Following the powered
flight, which consumed about half of the propellant, the stage relied on
its auxiliary propulsion system during the orbital coast, to ensure proper
attitude control and "ullage orientation" of the remaining propellants
toward the bottom of the tank prior to engine restart — "ullage" being an
old brewmaster's term that referred to the volume of air above a partially
full container. After restart, the second burn put the S-IVB and Apollo
spacecraft into the translunar trajectory and consumed the remainder of
the propellant. With burnout of the S-IVB verified, the transposition
maneuver was carried out — a nose-to-nose rendezvous of LM and GSM.
Concluding this maneuver, the spent S-IVB and instrument unit were
separated from the LM-CSM by retrofire ordnance aboard the S-IVB,
and the mission of the Saturn V third stage was over.16
The nature of the S-IVB mission imposed special requirements on
its design. For one thing, the engine and stage needed the capability to
restart in orbit. The stage had to have special equipment to ensure
storage of propellants and proper orientation while in Earth orbit for
four to five hours. The advantages obtained from the mission profile,
primarily the coasting orbit and the 185-kilometer altitude outweighed
the penalties. At the same NASA conference in Houston in 1964, the
head of the Aero-Astrodynamics Laboratory at MSFC, E. D. Geissler,
explained the tradeoffs in choosing this particular mission profile.
A "one shot" launch to the moon, as opposed to the LOR mode, had
the advantage of permitting a somewhat larger payload. The Earth-
orbital sequence carried with it a weight penalty of some 1360 kilograms
to supply the S-IVB, IU, LM, and CSM systems with longevity and life
support for the extra four to five hours. On the other hand, the
"one-shot" launch had to be precisely plotted for liftoff at a fleeting
instant of time within a given month. Injection in a direct lunar trajectory
could take place only at a time when the Earth and the moon were so
aligned that the liftoff point was precisely opposite the moon. The LOR
sequence, incorporating a period of coasting, made liftoff much less
time-critical. The time of departure from Earth orbit was also less critical,
since the "launch window" in Earth orbit lasted about four hours and
recurred twice daily. Moreover, the extra time in Earth orbit permitted
more accurate tracking of the vehicle and allowed the mission controllers
to plot a far more accurate start of the "burn" for insertion into the lunar
transit trajectory. The Earth-orbital coast path of 185 kilometers represented
some compromises. Although higher orbits would have reduced
aerodynamic heating, the orbit chosen allowed better tracking and
telemetry.17
Other considerations affecting the design of the S-IVB and its
predecessor, the S-IV, involved the propellants. The physical characteris-
163
STAGES TO SATURN
tics of liquid hydrogen altered the apparent logic of tank location. The
weight of the propellants included 87 200 kilograms of LOX and 18 000
kilograms of LH2 (with some variations, depending on mission require-
ments). Logically, the layman might assume that the smaller LH2 tank
should be placed on top of the LOX tank, as was done with the RP-1 fuel
and LOX in the S-IC first stage. The volume of the lighter LH2 was much
greater, however, requiring a larger vessel to hold 252 750 liters (69 500
gallons), as compared with only 73 280 liters (20 150 gallons) of LOX. If
designers placed the LH2 tank in the aft position, with the LOX tank
above, LOX feed lines would be longer and would have to be run
through the interior of the LH2 tank (with additional problems of
insulating the LOX lines from the colder liquid hydrogen). Longer LOX
lines would have to be mounted externally between the LOX tank and
the engines. Either solution carried a high weight penalty for long lines
and associated hardware. It made more sense to put the fuel tank
containing the LH2 in the forward location, making it easier to route the
LH2 feed lines internally around the smaller and more compact oxidizer
tank.18
One further difference characterized the S-IV and S-IVB in com-
parison to the only other significant rocket stage that burned liquid
hydrogen, the Centaur. The Centaur, like the Atlas, relied on internal
pressure for rigidity and stiffness of the tank walls. With no pressure, the
Centaur would buckle and collapse. The Saturn S-IV and S-IVB, like
other stages, evolved as self-supporting structures that gave added
confidence in the man-rating requirements. Furthermore, the various
stresses placed on the oversized stages during erection and transporta-
tion to the launch pad, as well as the time-consuming checkout and
countdown, were more tolerable.19 The S-IV and S-IVB structures owed
much to an earlier Douglas rocket, the Thor.
Although the S-IV relied on six RL-10 liquid hydrogen engines and
the S-IVB mounted only one J-2, the choice of propellants remained the
same. The S-IVB carried more propellant for a longer time, and the
mission of the Saturn V, calling for restart in orbit, imposed some new
design requirements. Stage interfaces in different Saturn vehicles required
different skirt and interstage designs.20 The stages, however, were
essentially the same. The delivery of the first S-IVB flight stage to NASA
in 1965 was the culmination of a single thread of the story of the design,
fabrication, and manufacture of the S-IV and S-IVB liquid hydrogen
upper stages.
The transfer of Thor experience to the more advanced S-IV and
S-IVB began with the tank skins and carried into many related fabrica-
164
FROM THE S-IV TO THE S-IVB
tion and production techniques, including metal removal by machining
and by chemical milling, forming by stretching and bending, welding,
chemical bonding, and mechanical fastening.
When the Thor project entered the phase of design studies in the
mid-1950s, engineers screened a number of metallurgical candidates for
the rocket's propellant tanks. With its heritage of advanced aircraft
design and production, Douglas had considerable expertise in handling
various aluminum alloys. These metals and other nominees were there-
fore subjected to extensive test and analysis for use as cryogenic tankage.
Adaptability for fabrication and inspection requirements for quality
assurance were included in the tests. The Thor tanks not only had to be
amenable to cryogenics with the liquid oxygen, but the tanks also had to
be weldable. Welded joints promised the only sure way to control leaks of
the cryogenic fuels — cryogenic leaks had a high potential of explosion. As
it turned out, the 2014 alloy selected for the Thor worked so well that
Douglas chose it for the S-IV and continued its use on the S-IVB.21
During the Thor design program, engineers considered several
fabrication methods for the tanks, including conventional skin and
stringer designs, as well as a monocoque style derived from aircraft
construction. Both were rejected because of drawbacks of weight and
construction requirements. With a design goal for very thin but rigid
walls, Douglas finally settled on an integrally stiffened shell structure,
using special equipment to literally "carve out" ribs from the inside walls
of the tank. The wafflelike pattern that resulted was both practical and
efficient. The waffle recesses were about 7.5 centimeters square,
bounded by ribs that increased the buckling strength of the tank walls.
The S-IV and S-IVB featured the same waffle-shaped integral
stiffening for their liquid hydrogen tanks, although designers increased
the waffle size, and the S-IV skins were milled from 1.3-centimeter
plates, as compared with 1.9-centimeter plates used for the S-IVB. To
produce the seven separate segments for the S-IVB liquid hydrogen
tank, Douglas used a Giddings and Lewis mill with a 3.6 x 12.2-meter bed
and two router heads. Depending on particular requirements for some of
the more complex areas and special sections for the later attachment of
accessories, machining for each segment consumed 106 to 134 hours. In
the waffle-machined form, the tank segments were formed to the proper
curvature. To prevent the waffle ribs from buckling, Douglas personnel
inserted reusable polyethylene blocks, then ran each segment through a
Verson press for progressive forming. The Verson power brake, origi-
nally used in the production of various panels for the DC-8 jet aircraft,
was unique in size for its time. Rated at 25 300 000 grams per square
centimeter (3 600 000 pounds per square inch), it could handle sheet
stock up to 1.9 centimeters thick and 13.4 meters long and form the
sheets to specification with an automatic program for feed and contour.22
765
STAGES TO SATURN
The components for the S-IVB originated from several California
locations. The liquid hydrogen tank segments were formed on the
Verson press at Long Beach. The preliminary milling took place at the
Douglas facility in Santa Monica, which also fabricated and assembled all
propellant tank domes and bulkheads, and completed the subassembly of
the liquid oxygen tank. Final manufacturing of S-IVB stages took place
in the new Douglas complex at Huntington Beach, begun in January
1963 specifically for S-IVB production. The Huntington Beach facility
featured a distinctive architectural detail — external bracing on the pro-
duction and assembly buildings — that enhanced cleanliness on the inside
because there were no interior beams, supports, or braces to gather dust
and dirt that might contaminate components during final assembly.
Douglas funded the construction of the Huntington Beach facility out of
its own capital reserves, and made it one of the most advanced aerospace
plants of its kind in the United States. As for the other major stage
contractors, Boeing operated out of the converted Michoud facility
owned by the government, and North American used a mixed facility at
Seal Beach. Executive and administrative offices owned by North Ameri-
can Rockwell were across the street from assembly and checkout areas
that were leased from NASA.23
DOMES AND BULKHEADS
The designers of the domes for the S-IV and S-IVB settled on a true
hemispherical shape. This design meant the domes were deeper and
increased the overall weight of the stage (in contrast to the elliptical
domes of the S-II stage). Douglas accepted this penalty in exchange for
the extra strength inherent in the design, the possibility of a smaller
diameter for the stage, and the resulting simplicity in tooling. The domes
were composed of nine triangular segments, or gores, that were stretch-
formed over special dies to accurate contours. With multiple contours,
the requirements for partial waffle structuring of the gore segments
could not be met by the mechanical milling. Instead, Douglas used
chemical milling for this task, with masked segments dunked in large vats
of chemicals for carefully calculated periods of time to remove certain
areas of the aft LOX dome to a specified depth. Workers next moved the
separate gore segments to a special meridian welding jig for the auto-
matic welding sequence (under a plastic tent for cleanliness) that joined
together the various segments of the aft and forward domes.
Technicians at Santa Monica performed the demanding job of
welding the segments of the common bulkhead and propellant tank
domes. The triangular segments, which look like pieces of orange peel,
were placed into a welding jig for what appeared to be a very simple
operation. Not so. "We cut our eye teeth on this phase of manufactur-
166
FROM THE S-IV TO THE S-IVB
ing," recalled H. E. Bauer, a company executive who was deeply involved
in the S-IV and IVB project. To join the metal "peels" together to form
a hemispheric half-shell, Douglas used a rotating fixture and a "down
hand" technique of welding. In this mode, the weld torch moved on a
track while the molten welding "puddle" remained in the proper position
from force of gravity, which also minimized undesirable porosity. While
welding the orange peel segments, a strange problem developed. The
tracking system for the weld torch hinged on the detection of
discontinuities produced by induced eddy currents along the seams to be
welded. The exasperating torch heads wandered all over the place,
however, apparently unable to follow the seams at all. Oddly enough, the
trouble was traced to manufacturing standards being set too high!
"Because the individual segments had been so carefully formed and
sized," Bauer explained, "upon butting them together no sensible level of
electrical discontinuity to the instrument developed." Some insensitive
soul suggested the application of a bastard file to rough up the seams and
create enough discontinuity that the tracking system could do its job.
After adamant protests from the manufacturing people at Long Beach,
Douglas specialists refined the tracking system to give it a much higher
gain, and scarfed (grooved) the segments to provide a path for the
tracking sensors to follow.24
Like Centaur, the S-IV and S-IVB relied on a common bulkhead to
separate the fuel from the oxidizer. In more conventional designs, the
propellants were housed in separate tanks, each with its own forward and
aft domes and tank walls. This required an intertank assembly to join the
tanks rigidly together as a complete vehicle, making for greater length
and greater weight. The common bulkhead, in the case of the Douglas
upper stages, meant a reduction in structural weight of up to 20 percent.
Douglas developed a double-faced hemispherical structure, about five
centimeters thick, with a pair of 2014-T6 aluminum shells on either side
of a fiberglass honeycomb core. The bulkhead separated LH2 at — 253°C
(-423°F) on one side from LOX at - 172°C (-297°F) on the other side.
The common bulkhead served as an end dome for both LH2 and LOX
tanks, as well as insulation to prevent heat flow from the LOX to the
colder LH2. Otherwise, the liquid oxygen would freeze solid. The
bulkhead was designed to take the thermal stresses and reverse pres-
sures, as well as to survive a major loss of pressure from either side.
Douglas designer and engineer Ted Smith emphasized that the design of
the common bulkhead originated with Douglas, independent from
MSFC. Originally conceived for the S-IV, the bulkhead was adapted to
the second-generation S-IVB with only minor changes for larger diame-
ter and attachment. 2n
The curved, concave aluminum shells were quite thin: 0.813
millimeters for the forward sheet and 1.4 millimeters for the aft sheet,
with a 6.63-meter diameter for the S-IVB. Working with such large
167
STAGES TO SATURN
diameter, thin-skinned sheets required exacting procedures. The com-
plete aft dome sheet was set up on a bonding fixture to which the
honeycomb was bonded. The forward dome sheet was moved into
position over the fixture and bonded into place atop the honeycomb
filler, completing the three-layer "sandwich" construction. This construc-
tion was, at least, the ideal the engineers hoped for. In practice, the
milling and bonding of the forward dome sheet created a serious
problem. The sheet's contours differed from the honeycomb layer
underneath, and the aluminum skin developed an exasperatingly uneven
terrain of gaps, gullies, and wrinkles.26 Douglas finally contrived a
method of measuring the valleys and hills between the honeycomb and
the forward sheet, then sculpting the honeycomb's contours for an
acceptable fit. The technique was known as the "Paleno block system,"
involving a meticulous, tedious process done almost entirely by hand.
The procedure began with the top of the aft dome exposed before
the honeycomb insulation was affixed and bonded. Workers then set up
350 small honeycomb blocks over the entire surface. Each block carried a
pad of putty, encased in cellophane, on its top. With the putty-pad Paleno
blocks in place, the forward dome sheet was lowered to approximate its
final installation, making contact with each of the putty pads. The dome
was hoisted up and workers measured the indentation on each pad to
plot the variations in the aft dome's contours. Next the blocks were
removed and the production honeycomb sections were fitted and bonded
to the aft dome sheet. With templates in place to indicate the positions of
the Paleno blocks, the honeycomb surface was "spot faced" to the Paleno
measurements, which provided reference points for the next operation:
sanding the entire surface by hand to the desired contours for a custom
fit. In a wry understatement, engineers from Douglas and MSFC agreed:
"This hand-sanding operation is time-consuming and subject to some
human error." After cleaning, workers spread adhesive over the surface,
and the entire common bulkhead unit went through the final bonding
cycle at 182°C (360°F) inside an oversized autoclave. Finally, the unit
was machined to the required tolerances on a Niles boring mill, which
also machined the circumferential attach rings to mate the common
bulkhead to the aft liquid oxygen dome.27
PUTTING TOGETHER THE PIECES
For the aluminum structural assemblies of the S-IVB, Douglas relied
on conventional designs, fabrication, and manufacturing developed from
its experience as an airframe manufacturer. Details of the assemblies for
the forward skirt, aft skirt, interstage, and thrust structure were pro-
duced by numerically controlled equipment, with panels riveted together
in automatic machines. The forward and aft skirts included fittings to
168
Top left, S-IVB tank skins, the basic structural walls of this rocket
stage, are milled on the inside in a wafflelike pattern to reduce
weight while retaining most of the structural strength. Top center,
the dome of the tank is being fitted with gores before welding. Top
right, the two dome sections of the S-IVB 's common bulkhead are
being precisely fitted before insulation is applied between them.
Above, the Douglas Airplane Co. facility at Huntington Beach,
California, is fabricating and assembling the S-IVB stages. At left
are major structural components of the S-IVB; at upper left is a
complete hydrogen-oxygen tank; in the right foreground a straight-
sided Saturn IB interstage is flanked by a pair of aft skirts, with a
forward skirt to the rear. Below, left, shows production in full
swing: in towers at right and center, stages are being checked
before shipment to Sacramento for firing tests; in the left tower, a
tank section is being cleaned before insulation is applied; in lower
right, a tank is being given its final interior work and the
completed tank at left is about to be hoisted into the tower from
which the photos were taken. Below, right, the intricate job of
applying insulation to the interior of the liquid hydrogen tank
proceeds, as another individually numbered insulation tile comes
off the conveyor belt.
STAGES TO SATURN
support assorted electrical and mechanical subsystems and vents, as well
as propellant lines and umbilical connections required for operations at
the launch site. The aft skirt carried the auxiliary propulsion system
modules and the aft interstage contained fittings for the retrorockets.
The thrust structure featured skin and stringer construction for strength
and rigidity. It contained several access panels and carried attach angles
for miscellaneous engine fittings and other equipment. The bottom of
the thrust structure carried the fitting for the engine mount and was
machined on a numerically controlled vertical turret lathe and a five-axis
milling machine.
Inside the labyrinth of the Vehicle Tower Complex at Huntington
Beach, the fabricated components of the S-IVB finally reached the nexus
of their journey, and emerged as a complete rocket stage. The Vehicle
Tower Complex reminded the observer of the Vehicle Assembly Build-
ing at Cape Kennedy. Although smaller in size, the complex had the
same immensity of scale. It was a single building, 36 meters high,
enclosing a total of 2230 square meters. The interior had provisions for
six large bays, each capable of holding a complete S-IVB vehicle, with two
overhead cranes (10.1 and 20.2 metric tons) to swing the stages to the
required station. Basically, the bays were internal compartments to house
a series of assembly towers, with movable work platforms at various levels
in each. The complex included a pair of assembly and welding towers, a
tower for hydrostatic testing, another for cleaning and degreasing, and a
final pair of checkout towers. To control and monitor the activities of
each tower, an elaborate vehicle checkout control room adjoined the
complex.
The assembly of the complete vehicle in one of the assembly and
welding towers involved the joining of the complete LOX tank and LH2
cylinder. The steps to accomplish the task were complex, requiring both
inside and outside welding, with the stage in upright, as well as inverted,
positions. The tank assembly techniques relied on many special maneu-
vers, including the mating of the LH2 tank cylinder and the LOX tank.
With the LOX tank in position at the bottom of the assembly tower and
the LH2 cylinder hanging overhead, workmen heated the base of the LH2
tank cylinder, expanding it slightly. Then the heated cylinder was slipped
down over the LOX tank, creating a close "interference fit." When cool,
the LH2 cylinder and LOX tank presented a minimum gap for welding
and enhanced the prospects of a high-quality weld with minumum
distortion. The joining of the LH2 forward dome and tank cylinder (with
the assembly inverted) required special care to ensure precise vertical
alignment. Douglas relied on a special support fixture at the top of the
assembly to bring the dome and cylinder together. Automatic controls
using beams of light verified alignment between the top and bottom of
the assembly.28
During these final sequences, careful x-ray- tests and a penetrant dye
170
FROM THE S-IV TO THE S-IVB
check were performed to search for invisible structural inconsistencies,
ending with verification of the structural integrity of the complete
LH2-LOX tank assembly. Using the overhead cranes, Douglas personnel
moved the completed S-IVB tankage assembly to, the hydrostatic test
tower for a hydrostatic test to a proof pressure five percent over the
design load limit. Like the other manufacturing and test operations, the
hydrostatic test was strictly programmed and regulated. Douglas set up a
very elaborate sequence to load the water, with redundant automatic
controls and extensive instrumentation. The complicated sequence did
not always work. During one check, the tank became overpressurized and
was damaged. There were long conferences to decide on a revised system
to eliminate the inadvertent overpressurization.
Curiously, the satisfactory solution came not from more sophisti-
cated instrumentation, but by an elementary approach to the problem.
"After a lengthy analysis, it was decided to use a system so old and basic
that it had almost been forgotten," mused H. E. Bauer. "A standpipe — one
that extended beyond the roof so that the tank could not be overpressurized,
since the system would spill the excess water overboard." So a new
space-age structure reared above the flat Pacific coastline at Huntington
Beach in the form of an open water standpipe 43 meters high, equipped
with beacons to warn passing aircraft, and rigged with a wire cage to
discourage nesting birds.
Birds presented a problem in more ways than one. At Huntington
Beach, workmen complained of misanthropic pigeons roosting and
hovering around the rafters of the high-ceiling production buildings.
The droppings not only created sanitation problems for the Saturn
stages, but also for the workers. A hand-picked pigeon elimination
section went to work on the problem. High-frequency whistles worked
for a time, but the pigeons returned. Occasional indoor potshots at the
ubiquitous birds produced humanitarian protests and holes in the roof.
Workmen tried to pigeon-proof the building by sealing off all outside
openings, but the persistent creatures fluttered in through gaps where
the huge door machinery and track rails were installed. Ornithologists
consulted on the problem finally suggested some specially treated seeds
to affect temporarily the pigeons' nervous systems. It worked. After
pecking at the seeds, the pigeons sat quite still for a time, then finally flew
off, never to return. Cheerfully, the maintenance crews refreshed the
seed supply every 60 days just to make sure their feathered foes kept
their distance.
Back in one of the assembly towers, the S-IVB's related structural
assemblies (forward skirt, aft skirt, interstage, and thrust structure) were
mated to the tankage. The last stop was one of the checkout towers,
where the J-2 engine was installed, and technicians concluded the last
installations and checkout of the vehicle. Aboard a special dolly, the
S-IVB rolled back to the main assembly building for painting. Finally,
777
STAGES TO SATURN
technicians established the stage's total empty weight, center of gravity,
and moment of inertia. Then the S-IVB was ready for shipment.29
LH2 TANK INSULATION: DESIGN FACTORS
The odyssey of the S-IVB third stage through the Vehicle Tower
Complex included one major interruption — the installation in a nearby
building of the liquid hydrogen tank's internal insulation. This special
installation process required a considerable amount of individual fitting
by hand, and the search for the proper insulation materials absorbed
many months of time and effort. The story of LH2 insulation for the S-IV
and IVB typifies many of the unexpected development problems that
cropped up during the Saturn program, and illustrates the considerable
amount of tedious handwork that went into sophisticated Saturn rockets.
At the start of the S-IV program in 1960, the decision to use liquid
hydrogen in the upper tank presented designers with a formidable
insulation problem. The LH2 tank was designed to hold 229 000 liters
(63 000 gallons) of LH2, filling 296 cubic meters and weighing 17 000
kilograms. Prior to the Saturn program, LH2 had been used mainly in
small quantities in laboratories. Imperative questions emerged about its
qualities when used in comparatively larger volume. Efficient insulation
on this massive scale had many unknowns, and engineers at Douglas
consistently recalled the insulation problem as a significant aspect in the
evolution of the S-IV stage.30 One facet of the insulation story involved
the composition of the insulating material, and a second related to its
location — internal or external?
Some of the preliminary studies at Huntsville envisioned the use of
insulation in a dual role on the upper stage of the Saturn. Because the
stage would have long periods in orbit, designers considered using
external insulation as a means of protection from meteorites that could
pierce the walls of the liquid hydrogen tank and perhaps touch off an
explosion. The combination insulation-covering-and-meteorite shield
would be jettisoned before the upper stage made its second burn for the
translunar injection that would carry it out of the most hazardous
meteorite zone.31 Nevertheless, to the engineers who opted for internally
mounted insulation, this alternative to exterior application made very
good sense. The insulation selection process also reflects several intrigu-
ing elements of the problems of designing, building, testing, and flying
large rockets in space missions.
Very early in the program, internal insulation seemed more and
more advantageous to many Douglas engineers, even though more was
known about external types. Only one other aerospace firm in the
country could claim any experience in the field of liquid hydrogen
772
FROM THE S-IV TO THE S-IVB
propellants, and so Douglas personnel, accompanied by some NASA
representatives, made a trip to San Diego to the Convair Division of
General Dynamics Corporation. The Centaur design used exterior
insulation, and the people at Douglas wanted to see it. Following several
conferences and exchanges of ideas with Convair, the Douglas team
became more and more intrigued with the possibilities of internal, as
opposed to external, mounting of insulation. Part of the reason for this
decision stemmed from Convair's trials and tribulations with the external
mode and concurrent reservations on the part of NASA's Lewis Research
Center in Cleveland, Ohio. For these reasons — and a number of specific
design factors — Douglas put the insulation on the inside.32
In the case of the S-IV, the basic philosophy emphasized simplicity
and the utilization of expertise already in hand from previous missile and
space vehicle experience. Douglas engineers reasoned that, first, very
little was known about the effect of large volumes of cryogenic fluids on
metals and, second, even less was known about insulation materials.
Pursuing the goal of simplicity, the designers separated the problem of
insulation from the problem of tankage structure. This separation
enabled design experimentation in the uncharted field of insulation
materials to proceed in one direction without forcing changes in metal
structure configuration, which proceeded in a parallel line at the same
time. This method also avoided the time-consuming threat of a totally
new design approach such as double-walled tanks to combine both
insulation and structural factors. With insulation materials being
nonstructural, the search for a desirable insulation design had a wider
range of possibilities.
The mission configuration itself influenced the insulation factor.
Because the mission for which the S-IV was designed did not include an
extended coast phase, materials with a wide range of thermal conductiv-
ity for a brief operational period could be included in the list of potential
candidates. Structural design of the S-IV stage also enhanced the
potential efficiency of internal insulation. The fiberglass and honeycomb
construction of the common bulkhead yielded a very high insulation
factor in separation of the cold LOX and the colder LH2. Further
internal insulation on the upper LH2 segment of the bulkhead would
help reduce the tendency to solidify the warmer LOX on the other side.33
As engineers began to think more and more of the design factors in
S-IV construction and operation, internal insulation seemed even more
attractive in terms of thermal stress qualities. Thermal stress was extremely
critical in the filling of the rocket's fuel tanks when LH2 at -253°C
(— 423°F) came into contact with tank walls at warmer ambient air
temperatures. If insulation was external, it was feared that the LH2 would
create severe thermal stress and potential damage to the tank walls as it
was pumped in, because the aluminum walls possessed a very high
coefficient of expansion. Even if no serious weakening was caused by the
173
STAGES TO SATURN
first filling, repeated operations could create problems, especially for
vehicles undergoing a series of static tests and tankage checks. Internal
installation of the S-IV's insulation would obviously eliminate many such
problems in the tank walls. During filling, internal insulation promised
dramatic advantages in reducing LH2 loss through boil-off. When
external insulation was used, nearly 100 percent of the tank's capacity
had to boil off to bring the temperature of the walls down to -253°C
(-423°F) to keep the LH2 stable. Given the volume of tankage of the
S-IV, external insulation meant a need for much greater quantities of
expensive propellants and additional paraphernalia to provide a venting
system to cope with the furious boil-off. By using internal thermal
insulation, on the other hand, it was possible to expect only 25 percent
boil-off of the tank's capacity, reducing the mechanical complications and
all the other inherent drawbacks. Even with the highly efficent insulation
finally developed for the S-IV and S-IVB, an LH2 tank topped off at 100
percent capacity before launch needed constant replenishment, since the
boil-off required compensation at rates up to 1 100 liters (300 gallons) per
minute.
Even with the tank finally filled, the design team foresaw addi-
tional problems with external insulation. If it became damaged and the
metal underneath was exposed, that extremely cold area would tend to
pull air into the damaged section. The air would liquefy and freeze,
making a larger cryogenic surface, which would attract even more air,
liquefaction, and icing. The whole process threatened to create an
unacceptable situation of thermal losses around the damaged area,
thermal instability, and a hazardous problem during ground operations.
The repeated fill-and-drain operations associated with testing and
boil-off conditions raised the requirements not only for insulation
materials, but also for adhesives. When Douglas began its catalog of
materials and alternative modes of installation, no satisfactory adhesives
could be found to bond external insulation to the outside walls of a tank
filled with cryogenic fuel. On the inside, however, where the fuel made
contact with insulation and not metal, the insulation created a warmer
bond line where it touched the interior wall surface. In this more
congenial environment, available adhesives would work. Even the plans
for the test-firing operations of the S-IV program presented special
problems to be solved. Because of the S-IV's volume of LH2 fuels, a new
system had to be devised to store large quantities of liquid hydrogen for
repeated test firings and to transfer it to the stages set up in the test
stand.34
The process of frequently repeated testing and acceptance checks, as
well as final loading prior to launch, encouraged Douglas engineers to
shift toward internal insulation as a means of minimizing potential
damage to the insulation from normal external handling. For example,
external insulation seemed susceptible to degradation during the han-
174
FROM THE S-IV TO THE S-IVB
dling and transportation of the vehicle through the test and checkout
phase, to say nothing of the degradation and cracking to be expected
from atmospheric exposure as the rocket stage moved through these
procedures and into the long transportation phase from California to the
Cape for launch. Testing programs indicated that interior mounting
yielded extra margins of reliability even if an accidental break in the
insulation materials occurred. The cryogenic liquid coming into contact
with the warmer tank wall became gaseous, and itself acted as insulation
against further contact, thus reducing the thermodynamic loss.35 After
weighing the alternatives, internal insulation was confidently chosen for
the S-IV stage.
LH2 TANK INSULATION: MATERIALS
Meanwhile, the search for an effective insulation material contin-
ued. At one point, balsa wood was a leading candidate. Balsa had all the
primary characteristics for good insulation: lightness, ease of shaping,
and insulative capacity. But there was a question of adequate supply of
the right kind of balsa. Each S-IV liquid hydrogen tank was 5.5 meters in
diameter and 10 meters long. S-IVB tanks were 6.7 meters in diameter
and 12.2 mete^ long. Obviously, a considerable amount of balsa would
be required during production, and no one was completely sure that
current stocks of balsa would suffice. A special task force analyzed the
available data and reluctantly reported that the combined harvests of the
balsa forests all over South America fell short. Even as the data were
being analyzed, balsa was losing its allure. Lab testing revealed internal
wood flaws and other deficiencies that made it less and less desirable as
insulation. Still, the balsalike qualities of lightness, insulative characteris-
tics, and ease of shaping were goals of the Douglas engineers in their
quest for the perfect material, available in quantity. As Ted Smith put it,
"We set out to manufacture synthetic balsa."3
After conducting tests of a number of potential materials, Douglas
technicians finally devised their own insulation. To form workable
masses of insulation material, they contrived a three-dimensional matrix
of fiberglass threads, woven onto a boxlike form reminiscent of a child's
weaving frame — top to bottom as well as back and forth. After it was
strung, the matrix frame was placed in a mold, and polyurethane foam
was poured in and cured. The result was a reinforced foam block, 30
centimeters square and 20 centimeters deep, which could be sawed into a
pile of flat plaques, then machined to the required convex and concave
contours appropriate for the interior of the S-IV liquid hydrogen tank.
The recessed waffle pattern construction of the tank's interior required
special attention in shaping each tile to fit. Using a machine tool with
custom fixtures and cutters, operators recessed edges and cut steps on
775
STAGES TO SATURN
each tile. The tiles then slipped into the appropriate indentation in the
waffle pattern and still covered the notched step cut of each adjoining tile
for a smooth surface. The waffle pattern included some variations in
design, requiring each of the 4300 tiles to be numbered and individually
shaped to its unique position inside the tank.37 In cutting the tiles,
Douglas discovered a true case of serendipity — the saw cuts left small
ends of the fiberglass threads sticking out around the edges, which
served admirably to engage the adhesive as each tile was installed.38
An insulation facility provided an environmentally controlled work
area during the installation process. Technicians with protective gloves
and shoe covers entered the tank through an opening in the forward
section, then began laying tile in the aft area near the common bulkhead,
working their way back to the entry point. The numbered tiles, attached
to a conveyor belt, were coated with adhesive by an automatic applicator
set up in an adjoining room, then traveled via the conveyor into the tank
to be affixed "by the numbers."
During this procedure, the installation facility's environmental con-
trol equipment maintained the tank's interior temperature at 13°C to
18°C (55°F to 65°F) to extend the adhesive's effective life. Once a
section had been completely tiled, workers applied a special fiberglass
cloth liner, then retired while a vacuum bag pressed the tile further into
the waffle recesses and the tank temperature rose to 43°C (1 10°F) to set
the adhesive. Machinery then rolled the tank around its axis to a new
position, and another installation cycle began. Final steps in the operation
included application of a fiberglass cloth (impregnated with resin) as a
sealant over the insulation tiles, another curing period, and a concluding
cure cycle at 71°C (160°F) for 24 hours. Using mounts that remained
exposed above the insulation, fitters completed installation of valves,
helium bottles, and other hardware before a last cleaning cycle in the
degreasing tower. After the sensitive fuel-level probes were inserted,
technicians sealed off the fuel tank at the top with a big, circular piece of
tank skin aptly called the "dollar hatch."39
Throughout the Saturn program, an observer could count on the
recurrence of a familiar refrain — use as much existing technology as
possible — as design studies for a new stage or phase of the program
began. When internal insulation was first developed for the S-IV, it was
designed for a flight duration of no more than 10 minutes. With the
acceptance of the LOR mode for the manned Apollo mission, the S-IVB,
as the third stage, had a planned flight time of up to 4.5 hours, with
enough LH2 propellant for the second burn for translunar injection.
This fact presented an obvious question: could an insulation technique
for a 10-minute mission serve as well for a mission lasting 4.5 hours?
Would designers and engineers have to repeat the process of selection
and fabrication of a new insulation material? Fortunately, engineers and
technicians found that the LH2 insulation as originally developed for the
176
FROM THE S-IV TO THE S-IVB
S-IV could be easily adapted to the S-IVB. The LH2 tanks of the S-IVB
were designed large enough to compensate for the anticipated boil-off
losses in flight, and only minor changes were required in fabricating
internal insulation for the newer third stage.40
OPERATION: THE S-IVB PROPULSION SYSTEM
Many of the systems required for effective stage operation of the
S-IVB were similar to the more conventional LOX-RP-1 operations. The
introduction of liquid hydrogen necessitated some new techniques,
however, and the differences in upper stages introduced additional
design variations. The ubiquitous S-IVB upper stage, sharing the J-2
powerplant with the S-II stage, exemplified the nature of stage systems
required for Saturn vehicle missions, particularly the Saturn V. Saturn
V's S-IVB included six basic systems: propulsion, flight control, electrical
power, instrumentation and telemetry, environmental control, and ord-
nance.
Effective operation of the J-2 engine depended on the ability of
S-IVB to manage the supply of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen on
board. The propulsion system included not only the J-2 engine but also
the propellant supply system, a pneumatic control system, and a propel-
lant utilization system (PU system). The LOX propellant tank could take
72 700 liters (20 000 gallons) of liquid oxygen, loaded after a preliminary
purge and prechill cycle. For launch, the tank was filled in four separate
phases, calculated to accommodate the interaction of cryogenic propel-
lants with the tank walls and associated equipment. The slow fill
sequence, at 1800 liters per minute (500 gallons per minute), raised the
propellant volume to 5 percent capacity, and the fast fill sequence, at
3600 liters per minute (1000 gallons per minute), continued to 98
percent of the tank's capacity. The tank was topped off at 0 to 1 100 liters
per minute (0 to 300 gallons per minute) and replenished as required at 0
to 1 10 liters per minute (0 to 30 gallons per minute) until launch. A single
fill-and-drain line could fulfill all requirements and disconnect automati-
cally at the time of launch. The fuel tank of the S-IVB carried 229 000
liters (63 000 gallons) of liquid hydrogen. Like the LOX tank, the LH2
tank required purge, chilldown, and fill in four stages: slow fill, fast fill,
slow fill to capacity, and replenish. Its fill and drain connection also
automatically disconnected at liftoff.41
The pressurization of each propellant tank during the boost and
restart phases not only enhanced propellant feed to the engine, but also
helped the stage withstand bending moments and other flight loads.
When Douglas designed the Thor, shortages in helium supply forced the
company to use nitrogen for pressurizing the tanks. However, the appeal
of helium's greater volumetric characteristics when heated, and its later
777
STAGES TO SATURN
availability, led to its use in Saturn upper stages. Before liftoff, both
S-IVB tanks relied on helium pressurization from ground sources;
thereafter, an onboard supply was used. To expand the cold helium
carried in nine storage bottles, the helium was heated either by an engine
heat exchanger, or by a piece of specially designed Douglas equipment,
the O2H2 burner, which drew oxidizer and fuel directly from the vehicle's
LOX and LH2 tanks. For additional pressurization, the liquid hydrogen
tank also used gaseous hydrogen, tapped directly from the J-2 during
steady-state operation. The system for tank pressurization and repres-
surization employed sophisticated techniques and minimum weight.
Particularly notable were the special helium storage bottles, made of
titanium and charged to about 211 kilograms per square centimeter at
-245°C (3000 pounds per square inch at -410°F), and the O2H2
helium heater. The latter was a unique item on the S-IVB; Douglas
personnel remembered that early designs produced a lot of ice and
clogged up. Essentially a simple concept, the heater required a con-
siderable effort to qualify it for the man-rated Saturn.42
The fully loaded LOX tank was kept pressurized with gaseous
helium 2.7—2.9 kilograms per square centimeter adiabatic (38—41
pounds per square inch adiabatic), maintained through launch, boost
phase, and the start of stage-engine operation. The inflight helium
supply came from the nine helium bottles submerged in the liquid
hydrogen tank. During engine operation, a special engine heat exchanger
expanded the helium before it was fed into the LOX tank, maintaining
required pressures. During the orbital coast phase, pressure decayed in
the LOX tank. Because there was no extraneous ground source to supply
helium and because the engine heat exchanger to expand the helium was
not effective until steady-state operation of the engine, an alternative
repressurization source was required. This was the function served by the
O2H2 burner. It was located on the thrust structure and looked very
much like a miniature rocket. It did, in fact, have an adjustable exhaust
nozzle and generated 71 to 89 newtons (16 to 20 pounds) of thrust,
expelled through the stage's center of gravity. To repressurize before the
second burn, the O2H2 burner operated to expand a flow of helium from
the nine helium storage spheres. This repressurized the LOX tank. After
ignition, the engine heat exchanger once more provided the mechanism
for the flow of expanded helium gas.43
For the LH2 tank, initial pressurization came from an external
helium source to stabilize tank pressures at 2.2 — 2.4 kilograms per square
centimeter adiabatic (31-34 pounds per square inch adiabatic). When
this operational level was reached, the boil-off of LH2 inside the tank was
enough to maintain pressure during liftoff and boost, until the J-2 engine
started up. At this point, the fuel propellant pressurization system relied
on gaseous hydrogen bled directly from the engine system. During
orbital coast, the fuel tank pressure was maintained by LH2 boil-off, with
178
S-IVB STAGE
SATURN IB
SATURN V
1. FORWARD SKIRT STRUCTURE
2. P.U. PROBE (HYDROGEN)
3. HYDROGEN TANK
4. ANTI-SLOSH BAFFLE
5. IOX TANK
6. THRUST STRUCTURE
7. J-2 ENGINE
8. ELECTRICAL MODULE PANEL
9. ANTENNA-RANGE SAFETY
10. COLD HELIUM SPHERES
11. TUNNEL
12. LOWER UMBILICAL PANEL
13. AFT INTERSTAGE
14. INSTRUMENTATION PROBE (HYDROGEN)
15. PRESSURIZATION LINE
16. APS MODULE
17. INSTRUMENTATION PROBE (LOX)
18. RETRO ROCKET
19. HYDROGEN FEED LINE
20. HYDROGEN VENT
21. P.U. PROBE (LOX)
22. ULLAGE ROCKET
23. AMBIENT HELIUM SPHERES
24. LOX FEED LINE
25. ENGINE RESTART SPHERE
26. AFT INTERSTAGE STRUCTURE
IVB DIFFERENCES
SATURN IB VS SATURN V
FORWARD SKIRT
SATURN IB 150 IBS LIGHTER - LIGHTER PAYLOAD
AUXILIARY PROPULSION AND
ULLAGE SYSTEM
SATURN IB 40 LBS LIGHTER - ATTITUDE CONTROL
AND VENTING REQUIREMENT LESS ON SATURN IB
THAN ON SATURN V.
-AFT SKIRT
SATURN IB 500 LBS LIGHTER - LIGHTER PAYLOAD
PROPULSION SYSTEM
SATURN IB 1500 LBS LIGHTER - LESS HELIUM STORAGE
REQUIRED. ENGINE WILL NOT BE RESTARTED IN ORBIT.
INTERSTAGE
SATURN IB 1300 LBS LIGHTER - 260 INCH DIAMETER.
SATURN V FLARED FROM 260" DIA. TO 396" DIA.
NOTE
STAGES TO SATURN
a special vent-relief system to avoid overpressures. Additional excess
pressure was used in a continuous "propulsive vent system," which
helped keep the propellants settled toward the bottom of the tank. Like
the LOX tank repressurization sequence, the fuel tank repressurization
sequence for the second burn relied on the O2H2 burner, which
repressurized the LH2 tank simultaneously with the LOX tank. Once the
J-2 engine reached steady-state operation, LH2 pressures reverted back
to gaseous hydrogen bled from the engine.44
The J-2 engine created one unique problem for the S-IVB stage: the
"chilldown" cycle prior to engine start. As part of the propellant system,
the S-IVB stage included the chilldown sequence to induce cryogenic
temperatures in the LOX feed system and J-2 LOX turbopump assembly
before both the first J-2 burn and the restart operation in orbit. This
process enhanced reliable engine operation and avoided the unwelcome
prospect of pump cavitation, which might have caused the engine to run
dangerously rough. On command from the instrument unit, a LOX
bypass valve opened and an electrical centrifugal pump, mounted in the
LOX tank, began to circulate the oxidizer through the feed lines, the
turbopump assembly, and back into the main LOX tank. This chilldown
sequence began before liftoff and continued through to boost phase,
right up to the time of J-2 ignition. The equipment operated again
during orbital coast, anticipating the second burn of the J-2 for the
translunar trajectory, and a concurrent sequence ensured proper chilldown
for the LH2 feed lines and turbopump assembly. The S-II second stage
used a similar operation.45
PROPULSION: PROPELLANT UTILIZATION SUBSYSTEM
With two kinds of propellants aboard a liquid-propelled rocket,
designers wanted both tanks to run dry at the same time so as not to
compromise mission performance. Residual amounts left in either of the
tanks would subtract from the accuracy and stability of a desired
trajectory or orbit. As a mechanism for propellant management, Saturn
liquid hydrogen stages relied on the propellant utilization system. Developed
for the S-IV, the PU system was used in both versions of the S-IVB, as
well as the S-II second stage. Its primary function was simple: "to assure
simultaneous depletion of propellants by controlling the LOX flow rate
of the J-2 engine." With a PU probe located in both the LOX and LH2
tanks during propellant loading operations, the system also provided
information about the propellant mass accumulating aboard the stage.
Prior to the development of the S-IV, ballistic missiles that used
kerosene and LOX propellants incorporated an "open loop" propellant
utilization. PU rates were analytically determined on the basis of the
powerplant, payload, and mission profile and were confirmed after many
180
FROM THE S-IV TO THE S-IVB
flight tests. Operational vehicles were then loaded with propellants to
meet calculated goals for varying missions and targets; small errors were
acceptable. This approach was simply not satisfactory for the S-IV. In the
first place, high costs ruled out a long series of test flights to establish an
accurate utilization curve. In the second place, the use of LH2 presented
too many variables in loading operations and during orbital coast
missions. It was estimated that the stage could end up with 1360
kilograms of residual propellants in an open-loop configuration — a
serious weight penalty for an Apollo-Saturn mission. So the S-IV design
team decided on a "closed loop" PU system to regulate the propellants in
flight and thus to ensure the positive depletion of both tanks. The PU
system would continuously sense the amount of propellant in each tank
and regulate the engine mixture ratio to come as close as possible to
simultaneous depletion.
The decision to use a capacitance sensor followed an exhaustive
examination of alternative liquid gauges. Although capacitance gauges
were familiar in industrial and aircraft operations, the S-IV was the first
to use it in the PU system for rocket vehicles. The cryogenic propellants
posed a number of problems that led designers almost inexorably to a
capacitance gauge. Sensors to indicate fluid levels could not take into
account the variations in the tank geometry. Furthermore, standard
sensors simply could not cope with sloshing during flight and "boiling"
effects that constantly altered the liquid-level line. Designers also discarded
the possibility of density sensors at the bottom of the propellant tanks,
because the density of cryogenics was apt to vary from one point to
another inside the same tank. The PU capacitance probe, an original
Douglas design, was intended to overcome these problems through the
use of a "gauging system which measured mass by integrating a fluid
property related to density over the length of the tank." The PU
capacitance probe could literally "read" the dielectric constant of the
propellants in the tanks.
Despite its accuracy, the PU system was primarily used for loading
and monitoring propellants in flight. Operational missions continued to
rely on a highly refined "open loop" technique.46
A computer program suggested a number of PU probe designs, and
a series of tests confirmed the eventual configuration. From the outside,
the probe looked very much like a thick pipe, with length determined by
its location in the LOX or LH2 tanks of the S-IV, S-IVB, or S-II. An outer
aluminum electrode fitted over an inner stainless electrode. The LOX
tank probe was installed through the bottom, and the LH2 probe was
installed through the "manhole" opening at the top. During liftoff and
boost phase, the ullage movement yielded very accurate readings, which
continued through engine operation. In the case of the S-IVB, observers
closely watched the mass reading at engine cutoff, and calculated LH2
boil-off rate during orbital coast. During preignition ullage for the S-IVB
181
STAGES TO SATURN
stage of the Saturn V, monitors got a new reading to confirm their earlier
calculations, preparing for engine start and the translunar trajectory
burn.47
The PU probe reported the propellant mass as a continuous volume
and height relationship in the tank. Because the probe's accuracy was
directly related to the accuracy of the volume in the respective propellant
tank, each tank required individual calibration for each stage. The huge
tanks all exhibited variations as a result of the one-at-a-time fabrication
process, and further variations in dimensions occurred with cryogenic
propellants on board. Technicians, therefore, subjected the propellant
tanks of each stage to a precise water calibration and converted the
results to cryogenic values later.
The last element of the propulsion system consisted of the pneu-
matic control system. Except for pneumatic valves on the J-2 engine, the
S-IVB gaseous helium pneumatic control system operated pneumatic
valves, such as the LOX and LH2 vent relief valves, fill-and-drain valves,
and chilldown valves. The helium supply came from spheres mounted on
the thrust structure.48
OTHER S-IVB SYSTEMS
The flight control system gave the S-IVB stage its attitude control
and thrust vector steering from correction signals originating in the
instrument unit. The vehicle was steered by hydraulic actuator assemblies
that gimbaled the J-2 engine. The hydraulic equipment included both
electric and engine-driven pumps, as well as an auxiliary pump. The
design of the hydraulic actuators owed much to the insistence of
engineers at MSFC. When Douglas began design work on the S-IV
actuators, the company developed a unit that was slim and long, very
similar to the actuators that Douglas had perfected for landing gear in
airplanes. The Huntsville design group, relying on their past experience
with the Redstone and other rockets, argued that thrust levels and
mission environment of the S-IV called for shorter, thicker actuators.
Sure enough, the Douglas actuators developed some unacceptable
instabilities. The company finally subcontracted the work to Moog
Industries, who built the actuators to MSFC specifications.
The actuators played an important role in addition to thrust vector
control. To prevent damage to the engine during liftoff, boost, and stage
separation, the instrument unit commanded the actuators to keep the
engine in the null position and repeated this function prior to the
reignition sequence. For thrust vector control in the pitch and yaw
directions, two actuators gimbaled the engine as required. Roll control
during powered flight was provided by the auxiliary propulsion system
(APS). During orbital and translunar coast periods, this system provided
182
FROM THE S-IV TO THE S-IVB
attitude control in all three axes (roll, pitch, and yaw). During coast,
attitude was controlled by the APS. The two APS modules, mounted
180° apart on the aft skirt assembly, each contained four small engines:
three for roll, pitch, and yaw; and one for ullage control.49
Although the stage was completely programmed for automatic
operation, ground observers monitored its operation from start to finish
via the telemetry and instrumentation system. The stage carried one
transmitter, using two antennas. During staging, some of the data were
lost in transmission, and similar losses occurred during parts of the low
Earth orbit. To acquire as much information as possible during each
mission, the S-IVB carried a digital data acquisition system that recorded
sample data pertaining to stage operation, then played it back when in
range of ground stations. The telemetry and other electrical equipment
was kept from overheating by the environmental control system. The
system used temperature-controlled air in the aft skirt and interstage
during countdown and coolant fluid in the forward skirt, circulated from
equipment during countdown and flight. Before liftoff, the environmen-
tal control system also purged the aft skirt and interstage and the forward
skirt with gaseous nitrogen, which cleared them of combustible gases
accumulated during propellant loading and storage. Before liftoff, the
S-IVB systems used external power. In flight, the stage relied on a clutch
of silver-oxide-and-zinc batteries. Two 28-volt DC batteries were located
in the forward skirt. The aft skirt carried one 28-volt DC battery and one
56-volt DC battery, as well as the auxiliary hydraulic pump. The S-IVB
ordnance system included the mechanism for stage separation, ignition
of the retrorockets mounted on the interstage, operation of the ullage
engines, and range safety devices to destroy the stage in flight if
necessary.50
A RATIONALE FOR GROUND TESTS
No Saturn launch vehicle was ever lost during a flight mission. The
phenomenal success of the Saturn program probably owed most to two
basic philosophies: (1) the stringent reliability and quality assurance
programs during manufacture, and (2) exhaustive ground testing. Emil
Hellebrand, of MSFC's Science and Engineering Laboratory, stressed the
significance and economy of comprehensive testing at a meeting of the
NASA Science and Technology Advisory Committee in Houston in June
1964. At that time, the Saturn I had completed six flights, including two
launches with the S-IV second stage and its advanced liquid hydrogen
engines. Aside from a minimum of problems, the 100-percent record of
success vindicated the thoroughness of the drawn-out testing program,
and Hellebrand advocated similar stringent programs for the succeeding
generations of Saturn vehicles. "Money spent on well planned and
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STAGES TO SATURN
properly evaluated ground tests is very worthwhile and is only a tiny
fraction of the money lost in flight failures," he reminded his listeners.51
Each stage required its own testing program, tailored to the mission
objectives and characteristics of the stage itself. Overall, the test phase of
the Saturn program accounted for as much as 50 percent of the total
effort, in terms of allotted man-hours and physical resources. This high
figure reflected the intensity of the effort to reduce the risks inherent in
the manned Apollo-Saturn program. In general, the respective Saturn
stages progressed through three major test phases: ground test, static
firing, and demonstration flight test. In the case of the S-IV and S-IVB,
five different test configurations of the stage verified the manufacturing
sequences as well as the overall design. A "structural test cylinder" was
produced to check the ability of the tankage to take compressive forces of
loading and storing cryogenic propellants. A "facilities stage" allowed
other contractors and MSFC to work out interface problems, as did
mating and launch facilities at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). An "all-
systems stage" permitted tests of the general compatibility of vehicle
equipment, pneumatic control systems, and other features. The "dynamic
test stage" afforded engineers the opportunity to determine vibration
characteristics during the launch and mission trajectory. The static-test-
firing stage, or "battleship" stage constructed of heavy gauge stainless
steel, allowed earliest possible test firing to verify major components of
the propulsion systems and engines and to identify design changes
required to improve performance and reliability. Because these various
test items were more often than not undergoing simultaneous test and
evaluation, MSFC and the contractors had to work carefully to ensure
integration of design changes before committing themselves to produc-
tion of the flight-stage configuration.
The earlier battleship phase allowed propulsion tests to run
independently of the schedule for flight-weight structures, and gave
engineers the chance to begin tests of the propulsion systems as much as
9 to 12 months earlier than anticipated. The steel sinews of the battleship
articles also yielded a strength factor and safety margins that allowed
installation of some components before their rigorous qualification. For
the second phase of static firing, engineers introduced actual flight
hardware — the "all systems" test.52
These static tests for Douglas stages took place at the company's own
Sacramento Test Operations (SACTO). The company made significant
progress in automated checkout and countdown (see chapter 13), and in
the handling and storage of the quantities of cryogenics required for
S-IV and IVB tests. One of the ticklish problems of working with large
rocket stages filled with liquid hydrogen concerned the danger of
hydrogen leaks. As one authority on rocket fuel wrote, "All sorts of
precautions have to be taken to make sure that oxygen doesn't get into
184
FROM THE S-IV TO THE S-IVB
the stuff, freeze, and produce a murderously touchy explosive." There
was an added, perverse character about leaks that produced hydrogen
fires — in daylight, the flame was invisible. It was possible to inadvertently
blunder into the searing flame. As Harold Felix, who managed SACTO
operations in the late 1960s, put it, "You don't want to go into a
countdown of firing if you got leaks. It is a good way to blow up stages."
But how to detect an invisible fire? Douglas used infrared TV cameras,
but they still did not provide visibility at every angle. Just to make certain,
SACTO had a special examination crew, outfitted with protective cloth-
ing and equipped with brooms. The men "walked down" the stage, from
the top scaffolding to the bottom, extending their brooms ahead of them.
If the broom suddently sprouted into flame, the men knew they had
discovered a hydrogen leak. Still, accidents could happen, even when
extra precaution was taken.53
Because the SA-5 launch, scheduled in January 1964, was intended
to use both the S-I and S-IV stages live, the S-IV all-systems vehicle was
given extra scrutiny and analysis. In a countdown for the test firing of an
S-IV all-systems vehicle at SACTO on 24 January 1964, the vehicle
exploded and burned. Once before, large quantities of LOX-LH2 propel-
lants had exploded, but that had been at several thousand meters during
the first Centaur launch, and the incident had not lent itself to close
observation and evaluation. So the incident at SACTO was carefully
scrutinized. W. R. Lucas and J. B. Gayle, both of MSFC, headed the
investigating team of 1 1 members from Douglas and NASA. They traced
the cause to an overpressurized LOX tank. At the time of the accident,
tape records showed the pressure to be considerably above the design
limits of the S-IV tank. Watching films taken during the test sequence,
the investigators spotted a rupture in the peripheral area of the common
bulkhead, and the nearly instantaneous flash of the explosion. The LH2
tank in all probability was ruptured within milliseconds of the LOX tank
break. Previously, engineers had possessed no real data on the TNT
equivalent of LOX-LH2 explosions. The examination by the Lucas and
Gayle team had special significance for its acquisition of hard data, useful
in future design of test sites and installations for maximum safety.54
In spite of the test accident, NASA officials decided to go ahead with
the launch of SA-5 on 29 January 1964. Because the recent S-IV test
stage explosion was caused by inadvertent overpressure of the LOX tank,
mission planners conjectured that the SA-5 launch could reasonably
proceed, with special attention to LOX tank pressures during countdown
at Cape Kennedy. The launch and subsequent Saturn I launches were
successful.
As the Saturn IB and S-IVB also got under way, Douglas began
fabrication of the first flight version in September 1964. In addition to
changes in some of the electronics systems, the basic evolution of the
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STAGES TO SATURN
S-IVB from the second stage of the Saturn IB to the third stage of the
Saturn V involved interface requirements with the larger diameter of the
Saturn V second stage and the controls to ensure the restart of the J-2
engine for the translunar trajectory burn. The S-IVB third stage profited
heavily from S-IVB second-stage battleship tests. The tests went well—
with one catastrophic exception. Just as the S-IV test program experi-
enced the loss of a complete stage, the S-IVB test program also lost a
stage. This time it was a flight stage, S-IVB-503.
With the S-IVB-503 in position at Test Stand Beta III at SACTO,
the Saturn V's third stage was scheduled for acceptance testing on 20
January 1967. The terminal countdown went perfectly, but about 150
seconds into the simulated mission, and prior to stage ignition, the stage
countdown was aborted because of a faulty computer tape mechanism.
The Douglas crew successfully corrected the computer difficulty, recycled
the test, and began again. With the terminal countdown once more
unwinding, all systems reported normal. Eleven seconds before the
simulated liftoff occurred, however, the stage abruptly exploded in a
fiery blast of smoke and debris. Most of the stage was blown completely
out and away from the test stand, with only jagged shards of metal left
hanging. Adjacent service structures lost roofs and windows, and the
nearby Beta II stand was so severely damaged that it was shut down.
Within three days of the incident, another special investigation team
convened at SACTO to analyze the probable cause.
The group finally traced the source of the explosion to one of the
eight ambient-temperature helium storage spheres located on the thrust
structure of the J-2 engine. The exploding sphere ruptured the propel-
lant fill lines, allowing liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to mix and
ignite, setting off an explosion that wrecked the stage. Further analysis
showed that the sphere had been welded with pure titanium weld
material, rather than the alloy material specified. The helium sphere and
the weld seam had been previously tested to withstand extremely high
overpressures, but repeated tests on the sphere prior to the acceptance
firing sequence had created the weakness that ultimately resulted in
disintegration of the sphere and destruction of the stage. With this
information in hand, Douglas and NASA personnel agreed on revised
welding specifications and quality control for the helium spheres. Replace-
ment spheres were built in-house at Douglas from then on.55
The loss of S-IVB-503 illustrated the ever-present probability of
human error. More stringent procedures on the production line could
help avert such problems, and NASA planners also hoped to achieve
high reliability in launch operations through the use of fully automated
checkout, countdown, and launch. With the introduction of automated
checkout, at least the final moments before launch were completely
insulated from human foibles. Developed in parallel with the production
of the first flight stages of the S-IVB, automatic checkout was inaugu-
186
FROM THE S-IV TO THE S-IVB
rated with the full-duration acceptance test firing of the S-IVB flight
stage for launch vehicle AS-201 (the two-stage Saturn IB). At SACTO on
8 August 1965, a Douglas news release announced the milestone: "The
full-duration acceptance test firing of the first S-IVB flight stage marked
the first time that a fully automatic system was used to perform the
complete checkout, propellant loading and static firing of a space
vehicle." The burn of the S-IVB-201 stage lasted 452 seconds, and the
automatic checkout equipment not only manipulated the static firing but
also performed all the intricate operations for initial checkout of the
stage at Huntington Beach, as well as the postfiring checkout at SACTO.56
The static test of S-IVB-201 was a test of men as well as machines. All the
Douglas personnel were keenly anxious to have a successful demonstra-
tion of both the flight stage and the checkout equipment, and the end of
the test uncapped many weeks of keyed-up emotions. A group of gleeful
technicians began tossing their cohorts into the waters of a nearby pond
and, in an exuberant finale, included a waitress from one of the
cafeterias, along with an unsuspecting sales representative who happened
to be visiting the SACTO facility.57
Above, a new S-IVB stage rolls out of
the production facility, on its way to
firing test. The white sphere is the
combination helium-hydrogen start tank
for the J-2 engine; the other tanks
contain heliumforpressurization. Right,
an S-IVB stage is hoisted into the Beta
test stand in Sacramento for the accept-
ance firing test.
STAGES TO SATURN
The static tests were by far the most dramatic element of the Saturn
V test program. They were also some of the most expensive. The cost of
static firing the S-IVB alone came to $3.2 million for each stage. Keeping
a close watch on the funding from his vantage point in Washington,
Apollo Program Director, Major General Sam Phillips, questioned MSFC
about continuing this expensive practice. In his reply, Brigadier General
Edmund F. O'Connor, Marshall's Director of Industrial Operations,
reminded Phillips that the incentive and performance clauses in existing
contracts with stage manufacturers would be so expensive to renegotiate
and rewrite that early savings simply would not accrue if the static-firing
requirement was ended. Also, cryogenic calibration occurred during the
static test operations, and these expensive calibration operations, using a
full load of cryogenic propellants, would have to be done in any case.
O'Connor pointed out that static tests and postfire checkout frequently
exposed shortcomings that might have caused the loss of the mission.
Even during propellant loading, problems cropped up. Elimination of
static firing would mean that vehicle hardware got its first exposure to
full cryogenic loads while the vehicle sat on the pad, only hours away
from ignition and liftoff — not a propitious time to discover a leaky hose
or faulty valve. O'Connor won his point. For the time being, static firing
continued.58
SUMMARY: CENTAUR, S-IV, AND S-IVB
In the evolution of the hydrogen-fueled S-IV and S-IVB, Douglas
drafted its designs against the mission profile and general requirements
established by the Marshall Space Flight Center. Douglas engineers were
not always happy with the close technical monitoring from Huntsville, a
strong characteristic of the Marshall team. Differences were inevitable,
given the pride and confidence of personnel on both the contractor's side
and the customer's side. In retrospect, Douglas personnel emphasized
their role in pushing ahead in many technical areas, apart from contribu-
tions by their counterparts in MSFC's well-equipped laboratories. Douglas
people also emphasized their independence from Convair in the devel-
opment and production of liquid-hydrogen-fueled upper stages, though
Douglas did learn from Convair's experience. Contractor research car-
ried out under the aegis of NASA was not proprietary; under NASA
cognizance, Douglas and Convair held a number of technical discus-
sions. The resident MSFC representative at Douglas, O. S. Tyson,
accompanied Douglas personnel during such exchanges, including excur-
sions to static-firing test sites.59
Because both the Centaur and the S-IV carried the same RL-10
engine, a strong tendency to follow Centaur's general design concepts
persisted. Earl Wilson, one of the design engineers at Douglas, said that
188
FROM THE S-IV TO THE S-IVB
he had to fight hard to keep the Douglas S-IV from looking like another
Centaur. Nevertheless, Wilson affirmed the cooperation of Convair and
especially appreciated the collaboration of Pratt & Whitney technical
representatives in establishing the different RL-10 format for the S-IV
stage.60
Ted Smith, another leading Douglas engineer, was less willing to
acknowledge a debt to Centaur. Douglas gained no substantial design
factors from Convair, he explained, primarily because the S-IV stage was
a much larger and more complex rocket system. The Centaur was closer
to the missile experience of its creator, Convair, and also to its immediate
predecessor, the Atlas. Atlas and Centaur parallels were evident in the
thin-skinned, pressurized-tank concept, as well as the basic philosophy of
the design of the common bulkhead in each. At Douglas, the S-IV design
absorbed the propellants, engine system, and even the common bulkhead
concept, but the Centaur and S-IV structures had marked differences.
The S-IV was much more akin to Douglas's earlier experience with the
Thor vehicle in terms of structural design materials and fabrication of
the tankage. Moreover, the Centaur was a comparatively small vehicle.
The S-IV was rather large, for its time, and the tankage concept was
extrapolated from the Thor development.61 Even though the Centaur
also featured a common bulkhead separating LH2 and LOX within the
same tankage structure, Hal Bauer noted the different S-IV honeycomb
design. This feature relied on prior Douglas applications in aircraft wing
panels and some phases of earlier missile design, although the extent of
the honeycomb installation in a concave form was unique for its time,
Bauer pointed out.
The size of the original S-IV was significant but largely overshadowed
in light of subsequent evolution of the Saturn V stages, the S-IC and the
S-II. It should be remembered that the Saturn I and Saturn IB, with the
S-I and S-IB first stages respectively, relied on the somewhat makeshift
design approach of clustered tanks to supply the requisite volume of
propellant. The S-IV tankage was unique. Nothing that size had previously
been attempted for any American rocket, and the liquid hydrogen fuel
created unique design challenges. In many respects, then, the S-IV
emerged as the first really definitive rocket stage of the Saturn program.
It did not begin with a feasiblity study; it was not a case of joining together
existing tankage components and proven engines. The S-IV evolved as a
result of requirements established by a comparatively elaborate mission
profile, an untried engine design and exotic propellant combination, and
unusual size. Its success, so early in the program, was a notable achieve-
ment of the manned space program and a credit to NASA, MSFC, Pratt
& Whitney, and Douglas Aircraft Company.
The special significance of the S-IV extended very quickly into the
heart of the Apollo program. As noted earlier, the upper stage of the
Saturn V played the final, truly critical role of the Saturn vehicle's job:
189
STAGES TO SATURN
Earth orbit of the vital payload; then, a second burn for the translunar
trajectory. This was the role of the eventual Saturn V third stage, the
S-IVB, whose technology sprang from the recent technological past.
"Just as Thor technology led us to the S-IV," Hal Bauer wrote, "the S-IV
led to the S-IVB." The technological knowledge and development
experience came from the half-dozen S-IV stages of the Saturn I
program. The S-IV and S-IVB possessed the same basic design funda-
mentals, including internal insulation, the forward and aft domes, and
the common bulkhead. S-IVB manager, Roy Godfrey, also underscored
the experience with the S-IV that established high NASA confidence in
its successor. "Of prime importance has been the opportunity to observe
and analyze the performance of the S-IV stage," Godfrey stated, "which
formed the foundation upon which the S-IVB detailed design was built."
,, In comparing the S-IV to the S-IVB, there was a strong consensus
among those who worked on both that the 'more advanced' S-IVB was,
nevertheless, simpler. The earlier upper stage, with its cluster of six
engines, created more design tangles than the single-engine S-IVB, even
though the latter had to have the capability to restart in space. Some of
the instrumentation for the S-IVB was more sophisticated, but aside
from the engine, there were no major differences between the two. The
electronics, including the circuitry and design for the propellant utiliza-
tion probe, for example, passed easily from the S-IV to the S-IVB.62
This fortunate evolutionary advantage was not the case in other
Saturn V stages. The S-IC first stage and the S-II second stage shared a
common diameter, but there the resemblance stopped. They were built
by different contractors, used different propellant systems, and had
different mission requirements and development histories.
190
The Lower Stages: S-IC and S-II
The lower stages for the Saturn I and Saturn IB, designed and built
for Earth-orbital operations, traced their ancestry back to the Juno V.
Saturn I and IB technology was characterized by the "bargain basement"
approach — off-the-shelf tankage, and available engines. Saturn V, a
vehicle designed for lunar voyages, required new engineering concepts.
Designers for the S-IC and S-II stages tried to follow NASA's general
guidelines to use proven technology in the big new boosters, avoiding
problems and delays. Nonetheless, problems abounded.
In the first place, there was the problem of proportions. The S-IC
and S-II both were sized to a 10-meter diameter. In the fabrication of
booster tankage, new tooling of unique size and capabilities had to be
built, and fabrication of the tank cylinders and domes required circum-
ferential welds and meridian welds of unprecedented length. For manned
flights, the welds also had to pass stringent inspection to "man-rate" the
Saturn V vehicle. The difficulties faced by welding engineers and
technicians were formidable. In terms of the nearly perfect welds
required for the man-rated stages, weld passes of several dozen centi-
meters were considered possible (though highly difficult) within the state
of the art; now, requirements for the S-IC and S-II demanded nearly
perfect welds of several dozen meters. The task became a maddening
cycle of "cut-and-try" operations. The long welding runs generated
unmanageable distortions in large-circumference cylinders. Additional
difficulties included coping with the varying thickness of pieces being
joined by the welding pass; quality requirements for the integrity of
welded seams and alignments of the components created still more
revisions to operational manuals. Experienced welders had to be taught
the new techniques through on-the-job instructional classes conducted
on-site by the contractor.
797
STAGES TO SATURN
The problem of size confronted both major contractors for the
Saturn V lower booster stages, Boeing being contracted for the S-IC, and
North American* for the S-II. Although the S-II contract preceded that
of the S-IC, the Boeing effort got off to a faster start largely because of
the unusual role played by the Marshall Space Flight Center in the early
stages of design and fabrication, and the availability of existing facilities
at MSFC's Huntsville complex and at Michoud. The S-II encountered
more than its share of problems, for a variety of reasons. Use of LH2
propellants in a stage of this size was unique. There were insulation
problems, materials and fabrication problems, and, in the opinion of
MSFC, management problems. The difficulties were overcome, but not
without casualties.
THE S-IC AND THE HUNTSVILLE CONNECTION
When the contract to build the biggest stage of the Saturn V, the
S-IC first stage, was awarded to Boeing on 15 December 1961, general
outlines of the first-stage booster were already fairly well delineated. The
main configuration of the S-IC had already been established by MSFC,
including the decision to use RP-1, as opposed to the LH2 fuel used in
the upper stages. Although LH2 promised greater power, some quick
figuring indicated that it would not work for the first stage booster.
Liquid hydrogen was only one half as dense as kerosene. This density
ratio indicated that, for the necessary propellant, an LH2 tank design
would require a far larger tank volume than required for RP- 1 . The size
would create unacceptable penalties in tank weight and aerodynamic
design. So, RP-1 became the fuel. In addition, because both the fuel and
oxidant were relatively dense, engineers chose a separate, rather than
integral, container configuration with a common bulkhead. The leading
issue prior to the contract awards related to the number of engines the
first stage would mount.1
The C-5 configuration, late in 1960, was generally portrayed as a
rocket with four F-l engines in the first stage. Not everyone was happy
with this approach, particularly Milton Rosen at NASA, recently tagged
by Brainerd Holmes as the new Director of Launch Vehicles and
Propulsion in the Office of Manned Space Flight. At the direction of
Holmes, Rosen organized a special committee to hammer out conclusions
and configurations on launch vehicles (see chapter 3). The group moved
into a block of motel rooms in Huntsville for an intensive two-week stint,
including, as Rosen recalled, one marathon stretch of five days of almost
*North American Aviation merged with Rockwell Standard in 1967, becoming North American
Rockwell (NAR), and later, Rockwell International. For convenience, the term North American is
used in the narrative.
192
THE LOWER STAGES: S-IC AND S-II
around-the-clock negotiating. Among other things, the committee's
report, delivered to Holmes on 20 March 1961, recommended five, not
four, engines in the first stage.
Rosen apparently took the lead in pressing for the fifth engine,
consistent with his obstinate push for a "big rocket." The MSFC contin-
gent during the meetings included William Mrazek, Hans Maus, and
James Bramlet. Rosen argued long and hard with Mrazek, until Mrazek
bought the idea, carried the argument to his colleagues, and together
they ultimately swayed von Braun. Adding the extra power plant really
did not call for extensive design changes; this was Rosen's most con-
vincing argument. Marshall engineers had drawn up the first stage to
mount the original four engines at the ends of two heavy crossbeams at
the base of the rocket. The innate conservatism of the von Braun design
team was fortunate here, because the crossbeams were much heavier
than required. Their inherent strength meant no real problems in
mounting the fifth powerplant at the junction of the crossbeams, and
the Saturn thus gained the added thrust to handle the increasingly
heavy payloads of the later Apollo missions. "Conservative design,"
Rosen declared, "saved Apollo."2
At second glance, MSFC people themselves found no good reason
not to add the extra engine, especially with the payload creeping upward
all the time. "I had an awfully uneasy feeling, you know," von Braun
remembered; "every time we talked to the Houston people, the damn
LEM [lunar excursion module] had gotten heavier again." The added
F-l also relieved some of the concern about accumulating exhaust gases,
with explosive potential, in the large space between the original four
engines, and helped solve a base-heating problem in much the same way.
The physical presence and exhaust plume of engine number five filled
the void and directed gases and heat away from the base of the first stage.
At a Management Council Meeting on 21 December 1961, NASA
formalized the five-engine configuration for the S-IC.3
In the past the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) had performed
its own preliminary design work — and even fabrication — on the first
stage of launch vehicles. At Marshall the designers approached the S-IC
somewhat differently. They enlisted Boeing's cooperation at a much
earlier stage of the game, giving increased responsibility to the contrac-
tor. After signing the contract in December 1961, Boeing engineers
worked "elbow-to-elbow" with MSFC in finalizing details of the big first
stage. It was a mutually beneficial environment. With so many other irons
in the fire, Marshall did not have the manpower to lavish on the S-IC,
and Boeing got the chance to influence the outlines of the booster it
would be building later. By the summer of 1962, Boeing had almost 500
engineers and technicians working on site at MSFC, and another 600
installed in a sprawling, hastily reconditioned cotton mill in downtown
Huntsville known as the "HIC Building" (for Huntsville Industrial
193
STAGES TO SATURN
Center). Boeing's Huntsville operations concentrated on final hardware
design and continuing liaison with MSFC.
Boeing also had about 450 people at Michoud, preparing for
manufacturing operations. Michoud was also the management focal
point for the S-IC, with the Saturn Booster Branch, under George H.
Stoner, located there. From Michoud, Stoner presided over several
far-flung elements. In Seattle, the company's home office, Boeing
personnel carried out engineering and research support for Saturn, such
as wind tunnel studies and other specialized engineering data. At Boeing's
Wichita plant, the heavy tooling for Michoud was prepared, and
subassemblies used in making up the tankage and other components of
the booster were fabricated.
Michoud itself operated under Richard H. Nelson, with four sec-
tions for operations, quality and reliability assurance, engineering, and
booster test. Engineering and manufacturing procedures were also laid
out and coordinated with MSFC, covering a multitude of items, ranging
from accidents, to test procedures, to the controlled use of precious
metals, to "unplanned event reports." MSFC received many volumes of
company reports, formal and informal, regarding the progress and
problems of both the S-IC stage and the Michoud operations. Annual
progress reports to the Marshall center summed up company activities.
Topics included road construction; lighting in conference rooms; electri-
cal troubles in the S-IC lifting derricks; and changes in stage design, test
stands, and production. The company also reported on its special
training programs for new employees in some of the esoteric arts of
welding large space vehicles, radiographic inspection, and several varied
courses in a number of specialized skills for production of booster
rockets.4
This unusually intertwined work between government and contrac-
tor prompted Stoner at one point to ask von Braun, somewhat plaintive-
ly, why pick on Boeing? Why not allow the company to forge ahead on its
own, like Douglas and North American? MSFC stemmed from the
Redstone Arsenal, and MSFC managers intended to maintain an in-
house capability. As von Braun once explained, contractors might
present beautifully turned out pieces of sample hardware, expounding
the virtues of exotic lightweight alloys and advanced welding technology.
MSFC remained skeptical. Highly finished work on small samples was
one thing. What about welding very large, oversized segments together
where alignment and integrity of weld were very tricky to achieve? MSFC
wanted to maintain its expertise, to make sure that alloys and welds
would really work before the manufacturer began production. In this
respect, Matt Urlaub, MSFC's manager for the S-I stage, suggested
additional reasons for staying close to Boeing. All of Marshall's stage
contracts went to companies accustomed to working under Air Force
jurisdiction, a situation that gave the companies considerable latitude in
194
THE LOWER STAGES: S-IC AND S-II
technical design, fabrication and manufacturing procedures, and day-to-day
operations. These companies were also principally airframe manufactur-
ers. Marshall felt, however, that it had great competence in R&D,
building prototypes, and technical management in rocketry. Therefore,
Marshall should exert considerable influence in its areas of expertise
early in the game, then let the contractors handle the production
aspects. Douglas (with the S-IV/IVB contract) and North American (the
S-II contract) were to manufacture their respective stages on the West
Coast, but Boeing was to manufacture the S-IC stage at Michoud — in
Marshall's backyard, so to speak. So Boeing got an unusually close
overview, and MSFC also got experience in how to handle its other
contractors with Air Force experience.
Stoner later admitted that the close alliance with MSFC at the start
had been extremely fruitful, working out problems before they arose,
avoiding approaches that might have resulted in dead ends, and capitaliz-
ing on MSFC's engineering style and experience — especially welding
technology — to avoid production difficulties and cost overruns. From his
vantage point at NASA Headquarters, Milton Rosen accurately gauged
the impact of MSFC on Boeing. All the expertise behind the V-2,
Redstone, Jupiter, and Saturn I went into the S-IC stage, he noted. Any
mistakes would have had to be Marshall's — and there were not many.
"With Boeing, all the power of Marshall's engineering and experience
went into that (S-IC) rocket," Rosen said.5
TOOLS AND TANKAGE
Consistent with the MSFC insistence on in-house experience and
capability, Marshall built three ground-test stages of the S-IC and the
first two flight models. With the planned S-IC production facilities at
Michoud still being modified, the MSFC production not only gave
Boeing and Marshall people valuable early production experience, but
also offered earlier delivery dates for test and flight stages. Using the
tooling built at Boeing's Wichita facility and later installed at Marshall,
Huntsville produced the S-IC-T, the S-IC-S, and the S-IC-F, and the first
two flight models, the S-IC-1 and -2. The "T-Bird," as it was called, was
built for static test firing; the "S," as a structural test model for load tests
(it had no engines); and the "F," as a facilities test stage (also with no
engines) to send to Cape Kennedy to aid in the checkout of the launch
complex assembly buildings and launch equipment. Manufacture of
these stages started in staggered sequence during 1963. In addition,
MSFC planned to make the first complete fuel tank at Huntsville; this
would be the first item turned out on S-IC tooling. Based on early tests of
the fuel tank, engineers intended to verify the design loads anticipated
for both it and the oxidizer tank. Then production could proceed on all
components.
195
STAGES TO SATURN
As MSFC finished using the initial batch of tooling equipment, it was
sent on to Michoud for Boeing's subsequent use there, so that portions of
several stages were under construction at the same time. Approximately
7 to 9 months were required to fabricate and assemble the tanks, the
longest lead-time items, and about 14 months for the complete assembly
of an S-IC. For its first unit, Boeing built a ground test dynamics model,
the S-IC-D, giving the company production team at Michoud some
experience before starting on its first flyable booster. The S-IC-D was
planned to carry one genuine engine and four simulated engines. After
shipment to Huntsville, the plan was to join this first stage with the S-II
and S-I VB for dynamic tests of the total vehicle "stack" in a test facility at
MSFC. One other test unit was produced at Michoud — a full-sized
dummy model of the S-IC stage, billed as the largest mockup in the
world. Built of metal, wood, fiberglass, etc., the mockup was primarily
used to help fix the sizes and shapes of parts, test the angles of tubes and
lengths, and see where wire bundles would run.
Because Chrysler produced the last Saturn I and Saturn IB first
stages at Michoud, Boeing had to share the facility, but took 60 percent of
the available space for the larger S-IC stage. The girth of the first stage
also dictated removal of some of the overhead trusses and air conditioning
ducts to allow a 12.2-meter clearance for fabrication of the stages. This
left a slim 0.6-meter margin for the S-IC's 1 1.6-meter-diameter assembly
fixture.
In addition, the heavy tooling required for the S-IC necessitated
reinforcement of some parts of the floor. Boeing made another notable
addition to the Michoud facility with the addition of a high bay area for
assembly of S-IC components. In the early stages of talks on S-IC
production, the question of horizontal as opposed to vertical assembly of
the tanks and components came up. The vertical assembly mode was
selected, even though a new high-bay area was required, because
horizontal assembly posed problems in maintaining accuracy of joints in
the heavy, but thin-walled tanks. In vertical assembly, gravity held the
huge parts together, although a 198-metric-ton crane was required to
hoist the parts atop each other, and to lower the completed booster back
to the horizontal for final finishing.6
COMPONENTS: FEW BUT CUMBERSOME
Major components for the S-IC included the thrust structure, fuel
tank, intertank, liquid oxygen tank, and forward skirt.7 As with nearly
every other major segment of the towering Saturn V, these items were
elephantine in their proportions.
The S-IC thrust structure absorbed the punishment of five F-l
engines at full throttle and redistributed the forces into uniform loading
around the base of the rocket. The thrust structure also provided
196
197
STAGES TO SATURN
support for engines and engine accessories, and miscellaneous equip-
ment. There were also four "anchors" helping to hold the vehicle in place
prior to liftoff. These aluminum forgings, some of the largest ever
produced in the United States, were made in one of two presses in the
country capable of 50 000 metric tons of pressure to form the basic
forged billets, 4.3 meters long and 816 kilograms in weight. A tape-
controlled milling machine carved out the multiple cavities, flanges, and
attachment holes, leaving a finished product weighing almost one-third
less. One of the distinctive features of the Saturn launch vehicle was the
presence of four engine fairings and fins at the base of the S-IC and
mounted on the exterior of the thrust structure. The fins added
considerable stability to the vehicle, and were fabricated from titanium to
withstand the 1100°C heat from the engine exhaust. The four conical
engine fairings smoothed the air flow at the base of the rocket and
protected the engines from aerodynamic loads. In addition, each fairing
carried a pair of retrorockets to decelerate the big booster after separa-
tion from the S-II stage; the retrorockets exerted a thrust of about 400 000
newtons (90 000 pounds) during a burn time of less than a second.8
The propellant tanks included special fill and drain points to handle
heavy-duty lines used to fill the big vessels at high rates; up to 7300 liters
(2000 gallons) of RP-1 per minute. If left to its own devices inside the
tank, the RP-1 would have settled into strata of varying temperatures, a
highly undesirable situation, so the S-IC incorporated a fuel conditioning
system to "stir" over 730 000 liters (200 000 gallons) of RP-1 gently by
continuously bubbling gaseous nitrogen through the feed lines and the
fuel tank prior to launch. To ensure proper engine start and operation, a
fuel pressurization system contributed to good pressure at the fuel
turbopump inlets where 10 fuel lines (two per engine) funneled RP-1 to
the engines at 4900 liters (1350 gallons) per second. During the count-
down, pressurization was supplied by a ground source, but during flight,
a helium pressurant was supplied from elongated bottles stored, not on
the fuel tank, but submerged in the liquid oxygen (LOX) tank. In this
medium, the liquid helium in the bottles was in a much more compatible
environment, because the cold temperature of the liquid helium contain-
ers could have frozen the RP-1 fuel. There were additional advantages to
their location in the colder LOX tank. Immersed in liquid oxygen, the
cryogenic effect on the aluminum bottles allowed them to be charged to
higher pressures. They were also lighter, because the cryogenic envi-
ronment permitted manufacture of the helium bottles with one-half the
wall thickness of a noncryogenic bottle. Produced by the Martin Compa-
ny, the four helium bottles, 6 meters long and 56 centimeters in diameter,
were aluminum extensions of unique length. Ducts carried the cooling
helium down through heat exchangers on the F-l engines, then carried
heated, expanded gaseous helium back to the top of the fuel tank for
ullage pressure.9
198
THE LOWER STAGES: S-IC AND S-II
With a capacity of 1 204 000 liters (331 000 gallons), the LOX tank
acquired its payload in stages, with a slow fill of 5500 liters (1500 gallons)
per minute and a faster fill at a torrential rate of 36 000 liters (10 000
gallons) per minute. The special problem of the LOX tank involved the
feed lines leading to the thirsty engines about 15 meters below the fuel
tanks. To do the job, the S-IC used five LOX suction lines, which carried
oxidizer to the engines at 7300 liters (2000 gallons) per second. To
achieve such high rates of flow, the lines could not be bent around the
outside of the fuel tank; therefore, designers ran them right through the
heart of the fuel tank. This in turn caused considerable fabrication
problems, because it meant five extra holes in both the top and bottom of
the fuel tank and presented the difficulty of avoiding frozen fuel around
the super-cold LOX lines. The engineering fix on this included a system
of tunnels, each one enclosing a LOX line, especially designed to carry an
effective blanket of insulating air. Even so, the warmer fuel surrounding
lines created some thermal difficulties in keeping the LOX lines properly
cool. So the S-IC used some of its ground-supplied helium to bubble up
through the LOX lines, and kept the liquid mixed at a sufficiently low
temperature to avoid destructive boiling and geysering, or the creation of
equally destructive cavities in the LOX pumps. To pressurize the tank,
the S-IC tapped a helium ground source prior to launch. In flight, the
LOX tank pressurization system used a system that tapped off some of
the liquid oxygen, ran it through a heat exchanger to make it gaseous
(called, naturally, GOX), and routed it back into the LOX tank.
Because the immense fuel and oxidizer vessels were separate items,
the S-IC required additional pieces of hardware to make an integrated
booster stage: the intertank and forward skirt. The intertank structure
was a full seven meters in height itself, because the large bulges of the
forward fuel tank dome and aft LOX dome extended inside it. There was
a considerable amount of space remaining inside the intertank structure,
which was given over to instrumentation cables, electrical conduit,
telemetry lines, and other miscellany. Unlike the smooth skins of the
propellant tanks, the unpressurized intertank structure required other
means to maintain rigidity and carry the various stresses placed on it
during launch. This requirement explains the distinctive appearance of
both the intertank and the forward skirt, fabricated of 7075 aluminum
alloy with corrugated skin and internal stringers (versus 2219 aluminum
for the tanks). Both structures also included various access doors and
umbilical openings for servicing, inspection, and maintenance prior to
launch. The forward skirt, three meters in height, enclosed the bulge of
the LOX tank's forward bulkhead, and its upper edge constituted the
separation plane between the S-IC and the S-II stages.
While Rocketdyne supplied the five F-l engines, the hydraulic
system, used to actuate the gimbals, was included as part of the S-IC
design. The hydraulic system featured a somewhat unconventional but
199
STAGES TO SATURN
convenient approach, using RP-1 fuel as the actuating fluid. Although
not unique, this use was not common practice in rocket engines. RP-1
fuel admittedly displayed certain drawbacks as a hydraulic fluid: it was
less viscous, more corrosive, a poor lubricant, presented contamination
problems, and posed a safety hazard with its relatively low flash point.
Still, the use of RP-1 was appealing because it eliminated a separate
hydraulic system. The RP-1 was taken directly from the high-pressure
fuel duct, routed to the gimbal system, then back to the engine fuel
system. To compensate for the shortcomings of RP-1 as the fluid, special
care was taken in the design of valves, and a less volatile fluid (from an
external source) was used when testing indoors and during prelaunch
activities.
The S-IC carried a heavy load of instrumentation, particularly in the
first few flights, to record and report information on its components,
temperatures, pressures, and so on, totaling about 900 separate mea-
surements. Much of the success of this complex web of instrumentation
rested on the stage's transmitters and Boeing's achievement of some
significant advances in the state of the art. A company team redesigned
and rebuilt a 20-watt transmitter with solid-state components, rather than
vacuum tubes. Relying on integrated circuits, such units were reduced to
half the size of a pea, doing the same job with higher reliability than older
units the size of a baseball.
The first two flight stages of the S-IC also carried visual instrumen-
tation that yielded some unique and striking images. A pair of TV
cameras covered the fiery environment of engine start and operation.
The cameras were tucked away above the heat shield — safe from the
heat, acoustic shock, and vibration of the open engine area — and the
lenses were connected to serpentine lengths of fiber optic bundles,
focused on the engine area, and were protected by special quartz
windows. Fiber optic bundles also provided a field of vision into the LOX
tank, with a pair of motion picture cameras using colored film to record
behavior of the liquid oxygen in flight. The system offered a means to
check on wave and sloshing motions in the huge tank, as well as the
waterfall effects of LOX cascading off internal tank structures during the
boost phase. Another pair of color motion picture cameras captured the
spectacular moment of separation from the S-II stage. Twenty-five
seconds after separation, the color cameras were ejected in a watertight
capsule, attached to a parachute for recovery downrange in the South
Atlantic.10
FABRICATION AND MANUFACTURE
Although MSFC intended to have the S-IC developed and produced
within the state of the art, the S-IC's mammoth dimensions created
200
THE LOWER STAGES: S-IC AND S-II
difficulties, not only in design, but in manufacturing and testing. In a
speech to an annual meeting of the American Institute of Aeronautics
and Astronautics in 1965, Whitney G. Smith, of Boeing's Launch Systems
Branch, emphasized that "the tremendous size of this vehicle, coupled
with its design complexities, have created many unique and challenging
problems for the aerospace materials engineer." The basic complex
challenge of the S-IC involved the scale of the stage itself in that it not
only stretched the largest available tools to their maximum capacity, but
also required the development of new techniques and facilities. Even old
hands in the aerospace industry became fascinated by the size and scope
of the S-IC stage fabrication and assembly, and magazines like Aviation
Week and Space Technology featured blow-by-blow accounts of fabrication
and welding procedures with technical asides on each step of the process.
The arm-in-arm approach of Boeing and MSFC in the early S-IC
design studies continued into the development of jumbo-sized tooling
and fabrication concepts for the stage. Under the watchful eye of Jack
Trott, MSFC's deputy director of the Manufacturing Engineering Divi-
sion at that time, tooling such as assembly jigs and weld fixtures were
tested; once they were deemed workable, Boeing received approval to
build duplicates for installation later at Michoud. This phase of tooling-up
required a certain amount of flexibility in the tool manufacturing
scheme, because each Apollo mission featured variations and required a
slightly different S-IC for each launch. For this reason, the tooling had to
have a high degree of changeability. Boeing also worked with smaller
inventories (because of probable design changes), and planned built-in
time allowance in the manufacturing scheme to accommodate changes to
a vehicle already moving along the production line. ' l
Some techniques did not work out, as in the case of chemical
sculpturing of the outsized gore segments used for the curved bulkheads
of the fuel and oxidizer tanks. Each bulkhead was made up to eight of the
large gores, shaped like a wedge of pie, which had been made from a base
segment and apex segment. The curved gores were manufactured with a
precise tapering thickness toward the tip, and included a waffled pattern
in the base segment. Because of the contoured shape and various raised
surfaces, a chemical milling process seemed most attractive for sculptur-
ing the curved pieces. But by 1965, trial-and-error development led
Boeing to rely on machine milling of the gore segments in the flat, and
then hydraulically bulge-formed to the correct contours.12 The enormous
bulge-formed dies to do this kind of job were located at Boeing- Wichita,
where 90 percent of the parts for the S-IC were fabricated, then shipped
to MSFC and Michoud to be manufactured into a complete booster stage.
In addition to bulge-forming gore segments from heavy aluminum
sheets (up to 27.6 square meters in size), Boeing-Wichita devised a
technique that simultaneously age-hardened and formed the large alumi-
num alloy plates in an electric furnace. The plates that made up the tank
201
STAGES TO SATURN
walls weighed five metric tons each, before they were milled down to
weigh only one ton with walls about 60 millimeters thick. The tape-
controlled form milling exposed the integral stiffeners, configured so
that they were parallel to each other when the tank was in the curved
condition. Mathias Siebel, director of MSFC's Manufacturing Engineer-
ing Laboratory, remarked that many test panels had to be machined to
get the spacing and machine control tapes set up just right. Normally, the
fabrication technique involved taking the 3.4 x 8-meter plates and rolling
them to shape, heat treating in a restraining fixture, then further
processing to eliminate distortions. Using its electric furnace, the Wichita
plant turned out integrally stiffened fuel and LOX tank walls by
clamping the piece to a precisely curved fixture that was a built-in part of
the furnace. In this way, tank walls were age-hardened by heat and
formed in the same process.13
Eventually, the dozens of pieces of metal to make the S-IC tanks
arrived at MSFC or Michoud to be welded together. The outsized
dimensions of the pieces dictated modifications to standard welding
procedures in which the welding tool was stationary and the piece to be
welded was turned. Instead, the welding tools in most cases traveled
along tracks over the components, held rigidly in huge jigs. The big
problem was distortion, always a plague in the fabrication of light vessels
(such as the Saturn tanks), and the S-IC propellant tanks were among the
largest such lightweight vessels ever built. The primary cause of distor-
tion was heat, and heat was unavoidable on the extended welding passes
needed to make the vessel. Several actions were undertaken to reduce the
heat and distortion factors. To ensure maximum weld conditions, the
work was conducted in special areas with temperatures below 25°C and
the humidity below 50 percent. Otherwise, too many weld defects
occurred in the work. In addition, special techniques were employed at
the welding surface, particularly the use of the tungsten-inert-gas (TIG)
process. The TIG method had been used in other applications but never
to such a great extent as in the fabrication of aluminum tanks for Saturn.
The inert gas shield protected the weld from air, offered more control of
the process, and allowed anywhere from 2 to 30 passes over a single weld
joint. An S-IC had about 10 kilometers of welding with every centimeter
inspected. Under these constraints, welding teams numbered between 10
and 15 specialists, with procedures lasting up to eight hours and
sequenced like the countdown of a launch vehicle.14
Major welding operations entailed the joining of base and apex
segments of the bulkhead gore segments into complete domes for the
fuel and LOX tanks. The domes presented some difficult welding
challenges when it came to welding various fittings and the several duct
lines, because high residual stress in the huge curved components
occasionally created a distortion effect known as "oil-canning." The
distortions produced uneven surfaces that in turn upset the close
202
THE LOWER STAGES: S-IC AND S-II
tolerances required for other welding operations. The LOX duct lines,
for example, were welded to fittings in the curved bulkhead. Specifica-
tions allowed no more that 0.5 millimeter mismatch between the duct and
the bulkhead fitting, involving a bias-cut joint 63 centimeters in diameter.
Rather than return to a time-consuming process of age-forming in a
special fixture, MSFC developed a special "electromagnetic hammer" to
iron out the distortions. High voltage passing through a large coil created
opposing fields between the distorted part and the "hammer." The
opposing fields repelled, and because the mass of the coil was greater
than the mass of the part, the part actually moved to eliminate the
distortion. There was no physical impact between the part and the coil. In
fact, demonstrators liked to lay a sheet of tissue paper between the coil
and part, proceed with the "hammering," and remove the tissue undamaged.
After several materials were rejected, the aluminum used in the fuel
and LOX tanks was a 2219 alloy, chosen because of its variations in size,
required for the S-IC, its weldability, and its resistance to stress corrosion.
The propellant tank walls were welded into king-size hoops (10-meter-
diameter), two for the fuel tank cylinder and four for the LOX tank
cylinder. The tank cylinders included numerous circular slosh baffles
designed for structural circularity and for slosh control. Additional slosh
control was created by the installation of cruciform slosh control baffles
in the aft domes of the fuel and LOX tanks.15
Before the components of the propellant tanks were welded, they
were subjected to special cleaning processes, with most attention given to
the LOX tank. For all its desirability as an oxidant, LOX is highly volatile
under certain conditions presenting unusual problems in the handling
and fabrication of parts in contact with the oxidizer. Mixed with a
hydrocarbon like grease or oil, LOX becomes extremely unstable, and
even a very small spark can ignite the capricious stuff. Theoretically, if a
worker left a fingerprint on the inside of a LOX tank, the oil in the
fingerprint could cause an explosive situation. So, all surfaces coming in
contact with LOX were kept virtually spotless with a rating of "LOX
clean". At Michoud, Boeing prepared a series of big vats for cleaning
components such as valves, tubes, and tank wall segments.
Depending on the specifications, several different cleansing processes
could be used and technicians wore special lint-free gloves. A typical
operation began by spraying the part with a degreasing compound,
followed by washing in a detergent solution. Rinsing required water that
had been carefully de-ionized and decontaminated. The part was then
de-oxydized with a solution of nitric acid and rinsed once more — but only
in preparation for additional cleaning. After being heated, the part
underwent the next step; an etching process that actually removed a
micro-thin layer of surface material. Following a final rinse, drying was
done with a blast of hot air, which was especially filtered to be oil-free. In
addition to the cleaning of the segments, subassemblies like bulkheads
203
Top left, Boeing's Wichita plant is bulge forming
the bulkhead of the S -1C first stage of the Saturn V.
Above, 23 numerically controlled programming tapes
control machining of the 3.4 x 7. 9 -meter alumi-
num alloy plates that become skin panels for the
S-IC stage. Opposite, top, the skin panel is being
positioned for attachment to the curved restraining
fixture. Opposite, center, now curved to precise
contour on the fixture, the panel is rolled into an
electric furnace for age -hardening. Bottom, the
finished panel emerges, ready for dipping treatment
to remove impurities.
STAGES TO SATURN
also received the cleaning treatment in Boeing's "major component
cleaning facility," jocularly known at Michoud as "the world's largest
dishwasher." The dishwasher, a box 12 meters square and 6.7 meters
high, was lined with stainless steel. A complete tank bulkhead was rolled
in and washed down with special chemicals dispensed from revolving
pipes outside and inside the dome. The revolving pipes and spraying
action made the nickname inevitable.16
When it came to joining the tank wall cylinders and domes together,
the size of the S-IC required the production of a special rig known as the
Y-ring. The longest "lead-time" item in the S-IC manufacturing process,
the Y-ring required two months to complete at Michoud. It consisted of
three aluminum billets welded into a ring and then carefully machined to
the correct shape in several closely controlled phases.17 The Y-ring was
designed to eliminate lap joints where the tank domes, walls, and
adjoining structure (like the intertank segment) came together. Each
Y-ring featured one straight side as the meeting point for the vertical
sides of the tank well and adjoining structure, and one appropriately
angled area to serve as the meeting point for the upper or lower tank
dome.
In the vertical assembly area at Michoud, complete fuel and LOX
tanks were formed and then hydrostatically tested to 105 percent of the
total pressure anticipated in a mission. This overpressurization created a
certain amount of danger in the test area, so the test was monitored by a
bank of closed circuit TV cameras. Demineralized water was used in the
test sequence, with special dyes added to show up on the cameras if
minute seepages occurred. The hydrostatic tests exerted so much force
on the tanks that their dimensions were actually stretched by 1.3
centimeters at the bottom. After flushing and cleaning procedures, the
tanks were accurately calibrated for the exact propellant capacity by
refilling with water of an established weight, temperature, and specific
gravity. The entire S-IC was then stacked from the bottom up, beginnng
with the thrust structure, and attached together at the Y-ring juncture
with special fittings. The completed S-IC was loaded on a special dolly
and moved to the low-bay area for the installation of engines and
miscellaneous equipment. It was moved very carefully, however, because
the horizontal stage on its transporter had only a 14-centimeter roof
clearance.
The hydrostatic tests were only a part of thousands of tests, large
and small, conducted on the S-IC before launch. At both Michoud and
MSFC, all kinds of x-ray tests, load tests, and other examinations were
made to ensure the stage's fitness. Before static test firing, for example,
S-IC stages spent 10 full weeks in a test cell at Michoud for scrutiny of the
completed stage all around and hundreds of separate test sequences.18
The most spectacular tests— and test facilities— for the S-IC involved the
static firing of the five F-l engines at full thrust. Two S-IC static test
206
THE LOWER STAGES: S-IC AND S-II
stands were available, one at Huntsville and the other at the Mississippi
Test Facility; both were similar in size and construction. The MTF facility
was designed to include two test positions. Although MSFC conducted
the first static tests of the S-IC in the summer of 1965, the MTF stand for
the S-IC began operations about a year later and became the focus of the
static test firing program. It seemed quite appropriate that the howling,
thunderous roar of the S-IC cluster could so often be heard at an area
originally known as Devil's Swamp.
At the time it was declared operational in 1966, the 124-meter-high
test stand at MTF was the tallest building in the state of Mississippi. The
concrete and steel tower rested on 1600 steel pilings, each 30 meters long,
and the S-IC was secured by four huge hold-down arms anchored to a
slab of concrete 12 meters thick. The massive jaws of the restraining arms
clamped onto the rocket tail by means of drive mechanisms geared to
move only 8 centimeters per minute. From a distance, the big test tower
looked like a concrete monolith; its hollow legs were the equivalent of a
20-story building with offices, machine shops, data centers, and elevators.
With the huge volume of LOX and kerosene in the rocket tanks, a
catastrophic fire during testing was always a consideration; as a result all
personnel were evacuated to remote bunkers before ignition. In case of a
fire during a test, a water deluge system, evidenced by the myriad of
pipes lacing up and down the structure, could spray 782 000 liters
(215 000 gallons) per minute over the stand. Moreover, engine tests
required a second water deluge system that supplied the stand with
1 100 000 liters (300 000 gallons) of water per minute through a double-
walled steel flame bucket directly below the F-l cluster. Thousands of
holes in the outer walls of the flame bucket allowed water to gush out to
cool the bucket and keep it intact for the next test. During a five-minute
test run, the S-IC test stand got enough water to supply a city of 10 000
for a day.19
Any problems in the S-IC program seem to have occurred mostly at
the start but were resolved before a serious impasse developed. Matt
Urlaub recalled early confrontations between various Boeing and Marshall
people over management issues. "Boeing . . . had a very strong sense of
accomplishment up to that point, and they knew they had built large
airplanes before, and this [S-IC] vehicle isn't much different . . . and we
were, in those days, a pretty proud organization too." Both sides
eventually adjusted, however, "getting the pecking order straight," as
Urlaub put it. In 1963 the S-IC program encountered a succession of
welding problems that persisted throughout the next year. Portions of
the S-IC-T vehicle were scrapped because of welding deficiencies in the
propellant tanks, and the S-IC-T generally lagged six weeks behind
schedule during 1964. An upper LOX tank bulkhead for S-IC-S was
scrapped "due to poor quality" in October, a.nd at the same time, the
manufacturing schedule for S-IC-T was reported to be 19 weeks behind
207
At Michoud, the big S-IC stage of the Saturn V is
assembled, or "stacked," in the high bay. Top left,
the fuel tank is lowered into the lower skirt; at top
center, the intertank assembly is fitted to the fuel
tank; at top right, the oxidizer tank is added;
above, left, the forward skirt assembly is attached.
Then the five F-l engines are attached (above,
right) and the completed stage is shipped to the
Mississippi Test Facility and hoisted into the test
stand (left) for static-firing tests before shipment
to the Kennedy Space Center where the total flight
vehicle will be stacked, checked out, and launched.
THE LOWER STAGES: S-IC AND S-II
schedule because of a shortage in parts for the thrust structure. By
November, Urlaub cautioned that the S-IC program was still behind
schedule in several areas. The S-IC-1 flight stage, for instance, was
lagging by three months. "Although the S-IC program may appear to be
in the shadow of the S-II program," Urlaub said, "I think it would be
unwise to pretend that now the entire Saturn program is paced by the
,,2O
upper stages.
When the S-IC finally began its static firing tests in 1965, the chances
for success of the Apollo-Saturn program brightened considerably. Early
in 1966, the S-IVB stage was operational aboard the Saturn IB vehicle.
The gloomiest clouds on the horizon in 1965-1966 were hovering over
the North American plant on the West Coast, where the S-II second stage
was still under development.
THE S-II: CONCEPTS
The vague outlines of the S-II took shape within the report of the
Silverstein committee in December 1959, when its members recommended
the development of the high-thrust, liquid-hydrogen-fueled engine. In
less than a year, Rocketdyne won the contract for the J-2 engine. Because
many of the engine design parameters depended on stage configuration
and mission profiles, designers had also begun parallel design studies on
the stage itself. These studies sprang from the Silverstein committee's
original report, which included a LOX-LH2 propellant S-II stage (see
chapter 2). Within weeks of the Silverstein committee's report, design
and engine studies were in progress, and correlated, so that many
features of the S-II design were under consideration more than 12
months before NASA began action for stage procurement.21
On the eve of his departure as Administrator, T. Keith Glennan
wanted to make sure that an S-II stage received his successor's strongest
attention. The only question was when to move. Glennan hedged a bit in
January 1961, when Major General Don R. Ostrander, Director of the
Office of Launch Vehicle Programs, pushed for definition of the C-2
vehicle configuration, including initiation of contract work for the S-II.
Glennan hesitated because he did not want to "bind the new Administra-
tor to an expenditure which will run several hundred millions of dollars,"
and because he felt it wiser to see how the J-2 engine program
progressed. There was no doubt in his mind, however, concerning the
desirability of the S-II stage as part of the C-2. The C-l vehicle did not
have the capabilities NASA needed for the long term. "The Saturn
program is left in mid-stream," Glennan emphasized in the transition
memo he left for his successor, "if the S-II stage is not developed and
phased in as the second stage of the C-2 launch vehicle."2
Glennan's memo reflected the strong trend within NASA to move
209
STAGES TO SATURN
toward a bigger vehicle with an LH2 stage, and not long after Webb's
confirmation as the new Administrator in 1961, NASA authorized the
Marshall center to proceed with contractor selection. MSFC's invitations
to a preproposal conference in Huntsville in April attracted 30 aerospace
firms. As described by MSFC at that time, the S-II second stage of the
Saturn C-2 vehicle was presented as the largest rocket project, in terms of
physical size, to be undertaken by American industry. Powered by four of
the new J-2 engines, the preliminary configuration of the second stage
was given dimensions of 22.5 meters in length and 6.5 meters in
diameter. The implied challenge must have been sobering, since 23 of
the companies did not submit proposals the following month for the first
phase of the S-II contractor selection process. The seven firms left in the
running included Aerojet General Corporation; Chrysler Corporation,
Missile Division; Convair Astronautics Division of General Dynamics
Corporation; Douglas Aircraft Corporation; Lockheed Aircraft Corpora-
tion, Georgia Division; Martin Company; and North American Aviation,
Incorporated. They submitted briefs to MSFC concerning their experi-
ence and capability as potential contractors for the S-II stage.23
By June the contractors had been rated by a source evaluation board
using a numerical scoring system geared to the phase one proposals.
Three firms were eliminated, leaving Aerojet, Convair, Douglas, and
North American. These four companies were about to receive a surprise,
because NASA had decided to change the configuration of the second
stage. On 8 June, Webb circulated a memo to his top advisors specifying
that the Saturn C-2 simply could not boost the Apollo spacecraft to the
escape velocity required for a circumlunar mission. NASA was now
considering the C-3, which consisted of a fatter first stage powered by two
F-l engines and a larger S-II stage. As Webb noted, the C-3 had not yet
been approved,24 and the four contractors, gathering late in June for the
phase two conference, discovered they would have to grapple with some
very loose ends.
The phase two conference opened with remarks by Oswald Lange,
Chief of the Saturn Systems Office. In his initial statement, Lange
explained why the C-2 configuration was going to be bypassed in favor of
the C-3. Recent research on the problem of radiation in space indicated
that the spacecraft needed more shielding, which would increase space-
craft weight from the original 6800-kilogram estimate to 13 600 kilo-
grams. Moreover, Lange revealed, the original S-II diameter of 6.6
meters was now enlarged to 8.13 meters to be more compatible with the
C-3's first stage and allow better payload flexibility in the future. On the
other hand, Lange said, he was not able as yet to give the contractors hard
figures on the exact configuration of the stages above the 8. 13-meter S-II
(making it difficult to figure out the mechanics of boost, separation of
upper stages, and other aspects, as one contractor noted); indeed, MSFC
might decide on an even larger 9.14-meter stage! "It may be a little hard
210
THE LOWER STAGES: S-IC AND S-II
for you to speculate a design if we give you such soft indications of the
configuration that we ultimately want," Lange admitted, but pledged to
have firm numbers when Marshall and the winning contractor sat down
to hammer out the details in final contract negotiations.
In a question-and-answer session that followed, a Marshall spokes-
man, after elaborating on some of the aspects of the proposals, apologeti-
cally echoed Lange, and explained that Marshall was anxious to get
started on the contracts. "You can see that we have a whole lot of doubt in
what we say here, and there are a lot of conflicting problems," the
spokesman admitted. "We are presently trying to resolve them. We could
have asked you not to come here today and could have taken, say, six
weeks time to resolve these problems internally, in which case we would
have lost six weeks on the S-II contract." Speaking with candor, he told
the contractors, "This of course puts the monkey on your back, and we
know that!" However, even with all of this looseness in the preliminary
stages of finalizing the contract, Marshall made it clear that firm figures
for the stage would be forthcoming, and that contractors would be held
strictly accountable. As Wilbur Davis, of the MSFC Procurement and
Contracts Office, stated it, "I wish to emphasize at this point that the
important product that NASA will buy in this procurement is the
efficient management of a stage system."25 Ironically, it was this very
point that later contributed so much stress in relations between NASA
and its chosen contractor.
North American won the prize; NASA announced the company's
selection for the S-II contract on 1 1 September 196 1.26 After consultation
and search for a manufacturing site, a location at Seal Beach, California
(not far from Long Beach), was chosen, and the facilities for constructing
the S-II were built by the government. Coordination between North
American, NASA, and the Navy, designated as the government's con-
struction agency, did not always proceed well, and led to the dispatch of
NASA investigation teams from Headquarters. In spite of the problems
in the three-way arrangement, D. Brainerd Holmes emphasized in the
spring of 1963 that "we are getting these facilities on time and the
construction is excellent." By early autumn, North American was putting
together the first S-II hardware components.27
S-II CONFIGURATION
The S-II turned out to be a comparatively advanced stage in terms
of the existing state of the art. Although the S-II carried about 426 400
kilograms of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, the tank structure,
though supporting the structural mass, accounted for just a shade over
three percent of the stage's total fueled weight. A common bulkhead
much larger than that in any previous rocket averted the need for an
211
STAGES TO SATURN
interstage between the oxidizer and fuel tanks; this reduced the total
length of the stage by over 3 meters and saved about 4 metric tons of
extra weight. In technical terms, the fabrication of the bulkheads called
for unusually demanding accuracy in meridian welds that joined the
bulkhead gores together. The welding operation joining the curved,
6-meter-long seams together had to be made to specifications allowing
less than 0.33 millimeter of a mismatch. Then there was the problem of
insulating the big liquid hydrogen tank, filled with thousands of liters of
the super-cold propellant. Otherwise, the basic design elements of the
S-II seemed conventional enough in that it consisted of eight major
structural components and six major systems, all of which reflected the
usual kind of basic elements associated with both the S-IC and the
S-IVB.28
The vehicle was assembled at Seal Beach, where most of the major
structural elements were fabricated. Exceptions were the interstage, aft
skirt, thrust structure, and forward skirt which were produced at North
American's plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The interstage, aft skirt, and
forward skirt, all of semimonocoque construction, had been designed for
structural rigidity. The thrust structure (in the usual inverted cone
shape) featured both high-strength riveting and thrust longerons to
handle the full thrust of the J-2 engine cluster. Fabricated in separate
pieces, the aft skirt and thrust structure were intended to serve as a single
structural entity when joined together. The combination served as a
mounting point for the five engines, the heat shield, and assorted
plumbing and black boxes.
In a sequence known as dual-plane separation, the interstage,
although joined to the aft skirt, uncoupled from the S-II after staging
from the S-IC. Following burnout of the first stage, a linear-shaped
charge separated the S-II from the S-IC; this procedure was simultane-
ous with the firing of S-IC retrorockets and eight ullage motors on the
interstage of the S-II. About 30 seconds after first-stage separation, the
S-II interstage separated from the second stage itself. Initiation of the
dual-plane separation maneuver occurred when the outboard J-2 engines
reached 90 percent of their maximum thrust; at this point, explosive
charges were triggered, which severed the interstage. The maneuver
required a precise separation that would propel the interstage (5.4
meters long) rearward, clearing the engines by approximately 1 meter,
while the S-II was accelerating to its blinding top speed. Once free of the
interstage mass, the performance of the S-II was greatly enhanced. The
dual-plane separation was an alternative to a method called "fire in the
hole," which involved ignition and separation of the S-II while still in
contact with the interstage but not attached to it. Designers preferred to
avoid this alternative because of possible perturbations and oscillations at
the end of the first-stage boost phase. With the S-II accelerating on an
even course, it was easier to drop the interstage during that phase, rather
212
THE LOWER STAGES: S-IC AND S-II
than risk hitting a wobbling interstage attached to the S-IC as the S-II
pulled out.
The LOX tank of the S-II stage, like that of the S-IVB, incorporated
the principle of the common bulkhead, which comprised the top half of
the LOX tank. With its 10-meter diameter and 6.7-meter height, the
ellipsoidal container had a squat appearance. Having no vertical walls to
speak of, the LOX tank was constructed by welding together a dozen
gores and finishing off the tank with "dollar sections," large circular
pieces joining the ends of the gores at the top and bottom. The top of the
LOX tank actually formed one half of the common bulkhead. After
welding this part of the LOX tank, the common bulkhead was completed
before adding the tank's bottom half to it. Early on, the forming of the
gore segments for all the bulkhead assemblies frustrated manufacturing
engineers, because no techniques existed for forming such large, unwieldy
pieces. Each gore was approximately 2.6-meters wide at the base and had
complex curvatures that were difficult to form accurately. After rejecting
numerous possible procedures, the manufacturing team finally chose a
somewhat exotic method — underwater explosive forming. This tech-
nique quite literally blasted the wedge-shaped gores into shape. North
American's Los Angeles Division produced the gores, using a 2 1 1 000-liter
(58 000-gallon) tank of water at nearby El Toro Marine Base for
explosive, or "high-energy," forming. After positioning the gore segment
in the tank, engineers detonated a carefully located network of primacord
explosive, forming the metal by the blast transmitted through the water.
The formation of each gore required three separate blasts.29
At the start of the S-II program, MSFC questioned North Ameri-
can's proposals for a common bulkhead. Despite the S-IV stage common
bulkhead, engineers at Huntsville remained skeptical of North Ameri-
can's ability to produce a common bulkhead of the S-II diameter that
would also withstand the additional stresses and pressures of much
greater volumes of cryogenic propellants. Marshall insisted on parallel
backup schemes using more conventional bulkhead designs, in case
North American's idea failed. On the other hand, North American
insisted on its common bulkhead to reduce stage length and weight from
the conventional form of two separate fuel and oxidizer tanks connected
by an interstage component. The company had to work out several new
fabrication techniques to do the job.30
Beginning with the upper half of the LOX tank, fabrication of the
common bulkhead required a number of carefully timed and sequenced
operations. First, honeycomb phenolic insulation was fitted over the
upper surface of the LOX tank dome, called the aft facing sheet because
it served as the bottom of the common bulkhead. Then the insulation was
bonded to the aft facing sheet and cured in a gargantuan autoclave. Next
came the preliminary fitting of the forward facing sheet; this piece
became the bottom half of the LH2 tank (also formed from large
213
STAGES TO SATURN
wedge-shaped gores). Preliminary fitting of the forward facing sheet
revealed surfaces in the insulation that needed to be filled in or shaved
down for a perfect fit, using a machine controlled by data-tapes.
Throughout the process, numerous checks were made to ensure that no
gaps were left between the insulation and the facing sheets; ultrasonic
equipment verified complete bonding of the adhesives.
Fitting the honeycomb core to the bulkhead domes was one of the
most critical operations in the S-II manufacturing sequence. The chemically
milled gores tapered from about 13 millimeters thickness at the base to
0.79 millimeter at the apex. With these thin sections, the great domes
possessed relatively little strength by themselves and tended to sag; this
situation created severe production problems in achieving the close fit
required between the top and bottom domes and the insulation core. The
honeycomb sandwich, which comprised the core, measured nearly 13
centimeters thick at the peak of the common bulkhead and tapered off at
the bottom periphery, where more thickness was not necessary. So the
honeycomb core, like the gores, had to be shaped to complex curvatures,
tapered, and affixed without gaps to the flexible dome surfaces.
The procedure finally worked out by North American manufactur-
ing teams was heralded by the company as "a major advance in missile
fabrication." Workers applied a low pressure inflation force to the aft
facing sheet, giving it full contour and providing accurate dimensional
traces for fitting the honeycomb insulation core. The forward facing
sheet presented a different problem; since the top surface of the
insulation core had to be fitted to the underside of the forward facing
sheet, the inflation technique was ruled out. Instead, NAA devised a
huge vacuum bell. Fitted over the forward facing sheet, the vacuum bell
sucked up the sheet to a fully contoured position. Afterward, handling
slings lowered the entire assembly over the rigidly pressurized aft facing
sheet to record the final set of dimensional traces for shaping the
insulation surfaces.31
At the bottom edge of the forward facing sheet, a "J" shaped
periphery provided the surface for welding it to the bottom cylinder wall
of the LH2 tank. These "J-section" segments had to be separately
machined and form-fitted. A circular weld at the "J-section," joining
the LOX and LH2 tanks, was buttressed by a bolting ring; 636 high-
strength bolts secured the bolting ring to flanges on the bottom LH2 tank
cylinder and to the aft skirt section. The bottom cylinder measured only
69 centimeters high; the remaining five cylinder walls, each 2.4 meters
high, were fabricated in four sections and welded together. The curved
aluminum skins were machine-milled to leave stringers and ring frames
for both structural rigidity and for mounting the internal slosh baffles.
The LH2 forward bulkhead was fabricated of 12 gores, in much the same
way as the LOX tank lower bulkhead.
Insulation for the LH2 tank created some of the most persistent
214
THE LOWER STAGES: S-IC AND S-II
technical problems in the entire S-II program. North American chose
external insulation, primarily for added material strength from the
cryogenic effects of LH2 inside the fuel tank. This trade-off confronted
the company with the problem of adequate external insulation and with
special difficulties in bonding the insulation to the super-cold surfaces of
the fuel tank. The original solution specified external insulation made of
phenolic honeycomb filled with a heat-resistant foam of isocyanate.
Fabricated in panels, the insulation material was sealed at the top and
bottom with a phenolic laminate followed by a layer of Tedlar plastic
film. The process of bonding the insulation panels to the tank created
potential hazards. Air pockets next to the super-cold metal could be
turned into puddles of liquid oxygen; these puddles could eventually
weaken the bonding, thereby allowing large panels to peel off. To avoid
this, the S-II stage featured a liquid-helium purge of the insulation
through grooves cut into the insulation surface next to the tank walls.
Helium flowed through the grooves from the start of hydrogen loading
through countdown and up to the instant of launch.
Unfortunately, this design never worked very well. The purge
system was tricky, the insulation bonding repeatedly failed, and chunks
of insulation continued to fall off during tanking and test sequences.
Although several S-II stages were produced with the original insulation
concept, the results were so discouraging that North American spent
considerable time and money working up an alternative. Instead of
making up panels and affixing them to the tank, the company finally
evolved a process for spraying insulation material directly onto the tank
walls (eliminating the air pockets), letting it cure, then cutting it to the
proper contour. This technique turned out to be much more economical
and much lighter than the insulation panels.32
Eventually, all the parts of the S-II came together in the vertical
assembly building at Seal Beach. Vertical assembly was chosen for its
advantages in joining major parts and ease of welding. In vertical
assembly, as opposed to horizontal assembly, it was easier to maintain
circumference of the large diameter parts to close tolerances and
gravitational force helped maintain stage alignment. Moreover, if the
various cylinders and bulkheads were horizontal, temperature diversion
about the circumference of the parts would produce distortions at the top
of the piece being welded. Throughout each welding sequence, techni-
cians employed a variety of special scopes, levels, and traditional plumb
bobs to make sure alignments were exact. Additionally, the stage was
subjected to hydrostatic, x-ray, dye penetrant, and other checks to ensure
proper specifications. One of the last items to be added was the systems
tunnel, affixed to the exterior of the stage. The tunnel, a semicircular
structure, ran vertically up the side of the S-II and carried miscellaneous
instrumentation along with wires and tubes that connected system
components at the top and bottom of the stage.
STAGES TO SATURN
Final work inside the tanks included installation of slosh baffles,
probes, and other miscellaneous equipment. In preparation for these
operations, all surfaces inside the tanks were thoroughly cleansed,
flushed with trichloroethylene, and dried. Flushing equipment consisted
of a spray nozzle fitted to a movable lifting cylinder, similar to the
hydraulic lifts used in filling stations. After the flushing, a team of
technicians mounted a ladder and platform attachment on the movable
lifting cylinder, entered the tanks, and began final installation of equip-
ment. With all accessories installed, the tanks had to be flushed once
again and the access ports sealed.
Finally, the engines were mounted, again using accurate aligning
equipment to position each J-2 in the thrust frame attach points.
Additional stage tests and systems checks preceded final preparation for
shipping to the Mississippi Test Facility for the static-firing checks. After
that — delivery to Cape Kennedy for launch.33
S-II SYSTEMS
Of the six major systems, the propellant system was the most
complex. The seven propellant subsystems included plumbing, hard-
ware, and control to accomplish the following: purge, fill and replenish,
venting, pressurization, propellant feed, recirculation, and propellant
management. Elements were largely designed to cope with the tricky
characteristics of the cryogenics carried on board the S-II stage. By using
helium gas, the purge subsystem cleared the tank of contaminants like
moisture (which could freeze and block valves or vents) in the LOX tank,
and oxygen (which could freeze and create danger of explosions) in the
LH2 tank. The fill and replenish subsystem (along with the recirculation
cycle), helped relieve the tanks, valves, pumps, and feed lines of the
thermal shocks encountered from the sudden introduction of ultra-cold
propellants into the stage.
The recirculation subsystem kept propellants moving through the
engine pumps and associated plumbing while keeping them properly
chilled and ready for operation. Similarly, the fill and replenish system
brought the propellant tanks and their related plumbing down to a
temperature suitable for loading of the cryogenic propellants. The
procedure began by circulating cold gas through the tanks and lines,
followed by a "chilldown" cycle — slow pumping of propellants into the
tanks until they reached the five percent level. Even with the preliminary
cooling by chilled gas, the tanks were so much warmer than the
propellants that much of the liquid boiled off when it first gushed into
the tank; the "chilldown" dropped the tank temperatures to a point
where fast fill could then proceed. Because the propellants were pumped
into the tanks hours before liftoff and a certain amount of boil-off
216
THE LOWER STAGES: S-IC AND S-II
persisted, constant replenishment was required until a minute or two
before liftoff. Venting subsystems prevented overpressurization of the
tanks, while a pressurization subsystem maintained propellant flow.
Other subsystems for feeding the propellant from tanks to engines as
well as propellant management (simultaneous depletion of tanks, engine
cutoff, etc.) completed the propellant system network.
Other major systems (electrical, ordnance, measurement, thermal
control, and flight control) were similar in basic functions to those on
other Saturn stages. The same was true for the ground support opera-
tions for checkout, leak detection, engine compartment conditioning,
and other equipment.34
TRIAL AND ERROR: THE WELDING PROBLEM
The size of the S-II included dimensions normally associated with
the bulky fittings and burly strength of heavy industry. The inside of the
S-II was roomy enough to stack three standard railroad tank cars end to
end, with room to spare for a caboose lying sideways on top. Yet, the
24.8-meter stage weighed only 43 100 kilograms in its dry stage (by
comparison, the three empty tank cars would weigh more than 95 700
kilograms). In spite of its massive appearance, the S-II was honed to the
precise standards of the watchmaker. Almost one kilometer of welded
joints had to be surgically clean and flawless, and many had to be accurate
to 0.33 of a millimeter. The structural efficiency of the stage, in terms of
the weight and pressures taken by its extra-thin walls, was comparable
only to the capacity of one of nature's most refined examples of
structural efficiency, the egg.
Even with all this description of the meticulous workmanship
lavished on the S-II, the layman still might enquire, "so what?" What was
so challenging, to the platoons of engineers and technicians who did it,
about welding together a big rocket stage? One problem was the nature
of the tank skins themselves. The S-II was built of an aluminum alloy
known as 2014 T6, which was not generally favored for welding. North
American knew the welding job was going to be complicated but wanted
to use the alloy because of its enhanced strength under cryogenic
conditions. A theme of the entire Saturn program was "size," and the
challenges inherent in the S-II were similarly challenges of magnitude.
With a diameter of 10 meters, the stage required circumferential welds of
31.4 meters. The longer the weld, the tougher the problem of sustaining
quality and close tolerances — and in the S-II, weld quality and close
tolerances were essential. A high quality weld pass of 1 meter might be
one thing, but a virtually flawless circumferential weld of 31.4 meters
promised all manner of increasing heat input problems and attendant
277
STAGES TO SATURN
distortion problems where none could be tolerated. "I had very little gray
hair when we started," admitted Norm Wilson, manager of the Manufac-
turing Engineering Section for the S-II at Seal Beach. "But look at me
now," he said in 1968.35
Wilson's gray hair owed much to the multitude of variations and
requirements implicit in the plethora of tricky welding tasks all over the
stage, aside from the circumferential jobs. The various aluminum sheets
joined together in the welding process varied in shape, size, and
thickness, all of which caused different problems for the welder. One
such joint had skins that tapered from 16 millimeters thick down to
under 6 millimeters, then back up to 13 millimeters. The shifting
thicknesses frequently made temperamental men of normally even-
tempered welding engineers; weld speeds, arc voltages, and other
regimes had to be tailored for each variance during the welding pass.
Minuscule cracks, tiny bits of foreign material in the weld seams,
moisture, or other apparently innocuous imperfections could leak vola-
tile propellants or cause catastrophic weaknesses under the pressures and
loads experienced in flight.
"You can't really say our work has been exotic," Wilson said. "But
when you consider the sizes, angles, lengths, designs, offset tolerances,
and overall specifications involved, you have one challenging welding
problem on your hands. We've had to tap our experience well dry and
tax our imagination to come up with the right answers, and it has been
only through the combined contributions of many that we have been
successful."36 It was a genuine team effort, with increasing reliance on
automated welding technology. The virtuoso performances of the indi-
vidual welder, plying his torch with sparks flying around his visored
head, became an anachronism. In the case of the big bulkhead domes,
the gore sections were joined two at a time while held rigidly by vacuum
chucks in a precision-contoured welding jig. The welding torch, part of
an automatic power pack, moved along an apparatus called a skate track,
which was mounted on the exterior surface of the gores. Inching upward
at a carefully geared speed, the automatic power pack "remembered"
each detail of the three-step welding operation; trimming, welding, and
x-raying in sequence. Each program for the automatic power pack
evolved from elaborate trials on test panels; checking and rechecking the
accuracy of the trim procedure; precise current, arc voltage, and welding
speed for the torch head; and quality of the x-ray. A technician rode
along on the track to monitor the procedure or stop it if necessary, but
the machine basically did its own thing in its own way.
The tank cylinder walls posed a far different set of problems. Each
wall was machined, formed, and assembled by many different manufac-
turing methods; each varied because of the stresses of movement from
one industrial site to another, and exposure to different influences of
heat and climate. One of the most difficult aspects originated in the initial
218
THE LOWER STAGES: S-IC AND S-II
fabrication process. Each of the four cylinder sections was machined as a
flat piece, then contoured to shape and welded together, with different
stress factors from one completed cylinder to another. Before each
welding operation, technicians reminded themselves that the cylinders
were seldom true circles with nice flat surfaces for welding. During one
of the first attempts to weld two cylinders together, 80 percent of the job
was complete when the remaining section suddenly ballooned out of
shape — the result of heat buildup and increasing stress from distortion.
Exasperated specialists brainstormed the aggravating phenomenon, and
tried to come up with a suitable "fix" for the problem. As a result, all the
weld parameters had to be revised to include different tooling and new
procedures using a series of "tack welds" evenly spaced around the
circumference followed by three more passes using two skate welders
operating simultaneously 180 degrees apart.
One of the most trying welding jobs in the whole operation was the
joining of the forward LH2 bulkhead to the uppermost LH2 tank cylinder
where the mismatch could be no more than 0.69 millimeter. Time after
time, weld defects or mismatches occurred. Each reject required time-
consuming efforts to cut open the weld, realign the pieces, and start over
again. Delays at this step began to disrupt the whole program and raised
the specter of late deliveries and slips in the launch schedule.
Late in 1966, a combined trouble-shooting committee was set up and
jointly chaired by Werner Kuers, of the Manufacturing Engineering
Laboratory at MSFC, and Ralph Ruud, executive vice-president of North
American's Space & Information Systems Division. This joint approach
to solving severe production problems was reflected down through the
ranks, with contractor and NASA technicians working shoulder to
shoulder in searching for answers. Among other things, the existing
humidity conditions in the manufacturing area were reduced from
50—60 percent to only 30 percent to enhance the probability of better
weld quality. An environmentally controlled, clean-room atmosphere was
established by hanging huge canvas curtains in one corner of the
assembly building. Personnel had to pass through a double-door airlock
to get in and out of the welding area; they were required to wear white,
lint-free smocks and gloves as well as step through an electric shoe brush
machine to remove dirt picked up from the floor outside. Inside the
clean-room area, workers continually mopped the epoxy floors to keep
them free of moisture and extraneous particles; no smoking or eating
was permitted in the area, and adjacent walls were painted a stark white
to remind everyone in the vicinity to "think clean."
The Kuers-Ruud team recommended a major change in the welding
procedure itself. North American welding engineers had been using
their own "skate" system with the welding tool moving around the
periphery of the stage. The new "rotary" method, based on prior MSFC
experiments and previous applications in production of the S-IC stage,
219
The S-II stage of the Saturn V is shown in the
cutaway drawing at top left; at top right,
gores are being applied to bulkheads at North
American's Seal Beach facility; above, left,
the automatic welding machine makes its slow
circuit around the big second stage, carefully
monitored by a technician. Above, right, one
of the early S-II stages nears completion as
the liquid hydrogen tank is lowered onto the
liquid oxygen tank and their common bulkhead.
Left, the final segment of an S-II stage thrust
structure is lowered into place. Below, left, a
completed S-II stage rolls out of the Seal
Beach facility during the night shift. Below,
right, an S-II stage is hoisted into the test
stand at the Mississippi Test Facility.
STAGES TO SATURN
consisted of the welding tool remaining stationary while the bulkhead
and tank cylinder turned on a large, motorized table. Advantages
accrued from the enhanced stability of the trim and weld head, better
overall control of the process, and ease of operation because bulky cables
and miscellaneous equipment could be kept in one spot and not hauled
around the work floor. New techniques for alignment, with adjustable
screws spaced every few centimeters along alignment jigs, permitted
nearly perfect match of the bulkhead and tank cylinder.
With manufacturing specifications of these magnitudes, North Amer-
ican experienced many long months of frustration until processes were
completely under control. Not until January 1968 did the Space and
Information Systems Division (S&ID) succeed in performing an error-
free weld for the bulkhead-to-cylinder joint — accomplished in the buildup
of S-II-9. By that time, there were only a half dozen stages left to
produce. The previous stages had gone out the factory door with
histories of shortcomings and corporate frustrations of considerable
scope. The technical complexities of the S-II help explain the rash of
problems encountered during its manufacture and test and served to
highlight the trauma of NAA and S&ID's management under fire from
NASA and from MSFC.37
CRISIS AT SEAL BEACH
As the weight of the Apollo payloads relentlessly climbed during the
early 1960s, NASA engineers redoubled efforts to lighten the stages. To
get one more kilogram of payload, the laws of orbital mechanics required
that 14 kilograms be cut from the S-IC; or four to five kilograms from the
S-II; but only one from the S-IVB. The S-IVB stage was already in
production when the weight problem became acute — it was too late to
slice anything from that stage, where the advantage was greatest. Trying
to scrape 14 kilograms out of the S-IC to save 1 kilogram of payload just
was not feasible in terms of time and effort. That left the S-II. As the
second stage became a more finely honed and thin-shelled vehicle, the
balance between success or failure became more delicate. This was
especially true when welding the large, thin tank skins of the S-II stage.38
Manufacturing challenges such as reducing stage weight and the
unusually long welding runs were not the only situations that escalated
the S-II's troubles. Another persistent problem, for example, centered on
the insulation for the LH2 tank. MSFC technical monitors became
increasingly concerned during the spring of 1964 and reported "consid-
erable difficulty" in perfecting adequate LH2 tank insulation; the grow-
ing problem crept up unawares, so to speak, and was reported with a note
of surprise at MSFC. "The S-II stage insulation concept for vehicles 501,
502, 503 and to a somewhat lesser extent for S-II [ground-test vehicles]
has not been fully qualified as of this date," read a memorandum dated 2
222
THE LOWER STAGES: S-IC AND S-II
June 1964. The memo candidly added, "This fact was discovered by
Marshall personnel and came as quite a shock to S&ID management and
needless to say, MSFC." The memo noted a number of anomalies, chief of
which was the debonding of the nylon outer layer from the honeycomb
material underneath when exposed to a simulated flight environment.
The insulation difficulties became symptomatic. More serious production
troubles appeared starting in October 1964, when burst tests revealed
welded cylinder specimens lower in weld strength than anticipated.
Then, on 28 October 1964, the first completed aft bulkhead for the
S-II-S ruptured during a hydrostatic proof test, although at a lower
pressure than specifications dictated. The fault was traced to a previous
repair weld, done by hand, along a recirculation system service plate.
While welding of a replacement bulkhead proceeded, a design change
eliminated the welded service plate, making it an integral part of the
bulkhead gore.39
The continuing snags involving the S-II began to cause worry lines
in the brows of managers at MSFC and Headquarters; in particular was
the need to get the first S-II flight stage, S-II-1, out the door at Seal
Beach, tested, and delivered to Cape Kennedy for the first Saturn V
launch, AS-501, in 1967. Production troubles with the S-II ground-test
stages by late 1964 and early 1965 threatened the S-II-1 so much that
MSFC's director, Wernher von Braun, proposed a reworking of the
whole S-II test program to make up some of the slippages. Major General
Samuel C. Phillips, from his vantage point as Director of the Apollo
Program in Washington, concurred and set in motion a series of
shortcuts in the spring of 1965 to put the S-II schedule back in shape.
Specifically, NASA decided to cancel the dynamic test stage (S-II-D) and,
instead, use the S-II-S for this purpose after its structural tests. This
decision greatly relieved both manufacturing and assembly pressures on
flight stages at Seal Beach and permitted use of S-II-D hardware in
follow-on stages. Further, the "all-systems" test stage bypassed its sched-
uled tests at Santa Susana and was scheduled for direct delivery to MTF.
Meanwhile, the S-II-F facility checkout stage was scheduled to bypass
MTF (where the all-systems stage would be used for facility activation
purposes) for delivery direct to the Cape. There, the S-II-F would be
pressed immediately into service to give Launch Complex 39 a thorough
and complete checkout before the first flight stage arrived. In addition to
relieving pressure on the schedule, these changes netted a savings of $17
million.40
Following these early deviations, the S-II program appeared to be
proceeding well until MSFC decided in May to freeze the configuration
of the S-II. Explaining the decision, Arthur Rudolph, Saturn V Program
Manager, said that because production hardware was in the process of
fabrication, engineering change activities on vehicles and ground sup-
port equipment should be frozen to the "present baseline configuration."
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STAGES TO SATURN
Henceforth, only "absolutely mandatory!' changes would be tolerated.41
During the spring and summer, there was reason to be encouraged by
the progress on the S-II: successful battleship tests at Santa Susanna Field
Laboratory, and accelerating work on the electromechanical mockup (the
progress in the latter case owed a great deal to the addition of a third
work shift, with each shift putting in six days a week).
Welding continued to be troublesome. Early in July, the Space and
Information Systems Division (S&ID) began preparations for making the
first circumferential welds on the S-II-1 (destined to be the first
flight-rated stage). After completing the operation on 19 July, the weld
was found to be faulty and repairs stretched into the first week of August
before additional work on the S-II-1 could be started.42
Then the first incident in a chain of misfortunes occurred that
created one of the most serious times of trouble in the development of
the Saturn V. On 29 September 1965, the S-II-S/D (structures— dynamic-
test stage) ruptured and fell apart during a loading test at Seal Beach.
Destruction of the stage transpired during a test to simulate the forces
acting on the stage at the end of the S-IC boost phase. MSFC quickly
organized an ad hoc group to determine the reasons for the accident,
tagging it with a rather dramatic title, the S-II-S/D Catastrophic Failure
Evaluation Team. Additionally, Marshall added a Debris Evaluation
Team to help pinpoint the component that caused the failure. While the
Catastrophic Failure Evaluation Team started sifting reports, Colonel
Sam Yarchin, the S-II Stage Manager, instructed the people at Seal
Beach to untangle the twisted metal debris in the test tower and lay it out
in orderly fashion inside a guarded enclosure for minute examination by
the debris evaluation team. It was eventually determined that the point of
failure had been in the aft skirt area at 144 percent of the limit load. Even
though considerable data had been accumulated on this particular test
and earlier tests, the loss of the stage left a void in the planned vehicle
dynamic tests at Huntsville; the test program was juggled around to use
the S-II-T stage instead, following static testing at MTF.43
The loss of S-II-S and continuing difficulties with the S-II at Seal
Beach caused increasing consternation at MSFC. When the president of
North American, J. L. Atwood, visited von Braun in Huntsville on 14
October, he found an indignant mood prevailing at Marshall. Brigadier
General Edmund F. L. O'Connor, Director of MSFC's Industrial Opera-
tions, provided von Braun with some background data that included the
following judgment: "The S-II program is out of control. ... It is
apparent that management of the project at both the program level and
division level at S&ID has not been effective. ... In addition to the
management problems, there are still significant technical difficulties in
the S-II stage. . . ,"44 Obviously concerned, von Braun extracted promises
from Atwood to put both a new man in charge of the S-II program and a
224
THE LOWER STAGES: S-IC AND S-II
senior executive in a special position to monitor the plethora of technical
delays and manufacturing problems.43
In an October letter to Harrison Storms, the president of S&ID,
General O'Connor started with a friendly salutation ("Dear Stormy") and
ended with assurances that MSFC wanted to help wherever possible to
get the S-II program back on track. In between, the general minced no
words. He pointed out that the breakdown in the S-II program reflected
poorly on both S&ID and MSFC's management ability. O'Connor pointed
a stern finger at S&ID, remarking that he was "most apprehensive" about
the entire S-II program. "The continued inability or failure of S&ID to
project with any reasonable accuracy their resource requirements, their
inability to identify in a timely manner impending problems, and their
inability to assess and relate resource requirements and problem areas to
schedule impact, can lead me to only one conclusion," O'Connor declared,
"that S&ID management does not have control of the Saturn S-II
program."43 The chief of Marshall's industrial operations also conveyed
his worry about the troublesome stage to the upper echelons of NASA
management. Reviewing the problems during the annual program
review at Headquarters in November, O'Connor noted managerial and
technical shortcomings at North American and said that MSFC had
"caused changes to be made in management; some people have been
moved." In spite of help from the R&D operations laboratories at MSFC,
problems in welding, inspection, insulation, and component qualification
still existed, and as a result, the first S-II flight stage was more than three
months behind schedule. "It is my opinion that program management at
North American is perhaps the principal shortcoming of the entire S-II
program," O'Connor said.47
The upshot of this administrative turbulence was the dispatch of a
special "Tiger Team," headed by General Phillips, from the Apollo
Program Office to North American. The Tiger Team appellation apparently
came out of Phillips's Air Force experience — a special, ad hoc investigative
group dispatched to dig into a problem area and come up with specific
recommendations to solve the issues. As a later Associate Administrator
for Manned Space Flight, Dale Myers, commented, "There is a need to
terrorize the contractor once in a while." The result of that visit to North
American was the soon-to-be famous Phillips report, which ripped into
the company's management, not only on the S-II matter, but on the
spacecraft as well.48
The impetus for this penetration of North American was a byproduct
of a meeting of the President's Scientific Advisory Committee (PSAC),
which convened at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston on 15
October. Since a covey of high-level NASA executives was attending,
Phillips took advantage of the situation by assembling a select group for
an intense one-hour session following the PSAC sessions. The partici-
225
STAGES TO SATURN
/
pants included George Mueller, George Low, and Joe Shea from
Headquarters, along with Eberhard Rees from MSFC. The issue was
North American's performance on the S-II. Rees briefed the group on
plans to send "a group of selected experts from MSFC" to check on
S&ID's operation on the S-II. The Marshall group, scheduled to leave on
18 October, was headed by Colonel Sam Yarchin, the program manager
at Huntsville. Phillips wanted more than that. Rees reported that aside
from MSFC's own S-II sleuths, Phillips wanted to take a close look at the
entire S&ID operation "after Yarchin's committee has done some spade
work." Phillips advocated a special survey team composed of top man-
agement from both MSC and MSFC; it was agreed to consider the matter
in detail when von Braun visited Washington a few days later.49
On 27 October, Associate Administrator Mueller wrote to Lee
Atwood advising him of what was coming. Mueller noted their mutual
concern that the Apollo program should stay on course to a successful
conclusion, but stressed severe problems in the rate of progress for both
the S-II stage and the command and service modules (CSM). The
purpose of the Phillips visit was to identify "those actions that either or
both of us should take." General Phillips took Joe Shea from NASA
Headquarters and Rees and O'Connor from MSFC. The group went to
North American on 22 November and their report was due before
Christmas.50
The "Phillips report," as it became known, was dispatched to
Atwood over Phillips's signature on 19 December 1965. Briefly, Phillips
told Atwood, "I am definitely not satisfied with the progress and outlook
of either program. . . . The conclusions expressed in our briefing and
notes are critical." The overall report was a thorough analysis of S&ID
operations with various sub-teams investigating management, contracting,
engineering, manufacturing, and reliability-quality control. Including
Yarchin's "spadework" on the S-II, completed in early November, the
thick document represented an almost unrelieved series of pointed
criticisms of S&ID. Phillips offered one small ray of hope: "the right
actions now can result in substantial improvement of position in both
programs in the relatively near future."51 At this crucial juncture, Arthur
Rudolph, head of MSFC's Saturn V Program Office, concluded that the
S-II should not be starved for funds in the midst of its vicissitudes, and
began massive infusions of dollars into the S-II project for overtime,
increased manpower, R&D, and whatever else was necessary to see the
job through.52
Eberhard Rees was prepared to invoke draconian measures unless
the situation at North American showed distinct improvement. On 8
December 1965, he had composed a 13-page memorandum, "Personal
Impressions, View and Recommendations," based on his S&ID reviews
from 22 November through 4 December. The operation was far too big
and bulky, Rees observed, making it unwieldy. It needed to be slimmed
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THE LOWER STAGES: S-IC AND S-II
down, and there needed to be much more awareness of progress and
problems at the corporate level, which seemed to be dangerously
insulated from its various divisions — S&ID in particular. In general,
Rees seemed to view the situation with greater alarm than most. "It is not
entirely impossible" he wrote, "that the first manned lunar landing may slip out
of this decade considering, for instance, the present status of the S-II program"
(emphasis in original copy).53
Rees obviously had further thoughts on this dire possibility, for on
the next day he prepared an additional seven-page memorandum and
attached it to the first. Marked "Sensitive, very limited MSF and MSFC
Distribution," the memo was restricted to only three copies: the original
to von Braun; one copy to Phillips; one copy for Rees's personal files.
There were only a few encouraging signs at Seal Beach, he observed, and
he hoped no serious dislocations would occur. Then, in a chillingly
prophetic premonition, he wrote: "I do not want to elaborate on the
possibility that we might lose the S-II-T stage by explosion and do heavy
damage to the only test stand we have so far. But this possibility is not zero
considering that Douglas blew up the S-IV-T on their stand with a more
experienced crew and on a well broken in facility. Time delay in this case
would be exorbitant."
One of the recurrent themes of the 9 December memo involved
S&ID management. Rees expressed continuing uncertainty about the
ability of Harrison Storms to cope with the snowballing costs and
technical hangups of the S-II program. Robert E. Greer, a Storms aide,
was the man to do the job in a crunch, Rees felt, and advocated Greer to
take over direction of the S-II if necessary. MSFC should keep very close
watch over S&ID, Rees advised, and if their performance did not
improve in 1966, then, Rees added, "I believe NASA has to resort to very
drastic measures." If the program still lagged, then NASA "should in all
seriousness consider whether further S-II's should be contracted with
NAA-S&ID." The bulk of S-II manufacturing facilities were owned by
the government and could, if needed, be turned over to another
contractor "in whom we have higher confidence." Rees admitted that
serious dislocations would develop in the interim, but the possibility
should be explored. "For me," he emphasized, "it is just unbearable to deal
further with a non-performing contractor who has the government 'tightly over a
barrel' when it comes to a multibillion dollar venture of such national importance
as the Apollo Program" (emphasis in the original).54
With so much trauma surrounding North American's efforts in the
S-II and CSM programs, a realignment of the company's managerial
structure seemed inevitable. Already trying to get on the top of the S-II
program in 1965, Storms named Robert E. Greer, a retired Air Force
major general with a lean, Lincolnesque aura about him, as his special
representative for the S-II. Greer had joined the company in July and
took this assignment in October. By January 1966, in the wake of the
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STAGES TO SATURN
Phillips report, Greer became vice-president and program manager of
the S-II program. In a somewhat unusual turn of events, the man Greer
replaced, Bill Parker, stayed on as Greer's deputy. Parker had joined the
company in 1948, serving as S-II program manager since 1961. The
company's management obviously hoped that Parker's strong back-
ground in engineering and years of experience inside the company
would complement Greer's managerial skills, recently honed as Assistant
Chief of Staff for Guided Missiles at USAF Headquarters.55
In retrospect, Greer observed that the S-II program was indeed in
bad shape. Among other things, he said that top management had had
poor visibility, and the lateral flow of information seemed to be weak.
Greer updated and revitalized his management control center to enhance
management's overall conception of progress (or lack of it) in the S-II
program (see chapter 9 for details on management control centers). He
also instituted more management meetings, carefully structured to help
the lateral flow of information, as well as garner intelligence from a
broader range of sources, vertically as well as laterally. The meetings
were know at North American as "Black Saturdays." The term came
from Greer's earlier experience in the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division,
where the commanding officer, Brigadier General Bernard A. Schriever,
convened such gatherings once a month. Those attending encompassed a
broad spectrum of Schriever's command. When a program director
raised an issue, Schriever wanted to be able to turn directly to a staffer or
engineer for an answer or advice. When Greer took over the S-II
program, he also had "Black Saturdays" — except that he had them every
day, limited to 45 minutes each morning; later he cut their frequency to
two or three times a week.
For attendees, Greer seemed to "over-invite" people, reaching
rather far down the management ladder and including various technical
personnel as well. A wide variety of problems were discussed, with
planners and assembly-line engineers exhanging criticisms and recom-
mendations. The experience spotlighted a lot of otherwise hard-to-see
conflicts, and certainly improved overall visibility and awareness of the
S-II's development. Greer made a point of personally visiting people at
lower echelons of management and engineering to enhance employee
morale and accumulate additional information for himself. In any case,
Greer won the respect and admiration of many of his contemporaries at
North American.56
Nevertheless, Greer's new administration took time to bring all the
discordant notes of the S-II program into closer harmony. Growing
restlessness spread through NASA Headquarters as the S-II-1 (the first
flight stage) became the pacing item for AS-501. Early in 1966, George
Mueller pointed out this dubious distinction to North American's presi-
dent, but added a supportive note: "Your recent efforts to improve the
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THE LOWER STAGES: S-IC AND S-II
stage schedule position have been most gratifying and I am confident
that there will be continuing improvement." As it turned out, the really
difficult problem became the S-II-T, which, at the present, was undergo-
ing testing at MTF. In April, one of Phillips's envoys at MTF reported
serious problems in North American's personnel; the veteran group of
test people sent to Mississippi on a temporary basis had gone back to
California, leaving inexperienced personnel in charge. On 25 May 1966,
one fire near some LH2 valves and another in the engine area curtailed a
full-duration static test, although a successful full-duration (350 + seconds)
test firing had been accomplished five days earlier. Atwood called von
Braun to express his concern about the incident. Together, they discussed
the probable cause, closing with discussion about different ways to
expedite the program.
On 28 May 1966, a major blow to the Saturn V program came with
the destruction of the S-II-T, the second S-II stage to be lost.57 Techni-
cians had been trouble-shooting the causes of the fires that occurred
during the static tests three days earlier. With the LH2 tank emptied,
pressure checks, using helium were in progress. During prior tests, tank
pressure sensors and relief switches had been disconnected, a fact
unknown to the crew conducting the pressure checks, and as a result, the
LH2 tank was pressurized beyond its design limits, ruptured, and was
demolished. Five men from the North American test crew were injured,
and two others were hospitalized for observation. The accident occurred
on Saturday during the Memorial Day weekend. Von Braun had gone to
a nearby lake for some rest and relaxation, and a distraught Harrison
Storms, in trying to contact von Braun at home, could only reach von
Braun's wife. Storms finally contacted von Braun on Tuesday, the day
after Memorial Day. "I was at the lake," von Braun explained, "and she
(my wife) told me that you were on the phone with a tear-choked voice."
Von Braun was both sympathetic and stern. The loss of the S-II-T
underscored the managerial weaknesses at MTF, he told Storms. With so
many work shifts on and off the job, it was easy to foul things up. The
contractor needed more seniority and better procedural control. The
next day, in a call to Robert Gilruth at Houston, von Braun remarked
that he saw nothing basically wrong in the design of the S-II. Its problems
could be traced to management, procedure, and human error. The
MSFC director summed up his view of the S-II's agonies in a terse
assessment: "The whole thing is NAA, S&rlD."5
Ripples of the S-II-T's destruction were felt in the launch schedule
for AS-501; slippage in the S-II-1 flight stage had led to plans to use the
S-II-T at Cape Kennedy to stack the AS-501 vehicle for systems tests and
replace it later with the flight stage. Investigation of the S-II-T uncovered
the presence of tiny cracks in the LH2 cylinders near the rupture area.
Inspection of other manufactured stages and cylinders in production
229
STAGES TO SATURN
revealed more minute cracks, leading to considerable delays in repair
and modification work.59 Now, the successful launch of AS-501 depended
even more heavily on successful testing of the first of the S-II-1 flight
stages; the latter left Seal Beach on 31 July for a critical series of static
firing and acceptance tests at MTF. By mid-August, the S-II was set up in
Test Stand A-2 for checkout prior to static firing, which did not occur
until the first of December. The intervening time was filled with a series
of nettling problems — "the continuous surprises that keep occurring
after the stages arrive on deck at MTF," as Rees complained to Storms
during one of his weekly teleconferences.60 MSFC listed complaints on
workmanship and quality control, including leaks around supposedly
impervious seals; this situation led to the postponement of the first static
test scheduled in late October.61
MSFC personnel found faults not only in the S-II-1 but in other
stages. For example, the second flight stage, S-II-2, had been ordered
back to the factory for numerous modifications and fixes. Many of the
same operations had to be repeated on other components in various
stages of fabrication and assembly. Managers at MSFC organized special
Tiger Teams of technical and test operations personnel, dispatching
them to MTF to assist in the static firing. All of this did little to cheer up
the Apollo Program Office in Washington. During a year-end session of
the annual program review, Phillips, still unhappy, summed up the
assorted ills and tribulations of the S-II: "The performance of the
contractor has not measured up to the minimum requirements of this
program."62
With a few perturbations here and there, including a major change
in the contractor's management, 1967 was a year of contrast for the S-II.
During January, Phillips reported to the Office of Manned Space Flight
(OMSF) that organization and test procedures had improved at MTF.63
To cope with the continuing problems at Seal Beach, MSFC sent a new
Tiger Team, under the leadership of Colonel Yarchin, the S-II project
manager, to the West Coast. Yarchin and 15 well-known technicians left
early in January. This created questions in the aerospace press and
elsewhere, about the nature and extent of North American's vicissitudes.
MSFC prepared a statement as a guideline for use in answering questions
raised by reporters, emphasizing the basic soundness of the S-II design,
while admittng the need for MSFC's technical assistance in welding and
other procedures at Seal Beach. By the end of the month, Phillips
reported to the Associate Administrator that MSFC welding techniques
had been adopted on the S-II. During March, a welding team from S&ID
traveled to Marshall to observe techniques for reducing the frequency of
weld defects in the circumferential welds of the LH2 tank.64
Besides the S-II program, the beleaguered management at North
American was trying to cope with production problems and schedule
slippages involving the command module. Concern for the CM issue
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THE LOWER STAGES: S-IC AND S-II
caused the Phillips team, which descended on North American in 1965,
to include more people from the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston
(who had NASA responsibility for the CM) than from MSFC.65 Then,
tragically on 27 January 1967, a flash fire in the CM during prelaunch
tests at the Cape claimed the lives of astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, Edward
White, II, and Roger B. Chaffee. The fire exacerbated NASA's concerns
about the management structure of S&ID. The aftermath of the fire
brought reworking of the CM and prelaunch test procedures and
modification of many schedules. The delays, however, aided the Saturn
vehicle contractors. The fire also triggered further reorganization of
North American, as the company continued to contend with the persist-
ent criticism of its performance from NASA. In a series of moves
announced early in May 1967, company president Atwood streamlined
S&ID and drastically shuffled his management team. The "information
systems," part of Space and Information Systems Division, was snipped
off and spliced into the Autonetics Division at Anaheim, leaving Space
Division to concentrate on the Apollo program. Harrison Storms, re-
lieved as president of S&ID (at Downey), became a corporate vice-
president, and was replaced by William "Bill" Bergen, who had only
recently resigned as president of the Martin Company, an aerospace firm
in Baltimore, Maryland. Bergen was given the assistance of some of
North American's top executive experts. Paul Vogt, newly appointed
vice-president in the Space Division, had special responsibility for im-
proving engineering, manufacturing, and quality control. Ralph H.
Ruud, an expert on materials and quality control and former corporate
vice-president for manufacturing, took over as Bergen's executive vice-
president. In addition, North American management at the Cape was
realigned into a more unified structure reporting directly to Bastian
"Buzz" Hello, who came with Bergen from the Martin Company.67
In the meantime, delivery of the S-II-1 stage to the Cape in late
January prompted cautious optimism about the overall progress for the
Saturn booster; this optimism was short-lived, clouded by mounting
requirements for "open work" on the stage, involving modifications to
hardware that only recently had emerged from production lines. "This
growth in modifications downstream all the way to the stack at KSC must
be arrested," Mueller told the president of North American. "We simply
must attain early definition of the work to be accomplished at the proper
station and ship complete stages to MTF and KSC."68 As an example of
these vexatious problems, tiny "hairline" cracks found in S-II tankage
under manufacture led to a huddle in Washington on the possibility of
similar faults in the S-II-1 already stacked with other stages for the
AS-501 launch. With the launch scheduled for mid-August, individuals
meeting at NASA Headquarters on the afternoon of 24 May considered
the possibility of missing the launch date because of the inspection work
to be done on S-II-1. The top-level decision group, including Phillips,
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STAGES TO SATURN
von Braun, Debus, O'Connor, Rudolph, and Yarchin came to the only
safe decision: take down the S-II-1 and conduct extensive dye penetrant
and x-ray inspection of the welds in the LOX and LH2 tanks.69 The
inspection uncovered a dozen imperfections requiring careful tank
repairs and burnishing of the tank walls. The original August launch
date kept slipping, but other modifications were also made to the rest of
the vehicle and the ground equipment. It was not the sole fault of S-II-1
that AS-501 did not leave the pad until 9 November 1967. 70
SUMMARY: S-IC AND S-II
It would be inaccurate to say that the S-IC project waltzed through
its development without a stumble. Still, there were decidedly fewer
traumas with it than with the S-II. The S-IC clearly profited from the
close association with MSFC's own fabrication and manufacturing special-
ists early in the game. The use of conventional propellants like RP-1 and
liquid oxygen represented a lower magnitude of difficulty in producing
tanks and accessories.
North American had trouble with the S-II, at least in part, because
the company had some management difficulties. In fact, the problems,
had been growing many months before the crisis of 1965— 1966. Von
Braun's "Daily Journal" expressed concern about management short-
comings as early as 1963, citing problems in cost overruns and organiza-
tion of manufacturing units.71 Moreover, the S-II program got caught in
a weight-shaving program, which made working with its extremely
thin-walled tanks and other lightened hardware even more difficult.
The turn-around for the S-II by 1967 resulted from the resolute,
though agonizing, reorganization of North American's management.
The reorganization created better visibility and more direct interaction
between corporate managers and the divisions, and benefited from the
streamlining of S&ID itself, and the ability of Robert Greer. Greer's
combination of managerial skills and the ability to come to terms with the
technical problems commanded the respect, loyalty, and performance
from North American's workers at a crucial time. North American was
competent to do the job; reorganization and tighter management ena-
bled North American's capabilities to be applied more effectively.72
Finally, the influence from NASA Headquarters and from MSFC
was extremely significant. The thorough assessment by the Phillips team
influenced North American's realignment in the right direction. Added
to this was the impact of various technical teams from MSFC dispatched
to Seal Beach and MTF to help solve perplexing hardware problems and
operational snarls. Sometimes this was a hindrance. In Greer's opinion.
Marshall's ubiquitous engineers and direction from Huntsville reached
the point where North American's attempts to catch up were snarled by
NASA's red tape.73
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THE LOWER STAGES: S-IC AND S-II
In spite of all the early predicaments in the Saturn program caused
by the S-II, the Saturn V nevertheless launched men to the moon within
the decade; and the S-II stage, along with other Saturn components,
compiled a perfect record of successful missions.
In part, the success of such complex machines rested on new
plateaus of achievement in electronic circuitry and computer technology.
233
From Checkout to Launch: The Quintessential
Computer
During World War II, the growing sophistication of weapon systems
and communications equipment prompted development of test pro-
cedures to ensure that everything was in proper working order. Auto-
matic testing, or checkout, saved time and reduced the large number of
specialists who would otherwise have to be trained to do the job. In the
post- World War II era, larger and ever more complex missile systems
created new difficulties in testing and monitoring the internal condition
of the missile. Computers were introduced not only to measure the level
of fuel and oxidizer in the tanks, but also to assess propellant qualities
such as temperature, stratification, and boil-off rates. Continuous monitoring
of the condition of propellant machinery, missile electronics, and various
internal rocket systems became significant functions of computer check-
out. The Atlas, the first American ICBM, used the kind of comprehen-
sive checkout equipment that would be elaborated in the course of the
Apollo-Saturn program. Once launched, rockets like the Atlas needed
precise guidance and control. Other, smaller computers and associated
equipment aboard the vehicle maintained the proper course and con-
trolled the flow of propellants. Again, the Apollo-Saturn elaborated on
equipment developed for ICBMs.1
AUTOMATIC CHECKOUT
"A check-out system is considered automatic" according to one
definition, "when it can, to some degree, autonomously sequence a series
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STAGES TO SATURN
of measurements of equipment outputs and comparisons of these
measurements against standards." A manual test system, on the other
hand, required the operator to switch the equipment from one reading to
a different one and to make comparisons on "go/no-go" conditions. For
NASA engineers, the intricacy and enormity of measurement and
comparison was evident by taking a look at the number of comparison
test points in the Apollo-Saturn vehicle. Vanguard, produced by Martin,
required only about 600 test points. The Apollo spacecraft, on the other
hand, included over 2500 test points on the command module and the
lunar module, and another 5000 on the Saturn itself. Further, these test
points were checked and monitored constantly from early manufacturing
checkout sequences, to pre-static-firing checkout, to post-static-firing
checkout. Test points were checked scores of times in the 12-14 weeks
required prior to a launch for complete checkout of the Apollo-Saturn
stack at Cape Kennedy. Without computer technology, such procedures,
even at the launch site, might have stretched out the checkout procedures
for more than a year.2 Checkout equipment and procedures went beyond
the point of merely pinpointing a fault in the equipment. The automated
checkout paraphernalia associated with the Apollo-Saturn program
additionally incorporated a diagnosis function; computer or screen
readouts would indicate to the test engineers and programmers not only
that a problem existed, but also the nature of the problem, its causes, and
possible solutions.3
In the evolution of automated checkout equipment, one of the most
interesting problems centered on the creation of a new language. The
language tapes incorporated in the computer programs had to be
functional for the designer of the vehicle as well as the test engineer.
Readouts on malfunctions had to make sense to persons reworking the
piece of hardware that failed or had not performed properly. Obviously,
Computers and their end
product devised for Saturn
V — automatic checkout of
flight hardware — were much
in evidence at the Kennedy
Space Center. This view of
the control center, with row
on row of computer con-
soles, is only one portion of
the system.
FROM CHECKOUT TO LAUNCH
each of these individuals came to the language problem from a different
background and with a different goal in mind. Melding two such
disciplines together was not always an easy task. Earlier in the Saturn
program, Marshall Space Flight Center had developed two separate
languages for computer operations — one for stage testing and one for
launch site operations. This situation obviously created communications
problems and was complicated by the fact that each of the stage
manufacturers was also using its own computer language based on the
particular requirements of its own test designers and engineers. A
further entanglement involved the rapid evolution of checkout pro-
grams. Test engineers were putting new demands on the computers, and
these new demands as well as the style of language had to be communi-
cated to the programmer. To arrive at an appropriate language, either
the test engineer had to learn more about programming, or the pro-
grammer had to learn more about test engineering. The solution to this
dilemma was ATOLL, an acronym for Acceptance Test or Launch
Language, designed to bridge many of the gaps between the test
engineer, the designer of the stage, and the computer programmer.
Originating in late 1963, ATOLL eased confusion and helped to normal-
ize the many functions of automatic test and checkout encountered at the
manufacturer's plant, during static firing, and during operations at the
launch site.4
In a typical test sequence a number of things happened. For
example, the test engineer inaugurated the program by typing in the
instructions on his console. The computer responded by reading out for
the test engineer the status of the selected program. When the program
was ready for running, this was indicated on the appropriate panel of the
computer. The information appeared in English on either the cathode
tube of the program display or on a video data terminal. Perhaps the
display also included numerous options for the engineer, depending on
which portions of the test he wanted to pursue at the time. If some
selected part of the test required a further breakdown for the engineer's
consideration, instructions could also be typed in, and the computer
would respond on the display tube. When either programming difficul-
ties or hardware problems cropped up, the computer might give the test
engineer a choice of several actions: terminate the test, go back to a prior
enumerated step, proceed, or some other option. Further, in the process
of running the test, all the results were shown on engineering display
consoles and recorded both in print and on magnetic tape. These
readouts were stored and, in some instances, were correlated into
previous test operations for checking at some later date. Thereafter, if an
anomaly occurred, it was possible to run a check through the computer
all the way back to the machine shop floor to see what discrepancies or
difficulties might have occurred in the test conditions, hardware, or in
the manufacturing process itself.5
231
STAGES TO SATURN
Prior to the static-firing program (and before any mating of the
separate stages occurred), each Saturn stage had to pass checkout
requirements. Although the final test goals were similar for each stage,
the differences between stages required a "custom-tailored" test for each
one. Designing a checkout system to satisfy the unique requirements of
the instrument unit and each stage, and also meet integrated vehicle
requirements, became what MSFC called a "major task." The Marshall
group drew on its experience with the Redstone, Jupiter, Mercury,
Saturn I, and other rocket programs in establishing the checkout
organization.6
The decision to use automated stage checkout for the Saturn
program rested on several factors. D. M. Schmidt, of MSFC's Quality and
Reliability Assurance Laboratory, summarized them at a technical con-
ference in New York City in 1965:
• High reliability is needed; vehicle is expensive and is man-rated.
• Truly integrated designs of stages and support equipment would reduce the
number of operational problems.
• Human errors and human slowness must be improved upon.
• An engineering approach is feasible throughout design, production and test,
military restraints being absent.
• The time scheduled for checkout must be used more effectively than on previous
programs.
• The volume of technical data to be measured and handled is extremely large;
each flight stage alone has hundreds of measuring devices aboard (perhaps as
high as 1000).
• All data must be transmitted long distances on a limited number of channels.
Launch pads are far from control consoles. Stage checkout must meet launch
needs.
• Test and launch data must be retrieved, stored, and made available to many
organizations.
• Automation increases the powers of human operators to deal with complex
situations and frees them for decision-making.
• Data-handling needs are many and varied: accuracy of measurements and
transmission, versatility of equipment, speed of operation, operating-time re-
cording, failure histories, data comparisons.7
For the Saturn program, checkout included two distinct phases.
"Stage checkout" included test sequences conducted on the individual
stage during manufacturing and static firing prior to NASA's acceptance
for assembly into the launch vehicle. "Vehicle checkout" included tests on
the assembled launch vehicle at the launch site. A complete checkout of
the stack was deemed necessary because an individual stage might
function perfectly in tests that simulated interaction with other stages,
but not function as well when linked together physically in the stack.
238
FROM CHECKOUT TO LAUNCH
Marshall's main interest was the actual stage checkout, with responsibility
for final launch vehicle checkout resting with Kennedy Space Center.
Originally, NASA planners envisioned repeating the stage checkout after
the delivery of each stage to Cape Kennedy, but it became apparent that
this scheme compromised the time and resources required for final
checkout and launch. Therefore each stage received final checkout
before transport to the launch site. The procedure not only made it
easier to accomplish the final checkout and launch, but enabled MSFC
and the contractors to deal more efficiently with problem areas at the
stage test facility (where specialized personnel and equipment were
present). This concept paid off on the first three Saturn V vehicles when
stage checkouts uncovered 40 serious defects; these flaws would have
gone undetected had the stage checkout depended only on procedures
and facilities available at the launch site.8
Each booster stage was subjected to a post-manufacturing checkout,
a checkout prior to static-firing tests, and a post-static-firing checkout.
Static firing, the most dramatic test, tested the propulsion systems during
actual ignition and operation. Checkout featured a "building-block"
sequence, common to all stages, with variations as necessary for an
individual stage. A typical sequence began with an independent electrical
system test and was followed by a simplified rundown of the launch
sequence. Next, other systems were run in succession; guidance and
control system tests; a second launch sequence run with these and other
electrical and propulsion systems tested; completion of ancillary system
tests; an all-systems test; and, finally, a "simulated flight" test, including
ignition and a duration burn.9
The Saturn stages and the associated checkout equipment for each
were developed simultaneously with the goal of an integrated design of
the vehicle and its ground equipment. Some of the vehicle's mechanical
equipment — such as sensing equipment for checkout of a number of
items operated by fluid, as well as fluid management subsystems — did not
lend themselves to checkout with digital computers. Design engineers
succeeded in developing suitable checkout equipment for the electrically
actuated and measured equipment so that the great majority of stage
checkout tests would proceed automatically. The Saturn I vehicles
offered the first experiences in stage checkout for Saturn class vehicles.
Whereas the vehicle SA- 1 required manual checkout, by the end of the
Saturn series automatic equipment controlled over 50 percent of the
tests. The automatic capability improved during the S-IB vehicle series,
and checkout of the Saturn V stages, including the instrument unit (IU),
was about 90 percent automated?0
Checkout equipment for S-II and S-IVB stages of the Saturn V was
developed by the stage contractors under the direction of MSFC. For the
S-IC, Marshall collaborated with Boeing in developing the automated
equipment, because the first S-IC stages were fabricated in MSFC shops
239
STAGES TO SATURN
at Huntsville. Boeing employees trained on the first two S-IC stages at
Huntsville, then checked out later stages at Michoud. For the IU,
checkout equipment previously developed by Marshall for the Saturn I
was utilized, with IBM in Huntsville assuming responsibility for later
work. The S-IC stage and the IU checkout operations both utilized the
RCA-110A digital computer. NASA had already decided to use the
RCA-1 10A for launch control, so the interfaces with the S-IC and IU were
compatible. In contrast, the S-II and S-IVB stages relied on the CDC-924A
computer, supplied by Control Data Corporation. The design of this
computer offered added flexibility for checkout of the two upper stages,
which utilized liquid hydrogen as fuel, mounted the J-2 engine, ignited at
high altitude, and included several unique design features. Also the
CDC-924A, which was based on later-generation computer technology,
offered added test functions.11 The Saturn program also relied heavily
on the "Saturn V Systems Breadboard," a facility located at MSFC. The
breadboard incorporated both mechanical equipment and electronic
simulation and was used for wringing out the checkout procedures and
launch control operations at the Cape.12
Not everyone was happy about the escalating preeminence of
automation. Many of Douglas's own people opposed the ubiquitous
computer. "In fact," an automation expert at Douglas admitted, "the
company was surprised to find that its equipment took the automation
more readily than did its engineers."1
In the pre-Saturn days of rocket and missile operations, many
checkout procedures were performed manually and worked well with
complex vehicles like the Thor-Delta. Douglas engineers used manual
checkout techniques for the earliest S-IV stages; pre-checkout, accept-
ance firing, and post-checkout required a total of 1200 hours per stage.
Veteran "switch flippers," who for so long scanned gauges and dials,
flipping the right switch in a critical situation, had been vital links in the
overall loop. They were now replaced by ranks of gray-enameled com-
puters. For checkout procedures on the Saturn V third stage, the S-IVB,
fully automated techniques replaced the manual checkout for the first
time. Although the magnitude of testing rose by 40 percent per stage, the
new automated systems reduced the checkout time to about 500 hours
total. H. E. Bauer clearly remembered the occasion when men and the
new machines first confronted each other. "One seasoned switch flipper
came into the blockhouse after the equipment was installed; he watched
the blinking lights, the scanners, the recorders — everything was working
automatically, heaving out wide and endless runs of data printouts. . . ."
The man balefully surveyed the mechanically throbbing interloper and
growled, "It's the Gray Puke!" It was not an isolated reaction. As Bauer
recalls, the ghastly name stuck and became part of the permanent lexicon
associated with the S-IVB stage.
Even with mechanical drones like the Gray Puke usurping the
240
FROM CHECKOUT TO LAUNCH
human role, the man-behind-the-machine could still display some sem-
blance of individuality. Consider, for example, the case of the petulant
computer-printer — when the machine apparently took umbrage during
the automatic checkout sequence in preparation for an acceptance firing.
The moment of truth for the test arrived — the signal to fire. After
uncounted hours of preparation, hundreds of workers now stood by to
observe the climactic moment of ignition. In the crowded blockhouse, all
eyes focused on the rows of computers and monitor screens displaying
their last fragments of information. Finally, the test conductor typed in
his "request" to start the terminal countdown for static firing. The
computer whirred, and the automatic typewriter responded with a
singular reply, "Say please." Startled, the test conductor concluded he
had made a typing error, and repeated his original message more care-
fully. The balky computer was not to be denied. "Say please," it insisted.
At this point the crowd in the blockhouse began stirring restlessly. The
loaded S-IVB, readied for firing, remained poised nearby with thou-
sands of gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen primed for
detonation. People were getting tense. Reasonably certain he was only
working against a faulty firing tape, the test conductor quickly decided to
make one more try, rather than put it into discard and risk more precious
time to put a replacement tape into operation. So once more, he entered
into the machine his humble request to fire, with a polite notation at the
end: "please." This time, there was no problem. "This is your program-
mer," the machine chattered back, "wishing you good luck." And with a
roar, the rocket ignited.14
GUIDANCE AND CONTROL
With computer data accumulated for each stage and subsystem, the
collected information was not only utilized for vehicle checkout at the
Cape, but also for the launch and for guidance and control during the
mission.
After years of research and development on the individual stages,
involving thousands of workers and millions of man-hours, most of the
responsibility for the six-hour flight of a Saturn V devolved on a piece of
equipment known as the instrument unit — the "IU." A thin, circular
structure, only 1 meter high and 7.6 meters in diameter, the IU was
sandwiched between the S-IVB stage and the command and service
modules. Packed inside were the computers, gyroscopes, and assorted
"black boxes" necessary to keep the launch vehicle properly functioning
and on its course.
Historically, the problems of traveling successfully from point A to
point B on the Earth's surface depended on some form of visual
references, such as tall trees, mountains, or some other easily sighted
241
STAGES TO SATURN
landmark. Longer journeys overland, where familiar landmarks were
unavailable, and extensive sea voyages, out of sight of any landmarks at
all, came to rely on guidance instruments such as compasses and the
astrolabe. Rocket vehicles, on the other hand, with their extremely high
speeds, altitudes, and long-range capabilities, came to depend on ad-
vanced guidance systems coupled with control systems that were essen-
tially automatic.
The Saturn rockets relied on inertial guidance, involving a rigid
member within the vehicle. This member, an integral element of the
guidance package, was oriented and held unchanging by means of gyro
units, gimbal systems, and servomechanisms. Additional equipment tied
into the inertial guidance unit contained all the data needed to sense the
distance traveled by the vehicle and the deviations from the desired path
and to control the vehicle in accordance with its computer memory.15
The guidance and control techniques applied in the Saturn program
involved many problems. Successful solutions were reached partly through
new research and development and partly through the use of proven
techniques and hardware adapted from existing systems. The Saturn
digital computer and the data adapter stand out as new developments.
The inertial platform, on the other hand, was a result of concepts and
hardware worked out in the late 1930s and early 1940s in Germany.
Inertial guidance rested on the technology of precision gyroscopes.
Gyroscope technology progressed considerably during World War I,
based on requirements for controlling the gunfire of long-range naval
guns at sea. During the 1920s and the 1930s, further development of
gyroscopic systems involved aircraft applications, which included rate-of-
turn indicators, the artificial horizon, and the directional gyro. Despite
the remarkable advances in aviation guidance instruments for navigation
and "blind flying," instrument precision and response rates were inade-
quate for application in high-speed rocket vehicles. New developments
were required in gimbal systems, servomechanisms, electronics, comput-
ers, and other equipment leading to inertial guidance systems for rockets
and missiles. An intensive effort to perfect such hardware occurred in the
late 1930s and during World War II, particularly through the work
accomplished in missile research by the von Braun team in Germany.
C. Stark Draper, a leading postwar specialist in the field of guidance and
control, acknowledged the contributions of the von Braun team in no
uncertain terms. "Beyond doubt," he declared, "credit for the realization
of inertial guidance belongs to the Peenemuende group of German
scientists who developed the V-2 ballistic rocket missile."
In the A-4 missile (the V-2), a pair of gyros was used in a guidance
system known as the LEV-3; one free gyro controlled roll and yaw, one
controlled pitch, and a tilt program put the missile into the proper
angular attitude after its vertical launch. The LEV-3 employed a gyro-
type accelerometer as a propulsion cutoff system, the device being preset
242
FROM CHECKOUT TO LAUNCH
to cut off the engines when the missile reached a predetermined velocity.
With this pair of two-degree-of-freedom gyros, the LEV-3 was a three-axis-
stablized platform (an inertial guidance concept), the result of very high
quality research and development in precision machinery, materials,
advanced theory, and innovative design concepts. Moreover, the whole
system was manufactured in quantity.
The LEV-3 was a milestone in the art of guidance and control for
rockets; it established the basic design concepts for the inertial guidance
concepts that followed during V-2 development in wartime Germany.18
One of the most significant developments occurred through the work of
Fritz Mueller, at Kreissel Geralte GMB. H. This was the SG-66, a
three-axis platform with advanced accelerometers and integrators. Boasting
much improved precision and accuracy, it was coming into production
for use in German missile systems when the war ended. After the von
Braun group moved to Huntsville, Mueller directed further refinements
of advanced V-2 guidance concepts developed at Peenemuende which
ultimately resulted in a far superior piece of equipment. The new variant
featured an air-bearing system for three single-degree-of-freedom gyros
integrated in a gimbal-ring structure; this yielded a three-axis stabilized
platform. Further work by other Peenemuende veterans and an analog
guidance computer devised with American researchers at the Redstone
Arsenal culminated in the ST-80, the stabilized platform, inertial guid-
ance system installed in the Army's 1954 Redstone missile. Prior to
launch, the intended flight profile was fed into the missile's computer
guidance program. During flight the ST-80 combined with the guidance
computer kept the missile on its preplanned trajectory with no external
guidance influences.19
The ST-80 of the Redstone evolved into Jupiter's ST-90 (1957); both
were turned over to the Ford Instrument Company for manufacture.
When the Saturn I began to evolve, the Army Ballistic Missile Agency
(ABMA) guidelines called for the use of proven and available hardware
wherever possible. For example, the early Saturns incorporated the
ST-90 stabilized platform with an IBM computer, the ASC-15 model,
adapted from the equipment used on the uprated Titan II.20 At a later
date, as other vehicle test milestones were passed, a different guidance
and control unit was proposed. This new unit, the ST-124, was an
improved inertial guidance platform intended for the Saturn V's com-
plex and long-term orbital mission.
EVOLUTION OF THE IU
The instrument unit (IU) evolved as an "in-house" project at
Marshall Space Flight Center and was based on the guidance expertise
243
PLATFORM GIMBAl CONFIGURATION
The ST-124 inertial guidance platform is
given a technical check (left); above is a
schematic of its systems.
accumulated from the V-2, the Redstone, and subsequent vehicles
developed by the von Braun team.
Beginning in 1958, work on the IU was concurrent with the Saturn
I. On 15 June 1961, the mockup of the IU was completed at Huntsville
and scheduled to fly in the Block II series of the Saturn launch vehicles.21
For the Block I vehicles with dummy upper stages, guidance and control
equipment was packaged in canisters located at various points in the
adapter area atop the S-l first stage of the Saturn I. This equipment
included telemetry, tracking, and other components, such as the ST-90
guidance platform and a guidance signal processor. Plans called for an
additional canister to carry the ST-124 platform as a "passenger," thus
beginning its sequential tests and qualification as the active guidance
component for later Saturn I, Saturn IB, and Saturn V flights.
MSFC intended to make the ST-124 an increasingly active system
for SA-5 and subsequent vehicles and to link it with an IBM computer.
SA-5 was the first of the Block II vehicles of the Saturn I series. It
featured a live S-IV upper stage and a separate vehicle segment, located
above the S-IV, for guidance and control (to be known as the IU).
Standing about 1.5 meters high, the cylindrical IU section contained four
package bays that had been shaped in the form of large tubes and
cruciformly joined in the center. This new structural element was
244
FROM CHECKOUT TO LAUNCH
designed for greater flexibility and permitted modifications between
launches, if so dictated by results of the previous launch and changing
test requirements. The four tubular segments contained the ST-90, the
ST-124, the telemetry equipment, and the power and control package.22
With the flight of SA-9, the Saturn I vehicles began carrying a new
type of instrument unit, which resembled the equipment later applied in
the Saturn IB and Saturn V flights. In the earlier design, the tubular
package bays were pressurized and surrounded by an inert gas as a
means of environmental control to cope with the problems of heat. In
later instrument unit design, however, equipment was mounted on the
walls of the cylindrical segment. With this design the cylindrical unit was
not pressurized, and the external style of environmental control by inert
gas gave way to a revised system. Elimination of the pressurized tubular
sections and other simplifications not only reduced the weight of the
instrument unit, but also reduced the height of the segment by half,
thereby improving the structural and flight characteristics of the late
Block II launch vehicles. Introduction of the improved instrument unit
marked growing participation of contractors, including the Bendix Cor-
poration, for the ST-124, and IBM, who assumed increasing responsibil-
• r i • i • i 93
ity tor the instrument unit segment and various guidance components.
The major role of IBM as the principal manufacturer for the
instrument unit began in February 1964. The company was named
prime contractor for both the Saturn IB and Saturn V versions of the IU
and was responsible for building, testing, and shipping the instrument
unit to Cape Kennedy. With MSFC retaining primary responsibility for
the buildup of the first four units and the first four flights of the Saturn
IB, IBM was able to ease into its work. For the first instrument unit, 80
percent of the hardware was classed as government-furnished equip-
ment; this was reduced to 10 percent when IBM took over for the fifth
unit. The instrument unit for the Saturn V was essentially the same as the
model for the Saturn IB, because the evolutionary process of develop-
ment and manufacturing was intended to give the Saturn V a proven
piece of equipment with as few changes as possible.24
Unlike most major launch vehicle components, which were
manufactured elsewhere around the country, the instrument unit was
produced in Huntsville. IBM made a major commitment in setting up
complete research and development facilities, engineering offices, and
production facilities in the city's Research Park. Although the company
started with only a sales office building in Huntsville in 1962 and
originally assumed most of its work would be done in New York, the
scope of work implied a need for new facilities, and IBM decided on a
complex in Huntsville. By 1964, IBM completed a manufacturing
building in Huntsville's Research Park, and the company site included
four major buildings, representing a $14 million investment with a work
force of 2000. Clinton H. Grace, the facility manager at Huntsville, was a
245
SATURN IB/V INSTRUMENT UNIT
MAJOR I.U. SYSTEMS
• GUIDANCE & CONTROL
•ELECTRICAL
•TELEMETRY 8 MEASURING
• RADIO FREQUENCY
• STRUCTURAL
• THERMAL CONTROL
ENVIRONMCNTAl
ELECTRICAL POWER SYS.
MEASURING SYS.
CONTROL ACCELEROMETERS
CONTROL COMPUTER SYS.
EDS
RADAR ALTIMETER
C-BAND RADAR
.. AZUSASYS.
10. MINITRACK SYS.
11. ST-124-M PLATFORM
12. PLATFORM AIR SUPPLY
13. PLATFORM ELECTRONICS
14. GUIDANCE COMMAND SYS.
15. TELEMETRY SYS.
16. SWITCH SELECTOR
17. GUIDANCE COMPUTER
18. DATA ADAPTER
The instrument unit used
in Saturn IB and Saturn V
is shown in component de-
tail in the drawing at left;
below, left, in IBM's Hunts-
ville facility, lUs are joined
together and instrumented.
Two of the key components
in the IU are the launch
vehicle digital computer
(below, right) and the launch
vehicle data adapter (bot-
tom, left). At bottom right,
this completed IU is under-
going rigorous checkout and
test before shipment to KSC.
Both IBM and MSFC en-
gineers are monitoring the
checkout.
BIBS
CAPACITOR PACKAGE
ELAPSED TIME METER
PURGING VALVE
FROM CHECKOUT TO LAUNCH
dynamic force in both the organization and buildup of the IBM complex
and won high praise from Wernher von Braun. Speaking at the dedica-
tion of the IBM facility in 1965, von Braun commented, "In this project,
a saying has developed at Marshall Center, 'When you're in trouble, say
'Grace' — and Grace will take care of your problems.' "25
The ground rules for the design, research, and development of the
IU came out of MSFC, and these concepts carried over into the
production models delivered by IBM. With cost constraints and tight
schedules limiting the number of test flights, the number of measure-
ments for each flight was expected to be quite high and to vary
considerably from one flight to another. For this reason, flexibility for
the instrument unit had a high priority and designers emphasized a
modular approach as means to provide both flexibility and ease of
servicing. Another strongly emphasized feature was reliability; a key
factor, particularly because the Saturn program was geared to manned
launches. In addition, liability was enforced by the high cost of each
vehicle and limited test flights, which naturally produces a reluctance to
fly exotic, untried, hardware. As James T. Powell, of Marshall's Astrionics
Laboratory stressed, "We simply cannot afford the time or money* to
launch additional vehicles to obtain data lost by instrumentation equip-
ment failures. This has led to a rather conservative approach to system
design." Some innovations, such as new modulation techniques or micro-
miniaturization, might turn out to be "equivalent in importance to the
invention of the wheel," Powell remarked, but would not be used in the
Saturn program until they had undeniably demonstrated their opera-
tional reliability.26 Nevertheless, the scope of the missions for Saturn V
required additional changes and improvements. These alterations were
introduced and checked out during the Saturn IB series, which not only
carried the same basic instrument unit as the Saturn V but also involved
manned launches and carried the similar S-IVB upper stage.
THE BRAIN AND ITS PARTS
Categorized as the "brain" and "nerve center" by the MSFC Astrionics
Laboratory, the IU, with its modular construction, facilitated the chang-
ing of components and computer programs, without major modifica-
tions, for different missions. The basic functions of the IU included
guidance and control during all phases of flight; command and sequence
of vehicle functions, including engine cutoff and separation of the stages;
insertion into orbit; and relay of data on vehicle position, vehicle
functions, and other information to ground stations. In the case of the
Saturn V, the IU also functioned in (1) the transfer of the S-IVB, the IU,
and the command and service modules into the lunar transfer trajec-
tory; (2) the stabilization during transposition and docking; and (3) the
247
STAGES TO SATURN
maneuvers to clear the S-I VB and IU from the flight path of the GSM on
its route to the moon.27 The IU itself was viewed as five major systems:
structural, guidance and control, electrical, instrumentation, and envi-
ronmental control.
The cylindrical IU structure did more than carry meters of cables,
black boxes, and other miscellaneous paraphernalia; it was a load-bearing
structure as well, with three major rocket stages stacked beneath it and
thousands of kilograms of spacecraft, lunar landing module (and three
astronauts) to support above it. The process of assembly of the IU began
with three curved (120°) structural segments made of thin aluminum
sheets bonded over an aluminum honeycomb core (approximately equal
to the thickness of a bar of soap). In joining the three segments together,
workers used highly accurate theodolites, much like a surveyor's transit,
to align the three segments in a precise circle. Technicians joined the
segments with precision-machined splice plates and affixed aluminum
alloy channel rings for surface mating of both the S-IVB below and the
payload above.28
The key items for guidance and control included the ST-124
stabilized platform, the launch vehicle digital computer, and the launch
vehicle data adapter. Produced by the Navigation and Control Division of
the Bendix Corporation, the ST-124 consisted of a three-degrees-of-
freedom inertial platform. With a diameter of 53 centimeters and a
weight of 52 kilograms, the platform's structural members and most of its
components were fabricated of beryllium, an extremely lightweight
space-age metal. Although difficult to work with, beryllium offered
significant weight savings and provided good stability over a wide
temperature range. To reduce errors in sensing attitude and velocity,
designers cut friction to a minimum in the platform gyros and acceler-
ometers by floating the bearings on a thin film of dry nitrogen; pressure,
temperature, and rate of flow were controlled from a reservoir in the IU.
The carefully controlled alignment of the ST-124 platform did not take
place until the final events of the launch countdown. The procedure
called for a precisely sited theodolite not far from the launch pad to aim a
beam of light through a small opening in the IU high above the ground.
The beam passed through a small window in the guidance platform
where a pair of platform prisms reflected the beam back to the theodo-
lite. Coated to work with two different wavelengths, the prisms aided in
aligning the platform to its launch azimuth; when proper alignment was
achieved, the acquisition light signal notified the mission control center.29
All the carefully engineered complexities of the Saturn guidance
and control system were not fully employed during the first-stage burn.
Although the ST-124 was released from its Earth-fixed reference to a
space-fixed reference five seconds before liftoff and was supplying
velocity and attitude data to the guidance computer during the first-stage
burn, the vehicle did not require an active guidance system during the
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FROM CHECKOUT TO LAUNCH
boost phase. In ascent through the atmosphere, both the Saturn IB and
Saturn V were subject to possible sudden stresses from gusts, wind shear,
and jet streams. If the guidance computer, acting on signals from the
stabilized platform, attempted to generate compensation maneuvers
during such turbulence, the added stress forces from the powerful
engines as they went through extensive gimbaling motions might cause
the rocket to break up. So, during the first-stage burn, the rocket flew
according to a predetermined program stored in its guidance computer.
If the vehicle was forced off its predetermined path, the ST-124 sensed
this displacement and fed the data into the computer for later retrieval.
During the second- and third-stage burns, the stored data were run
through the computer and into the active guidance and control system to
put the rocket back on course.30
Information on yaw, pitch, roll, and acceleration provided by the
ST-124, as well as inputs from other electrical systems, were collectively
assimilated and processed by the digital computer and the data adapter
to give the rocket an optimum performance. There was a division of
labor involved. The computer took information and provided commands
such as orbital checkout of the vehicle. The adapter performed as an
input-output unit in conjunction with the digital computer, interfacing
with nearly all units of the astrionics system. Its digital section "buffered"
the digital quantities, and an analog section converted analog to digital
form and back again. The IU equipment for Saturn V was only slightly
heavier and larger than that for the Saturn I, but its computer-data
adapter combination was three times faster, possessed four times the
storage capacity, and was far more reliable. Although there were seven
times the number of electronic components in the Saturn V versions,
their total power consumption was 100 watts less than in the Saturn I.
Furthermore, the 460 000-bit storage design could be easily doubled by
plugging in additional memory modules. The following table offers a
quick comparison:31
Equipment Comparison
(Saturn I and V Computer/Data Adapter Subsystems)
Item
Saturn I
Saturn V
No. components
12000
80000
Weight (kg)
95
114
Volume (m3)
1.1
1.6
Total power (watts)
540
438
Operations (sec)
3200
9600
Storage capacity (bits)
100 000
460 000
Reliability (hrs)
750
45000
These statistical improvements do more than illustrate the signifi-
cant changes in the IU for the Saturn IB/V, as compared with the Saturn
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STAGES TO SATURN
I. They also reveal that, although original guidelines called for as little
new equipment as possible, the nature of manned missions and the quest
for reliability called for advanced design techniques. To meet the
stringent reliability and operational requirements and also remain within
the rigid size and weight limitations, four new design concepts were
incorporated into the computer: a duplex memory system, unit logic
devices, triple modular redundancy, and a liquid-cooled magnesium-
lithium chassis.32
The duplex memory system incorporated two separate sets of
memory systems that operated in harmony during critical phases of the
mission. This not only reduced the chances of system failure but
operated so that one memory system could correct the other if intermit-
tent failure should occur. The system consisted of six modules operating
as pairs of duplex memories, each with 4096 computer words of 28 bits
and designed to accept two additional modules for special mission
requirements. The unit logic devices featured microminiature circuitry,
resulting in a smaller, lighter system, having seven times more compo-
nents than earlier computers while operating at three times the speed.
Typically, each unit logic device was produced as a "wafer," 7.6 millimeters
square and 0.71 millimeters thick. A total of 8918 such wafers were
mounted on dozens of "pages," about 7.6 centimeters square, in the
computer.
Further, the IU featured the first computer application where all
critical circuits in both the computer and data adapter were triplicated—
triple modular redundancy — giving near-ultimate operative reliability.
Designers selected seven functional sections where catastrophic failure
might occur but, for reasons of reliability, could not be permitted to
occur. Each selected section was then placed in three identical but
independent logic channels. Problems were presented to each module
simultaneously, and the results of each, independently derived, went to a
majority-rule voter circuit. Any dissenting "vote" was discarded as an
error, and the only signal passed along by the voter circuit consisted of
the identical signals from two of the modules. Voting disagreements did
not appreciably slow the system: a worst-case voting delay would tie up
the computer for only 100 nanoseconds (billionths of a second). More-
over, the computer unit, occupying 0.6 cubic meter and weighing 35
kilograms, could subtract and add (in 82 microseconds) while simultaneously
dividing and multiplying (in 328 microseconds).33
The unusually light weight of the computer was achieved by the use
of a magnesium-lithium alloy chassis, the first application of this alloy in
structural fabrication for an electronics application. Weight being extremely
costly in the upper stages of a booster, MSEC used the magnesium-
lithium alloy construction, along with an integral cooling system, to save
29 kilograms. In selecting a suitable material, designers turned down the
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FROM CHECKOUT TO LAUNCH
even lighter beryllium because of toxicity and technical difficulties in
machining and boring. Magnesium-lithium was still quite light (25
percent less than conventional magnesium and 50 percent less than
aluminum) and possessed a very high weight-to-strength ratio, good
thermal qualities for operation in space, and minimal transfer of mechani-
cal vibration.
In addition to sharing with the computer some similarities in the
fabrication and production of the chassis, the data adapter incorporated
concepts similar to those of the computer's unit logic devices and triple
modular redundancy. The basic function of the data adapter was that of
a "gateway*' to the computer for all elements of the Saturn guidance
system. It received inputs from the ground control computer, radio
command channel, telemetry, multifarious communications from within
the vehicle, the inertial guidance platform, and the flight control com-
puter. For example, analog inputs from various sensors were taken by
the data adapter and digitized for the computer. Computer outputs were
relayed back to the data adapter for conversion to analog signals as
required. If the signals involved control commands, they went through
the analog flight control computer and were combined with additional
signals from the rate gyros. The resulting output included commands to
activate the engine gimbal systems, thereby changing the direction of
their thrust and the attitude of the launch vehicle.
While some IU equipment maintained the rocket in flight, other
systems were involved in communications, tracking the booster in trajec-
tory and orbit, and transmitting reams of data back to the ground.
Several tracking and command systems were employed: an Azusa system
measured slant range and vehicle direction in relation to ground stations;
a C-band radar transponder aided radar ground stations in measuring
azimuth, elevation, and range; and a command and communications
system permitted updating of the computer, performance of tests,
addition or deletion of certain messages, and recall of certain portions of
the computer memory bank. During launch and orbital phases, trans-
ducers throughout the vehicle reported information on vibrations,
pressures, temperatures, and various operations; the measuring and
telemetry system transmitted these data to ground stations. This not only
furnished real-time data on vehicle performance during the mission but
provided a means of checkout for succeeding events, verified commands
to the vehicle, and created a bank of data for later analysis of the vehicle's
overall performance.35
The power to run this complex electronic equipment emanated
from four 28-volt DC batteries, which consisted of special distributors
and regulators for both low-voltage components and higher currents for
the ST-124 inertial platform. The electrical system also included the
emergency detection network to analyze vehicle malfunctions. Depending
251
STAGES TO SATURN
on the seriousness of the problem, the emergency detection network
either responded with an automatic abort sequence or gave the astronaut
crew and NASA flight controllers time to assess the situation.
Operation of the IU equipment generated considerable amounts of
heat which had to be transferred away from the components and dis-
sipated into space. This was the function of the environmental control
system. It consisted of cold plates (as mounting surfaces for most of the
electronic gear), and integral coolant passages for thermal control of (1)
the computer, (2) the data adapter, (3) the flight control computer, and
(4) the ST-124 platform. Heat was dissipated to a coolant mixture, similar
to the antifreeze used in a car (60 percent methanol, 40 percent water),
that was pumped through the 16 cold plates and the integral coolant
passages. An additional 16 cold plates, located in the upper skirt section
of the S-IVB, were also connected to the lU's coolant pumping system.
Warmed coolant was pumped through a sublimator to reduce its temper-
ature before it was routed back through the coolant passages and cold
plates. A comparatively simple device, the sublimator consisted of a water
supply to a porous plate with ice frozen in the pores, because the pores
were exposed to the frigid environment of space. In the course of
passage through the sublimator, heat from the coolant was transferred to
the plate, the ice was converted to water vapor, and the water vapor was
dissipated into space.36
QUALITY CONTROL AND TESTING
To ensure trouble-free operation of the equipment in the IU, IBM
established tightly controlled preparation and installation conditions
during assembly of the IU. Tubing, valves, fittings, components, and
subassemblies moved in a steady steam through various "clean-room"
environments for checks and cleansing to establish minimums of contam-
ination. MSFC specifications for the clean rooms varied, with increasing
stringency ranging from class I to class IV rooms; this successively
reflected greater requirements for clothing worn by personnel, tempera-
ture, humidity, and particle counts. For most clean-room operations,
specifications allowed no particles greater than 175 microns in the air,
although examination and qualification of some critical items established
a limit of 20 microns — about the diameter of a human hair — and a count
of no more than 6 per cubic meter. Cleaning for super-critical items
included laminar flow work benches, de-ionized water, various combina-
tion of solvents, and ultrasonic systems. Once parts and assemblies were
cleaned and ready for installation, there was the problem of transferring
them from the clean-room environment to the "dirtier" area of IU
assembly. Since the IU was too large to bring into the clean rooms, IBM
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FROM CHECKOUT TO LAUNCH
decided to take the clean-room environment to the IU instead. The
company used a trio of mobile clean rooms on casters, which had been
hung with heavy vinyl curtain walls and equipped with air filters and
blowers to maintain class IV working conditions.37
Installation of equipment within the IU was accompanied by a series
of checkout operations. Beginning with delivery of individual compo-
nents, IBM personnel checked them against equipment specification
drawings and subjected them to acceptance tests, followed by functional
checks as items were mounted in the IU. As the various systems of the IU
began to shape up, components and systems were checked until the IU
was complete. Afterward, up to eight weeks of exhaustive simulation tests
were conducted; these simulations included preflight ground checkouts
and others for liftoff, trajectory, and orbit. When the test and simulation
phase was complete, the IU was ready for shipment. Critical components,
such as the ST-124, the computer, and the data adapter were taken out
and packaged separately, then flown along with the IU to the Cape. At
the Cape, these components were reassembled and rechecked before the
IU was stacked into the rest of the vehicle and prepared for complete
preflight checkout.38
Despite the great emphasis on clean room facilities and spotless
surroundings, IBM on one occasion finished production of an IU on the
deck of a barge while floating down the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers.
During 1965, work on the IU fell behind as a result of changes in
instrumentation. The schedule for "stacking" the first Saturn IB (AS-201)
for launch early in 1966 was apparently going to slip badly unless work
on the IU could be accelerated. Marshall executives pressured their own
IU project managers by demanding to know what they were going to do
to make the launch date. Luther Powell and Sidney Sweat, from the IU
project office at MSFC, brainstormed the situation and proposed a way to
make up time. At that point, there was no aircraft large enough to deliver
the IU by air. Instead,. the IU was scheduled to be carried to the Cape via
a barge down the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers, one of the most
time-consuming elements in the IU delivery schedule.
Powell and Sweat proposed finishing the IU while enroute aboard
the barge and submitted their idea to their IBM counterparts, who
agreed with the unlikely proposal. Because the enclosed barge was
equipped with internal environmental controls anyhow, it was no great
problem to set up a workable clean-room atmosphere by rigging a series
of heavy plastic shrouds for additional environmental control inside the
barge canopy. Marshall and IBM specialists agreed on specific jobs to be
done on the barge so that no critical areas or hardware would be subject
to environmental degradation during the trip. With detailed work
schedules set up, arrangements were made for delivery of key parts and
supplies at designated ports along the river. In case of unanticipated
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STAGES TO SATURN
needs, constant radio contact with MSFC permitted instantaneous dis-
patch of a light plane with emergency deliveries to any nearby airport;
there, a government truck could pick them up and deliver them.
The unusual voyage worked. The IU was complete by the time it
reached New Orleans. The most serious problems proved to be the
physical condition of the traveling IU working team. Despite 16—18 hour
workdays, the meals concocted by the barge's chef produced a chubbier
group of electronics specialists by the end of the trip.39
Barge trips being the exception, an intensive effort in quality control
extended to the fabricating and manufacturing process and encompassed
the subcontractors as well. In one instance, IBM began having leakage
problems with the manifolds carrying the coolant of the environmental
control system. On IU-204, engineers finally decided to restudy the
whole process, since IU-204 was to be on a manned launch of the Saturn
IB. Manifolds on other lUs in production were also removed, because
these too were to be used on man-rated vehicles. The subcontractor, the
Solar Division of International Harvester, had originally dealt with the
frustrating problems of welding the aluminum alloy. During a thorough
review of the procedure, Solar found that only minor variances in the use
of the welding fixtures created the difficulties and thereafter imposed
even stricter procedures for this crucial operation.40 In spite of the
constant theme of using proven hardware and systems, the different
requirements of the Saturn program called forth some new equipment
and attendant "teething" problems. Not infrequently, IBM sent delega-
tions to vendors and subcontractors to help work out problems in quality
control, welding, and soldering.41 In coping with these situations, IBM
also called on MSFC technicians for assistance. A particularly dramatic
instance occurred during the summer of 1967, when MSFC discovered
cracks in the solder joints of the flight computer for IU-502, and IBM
simultaneously discovered the same problem on IU-503. The discovery
was unsettling for two reasons. In the first place, the units had already
been man-rated and qualified for flight; the soldering problem should
not have occurred. Second, the same kind of unit was already placed in
vehicle AS-501, which was at Cape Kennedy being readied for the first
launch of a Saturn V later in the year. Calling from Huntsville to NASA's
Apollo Program Office, MSFC's Chief of Industrial Operations, Edmund
O'Connor, warned Phillips in Washington: "Right now there is no
impact, but this is potentially serious." It was decided to continue the
checkout of AS-501 at the Cape, while sending a spare computer to the
manufacturer, Electronics Communications Incorporated, for teardown,
inspection, and rework of many of the solder joints. In this operation,
technicians used a technique worked out by MSFC personnel in collabo-
ration with their counterparts at the vendor's plant.42
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FROM CHECKOUT TO LAUNCH
STAGE SEPARATION AND ORDNANCE
For a Saturn V launch, the vehicle really began "thinking on its own"
five seconds before liftoff when the IU was activated. The vehicle's
control system first executed a series of time-programmed attitude
maneuvers. After rising vertically for about 12 seconds, the Ill's com-
puter used stored roll and pitch commands to activate the gimbaled
engines, thereby rolling the huge rocket to a proper flight azimuth and,
at the same time, pitching it to the prescribed angle of attack for the
first-stage boost. When the IU received a signal that the propellant level
in the S-IC fuel tank had reached a specified point, it initiated commands
for first-stage engine cutoff, followed by stage separation. Soon after the
start of second-stage (S-II) ignition, the vehicle was controlled by a
concept called "path adaptive guidance," which put the rocket on a
trajectory that would use the propellants efficiently. About once every
two seconds, the computer checked the vehicle's current position and
flight conditions, comparing it with the optimum situation desired at the
end of powered flight (altitude, velocity, residual propellants, etc.). As
required, the IU generated correction signals from the computer through
the data adapter to the analog flight control computer, which then issued
appropriate gimbal commands to the engines. Engine cutoff and stage
separation of the S-II from the S-IVB occurred when the IU sensed
predetermined propellant levels. Because the vehicle had reached its
approximate orbital altitude by this time, the S-IVB ignition and burn
were fairly short — -just enough time to ensure altitude and speed for a
secure parking orbit.43
If it became necessary to abort the mission, each Saturn carried a
propellant dispersion system (PDS). This euphemism referred to a
destruct mechanism to terminate the flight of any stage of the vehicle
after the astronaut crew had separated from the rocket. The PDS system
complied with regulations established by the officials of the Air Force
Eastern Test Range and was under the control of the range safety officer,
who could end the flight if the vehicle wandered beyond the prescribed
limits of the flight path or otherwise became a safety hazard. A radio
frequency unit received, decoded, and controlled the PDS commands,
and an ordnance train demolished the stage or stages by rupturing the
propellant tanks. The ordnance train included initiator assemblies and
flexible linear-shaped charges situated in strategic locations to rip open
the tanks after engine cutoff, spilling the propellants in a pattern to
minimize their mixing during the process.44
The Saturn rockets had other special ordnance requirements for
stage separation and the use of retrorockets to ensure that the forward
inertia of the lower stage after separation did not carry it into the stage
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STAGES TO SATURN
ahead. The IU contained the program for arming and firing the
ordnance systems both for stage separation and for triggering the
retrorockets. The timing of the stage separation sequence was keyed to
the rated thrust of each stage, which began to fall off as the propellants
reached depletion. The stages were separated when an explosive device
around the circumference of the vehicle severed a tension strap, thereby
allowing the appropriate stage separation sequence to take place. As the
retrorockets quickly pushed the spent stage backward, the next live stage
continued in a short coasting trajectory to make sure adequate distance
separated it from its predecessor and to resettle the propellants before
engine ignition.45 To decelerate spent stages and settle the propellants in
each of the succeeding live stages, MSFC designers used a variety of
rocket systems, including small solid-propellant motors and small liquid-
propellant engines. The various models of the Saturn launch vehicle
family actually carried more solid-propellant systems than liquid-propellant
rocket engines: the Saturn I mounted 32 solid-propellant motors of
various types; the Saturn IB mounted 31; and the Saturn V carried 22. 46
The Earth-orbital sequence of the S-IVB permitted the IU to
compute reignition times continuously and take updated data from
ground stations. With only one main engine for direct thrust control, the
IU managed S-IVB roll, pitch, and yaw through its liquid propellant
auxiliary propulsion system (APS). After final checks, the IU controlled
the vehicle's entry into the translunar trajectory. A pair of jettisonable
solid retrorockets and the APS together provided ullage control, followed
by main-stage firing of the J-2 and engine cutoff when the IU reported
that acceptable injection conditions had been achieved. Finally, when the
spacecraft and lunar module disengaged from the S-IVB and IU, the IU
and the third stage's APS units provided attitude stabilization for the
transposition and docking maneuver. About 6.5 hours from liftoff, the
tasks of the IU were finished.47
SUMMARY: CHECKOUT, GUIDANCE, AND CONTROL
Development of checkout systems and the instrument unit reflected
the same patterns as stage development. Despite attempts to rely on
existing systems and equipment, the size and sophistication of the Saturn
program required new development. New computer languages such as
ATOLL were introduced to solve problems arising from the peculiarities
of design, test, and several different contractors, each of whom had been
using different computer languages. Automation of checkout and of
static-firing tests of Saturn stages was a notable accomplishment, even if
some test engineers were reluctant to surrender control to new, elec-
tronic masters.
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FROM CHECKOUT TO LAUNCH
The instrument unit, using many theories and design features that
originated in the wartime V-2 program in Germany, is an interesting
example of technology transfer. Of course, the Saturn program itself
generated several advanced ideas. The need to reduce weight stimulated
new research into the use of beryllium and lithium-magnesium alloys;
reliability and operational requirements stimulated new research in
microminiature circuitry such as the triple modular redundancy.
Obviously, each contractor had a responsibility for managing its own
respective engine, stage, or instrument unit. Overall management and
coordination of these various elements was NASA's responsibility, a job
carried out by the Marshall Space Flight Center, which also supervised the
delivery of the Saturn's various parts to test sites and to Cape Kennedy
for launch.
257
Coordination: Men
and Machines
Management of the multifarious elements of the Saturn program
entailed new tasks and concepts beyond the scope of any previous
rocket program. As explained in chapter 9, MSFC's management was a
dynamic process. Although rooted in the experience of the von Braun
team, dating back to the 1930s, Saturn management responded to
internal stimuli as well as external influences, including the prime
contractors, NASA Headquarters, and other sources.
Almost last, but fat from least, the challenge of transporting rocket
stages of exceptional size to test and launch sites posed equally unique
complications. Logistics became a special management task. Chapter 10
explores some of the ramifications of moving the Saturn stages from
points as far away as the Pacific coast to the launch pad at Cape Kennedy,
with intermediate stops for static-firing tests and other checks.
259
Managing Saturn
In 1962, pausing to look back over a career in which he played a key
role as a leader in rocket research, Wernher von Braun noted two
significant factors of success. First, the group of German rocket experts,
known as the von Braun team at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
(MSFC), had been a "fluid, living organization," shaped by and responding
to external forces. Second, in three decades of consistent activity at the
forefront of rocket development, an activity conducted with a "singleness
of purpose, we have had only one long-range objective: the continuous
evolution of space flight," von Braun emphasized. "Ever since the days of
the young Rakentenflugplatz Reinickendorf in the outskirts of Berlin in
1930, we have been obsessed by a passionate desire to make this dream
come true." Despite the changes over the years in personnel, in geogra-
phy, in nationality, and in bureaucracies, von Braun continued, "many of
our methods have remained unchanged."1 Many of these methods would
persist during the Apollo-Saturn program and carry over into other
phases of management at Marshall Space Flight Center.
No major Saturn component, whether engine, stage, or instrument
unit, evolved without numerous — and continuous — problems. The per-
sistence of various snarls is easily perceived by dipping at random in von
Braun's "Weekly Notes" or "Daily Journal" from 1961 through 1970.
Predicaments occurred everywhere and every day. Although complica-
tions in the Saturn program lingered, it is apparent that the most
annoying problems tapered off during 1966. With increasing frequency,
entries in the "Weekly Notes" and "Daily Journal" reported tests "suc-
cessfully accomplished," results "well below red line," and hardware with
"component qualification complete."2
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STAGES TO SATURN
The rising note of technological optimism in the Saturn program
stemmed from the elaborate research, development, and test programs,
followed by carefully controlled fabrication and manufacturing guide-
lines instituted by both NASA and contractors and managed by MSFC.
THE DIRECTOR OF MSFC
As Director of the new Marshall Space Flight Center in 1960, von
Braun faced some immediate managerial challenges. The core of the
staff had come from ABMA's Development Operations Division, which
he had directed for the Army. But that division had been a research and
development group depending on other ABM A offices for ancillary
support and administrative services. After the transfer to NASA, the
MSFC director had to develop an administrative as well as technical staff,
in addition to providing procurement contracting, facilities engineering,
and other support services. The von Braun team not only found itself in
a civilian organization for the first time, but also the style of operations
had changed. There were new responsibilities for numerous projects, as
opposed to the ABM A experience of dealing with only one prime project
at a time.3
In spite of the increased responsiblities under the MSFC organiza-
tion, management retained a distinctive in-house capability — what von
Braun liked to call the "dirty hands" philosophy. This attitude, resulting
from years of active work as a research and development group in
Germany and from the Army arsenal concept of the ABM A days,
Wernher von Braun (right), Direc-
tor of Marshall Space Flight Cen-
ter, listens attentively to a briefing
on metal forming techniques by
Mathias Siebel, of MSFC 's Manu-
facturing Engineering Laboratory.
MANAGING SATURN
provided a number of exceptionally strong laboratories and shops at the
Huntsville facility. Managers and engineers were never very far from
each other, and the relationship (and its elaboration) persisted as a key
element in the success of MSFC's management of the Saturn program.
Technical competence was more than a catchword at Marshall; it was
a way of life. As Director, von Braun somehow succeeded in keeping up
with the paper work and budget reviews involving NASA and his own
center, and at the same time, he kept an eye on minute technical details of
the Saturn program. In 1967, for example, when von Braun received a
weekly note on propulsion systems, he noticed that inlet pressures for the
S-II center engine had been simulated at 1900 grams per square
centimeter (27.0 pounds per square inch adiabatic) during J-2 engine
tests. In the margin, von Braun jotted a note for one of the project
engineers: "If I remember correctly, that would enable us to lower the
LH2 tank pressure in the SII by 2 psi. . .right? What are the SII people
now actually doing?"4
Throughout his tenure as Marshall's director, von Braun required
such "Weekly Notes" from the laboratory chiefs and program managers,
as well as from other personnel on an ad hoc basis when a problem was
brewing. He was adamant about the length of these Weekly Notes,
warning "notes exceeding one page will be returned for condensation."
As the notes crossed von Braun's desk, he emphasized various points with
check marks and underlined phrases and scribbled assorted messages in
the margins: a compliment; a request for information; dismay; encour-
agement; and miscellaneous instructions. Reproduced copies went back
to the originator with marginalia intact. Although curt and to the point,
the replies were invariably personal, and occasionally tinged with humor.
Informed of a possible strike by the janitorial contractor, von Braun
responded, "Get me a broom! I'll sweep my own office."5
At the innumerable-meetings attended by von Braun as chairman or
participant, he displayed a remarkable ability to distill complex technical
issues into terms that other participants could understand. Matt Urlaub,
S-IC Program Manager, recalled technical presentations "that lost me in
the first five (minutes)." After listening, von Braun would sum up the
presentation in language clear to everyone. Yet von Braun consciously
avoided dominating such sessions and attempted to bring out all opin-
ions. These techniques contributed to genuine "team spirit." Konrad
Dannenberg, a key manager and associate of von Braun since the days at
Peenemuende, stressed the point: "You have to get all the people
involved. Von Braun has a real good flair for that," he said. "Everyone,
when he has a meeting with him, feels like the second most important
man . . . and boy that really gives you a team spirit. Everyone is willing to
do his best." Von Braun employed this trait effectively during tours of
Marshall laboratories and contractor plants. He met with senior execu-
tives, but he also took a personal interest in what was happening on the
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STAGES TO SATURN
shop floor — the problems, the progress, and the tools. Von Braun talked
just as easily with the "top brass" as with the "tin-benders." These tours
had great significance in improving morale, and von Braun made
periodic tours intentionally. The tours were helpful to him too, in sensing
the pace of the program as well as the nature of difficulties as they
developed.6
This concern for technical aspects was a hallmark of Marshall
planning, and von Braun personified it. In the earliest phase of Saturn
design at ABMA, Frank Williams, an ABMA veteran, remembered von
Braun's consistently close involvement. "It was just a ball working,"
Williams said, "having him [von Braun] come down and literally pore
over the drawing boards with you, and look at the performance and
check the engineering work." Williams went on to say that when the
Saturn V design was being established, von Braun was in the forefront,
immersing himself in the whole vehicle: structures, systems, and mis-
sions.7 This is not to say that only the Director and a small handful of top
aides did the conceptual work and forced it through. One of the reasons
for the Saturn success, Dannenberg emphasized, was "because a lot of
real good down-to-earth planning was done at the beginning." Von
Braun solicited advice and suggestions from workers in the shops, taking
into account the realities of fabrication and manufacture as the design
evolved. In this way, Dannenberg explained, von Braun avoided the
pitfalls of having top-level managers making critical decisions among
themselves and making assumptions about production that might not
approach reality.8
These tenets, among others, guided von Braun and his staff at
Huntsville. Many other issues of organization, administration, and ac-
countability had to be solved. The Saturn program was large, expensive,
and involved complex contracts. According to one source, von Braun
remarked that when he came into NASA, he knew how to go to the
moon, but he did not know what a billion dollars was.9 Like other NASA
administrators, von Braun soon learned to handle billion-dollar pro-
grams with aplomb.
EARLY SATURN MANAGEMENT
Eberhard Rees, who succeeded von Braun as MSFC's Director in
1970, said that when the Apollo-Saturn program was inaugurated in the
early 1960s, the adolescent NASA organization had no comprehensive
management apparatus; the management system developed "after some
painful experiences" during the early development period. The man-
agement organization for the overall NASA program, as well as for
MSFC, was not set up in a flash of insight, to remain unchanged for the
duration of the program. Rather, as the program gained momentum and
the configuration of the launch vehicles began to evolve, management
264
MANAGING SATURN
organization and tools also evolved, changing the programs over the
years. As Rees observed, one of the axioms in the evolution of a large
development project was that no static system of management would
suffice.10
During January 1960, when affiliated with ABMA, von Braun and
his staff began to set up a management plan that would meet the
approval of NASA Headquarters. The laboratories would continue to
report directly to von Braun, and a new organizational position for a
project director of the Saturn vehicle system was proposed. Details of
vehicle integration, planning for R&D, and mission payloads were
worked out through a separate Saturn coordination board, chaired by
von Braun. The arrangement was rather unwieldy, and was never
completely implemented. However, the correspondence from Huntsville
to Washington requesting approval reveals the strong influence of NASA
Headquarters in early Saturn planning, including details of contractor
selection. The early influence of the laboratories and their chiefs is also
evident in the membership of the "working groups" that made up the
Saturn coordination board.11
The management organization for the early period of the Saturn
program, when the Saturn I was the only launch vehicle being developed,
relied on the Saturn Systems Office (SSO). At the heart of SSO were
three project offices: Vehicle Project Manager; the S-I Stage Project
Manager; and the S-IV and S-V Stages Project Manager (the S-V was a
small third stage that was ultimately dropped from the Saturn I configu-
ration). The vehicle project manager cooperated with the stage managers
in overall vehicle configuration and systems integration. The Saturn I
first stage was produced and manufactured in-house by MSFC at
Huntsville, and the production of the upper stages as well as the engines
and the instrument unit involved management of several other contrac-
tors. The SSO was a comparatively small office; in the spring of 1963 it
employed only 154 people. Its operation was based primarily on the
strength of other center administrative support offices and the work of
the "line divisions." The line divisions were based on the nine technical
divisions, or laboratories (each composed of several hundred people),
carried over nearly intact from the ABMA days.
The laboratories themselves carried significant prestige within the
center and benefited from very strong support from von Braun. In fact,
most technical decisions were reached by consensus during the "board
meetings" of von Braun and the laboratory chiefs in executive sessions.
For the lower stages of the Saturn I vehicles, produced in-house, this
arrangement proved workable; and it must be remembered that the
laboratory chiefs had worked this way for years, first at Peenemuende
and later at ABMA. Much of the work in SSO concerned funds and
liaison with NASA Headquarters. This was conducted in a very informal
manner, with SSO personnel frequently visiting Washington.12
265
STAGES TO SATURN
The growth of the Saturn program to include development of two
new launch vehicles caused a reappraisal of the production and man-
agement organizations. The finalization of plans during 1962 for a
two-stage Saturn IB (for Earth-orbital manned Apollo hardware tests)
and the three-stage Saturn V (for the manned Apollo lunar landing
missions) enlarged the scope of SSO and prompted the shift of MSFC into
a more comprehensive management role. The change was underscored
by von Braun in remarks to a management convention in 1962, when he
observed that "our rocket team has become today more than ever a
managerial group." The Saturn IB and Saturn V manufacturing pro-
grams were far beyond the in-house capability of MSFC and available
government resources, so that large-scale contracts under MSFC man-
agement were required. The von Braun group had some experience in
the practice of accomplishing tasks through contracts. Outside of
Peenemuende, important research work involving the V-2 was done by
German universities in aspects of propellants, trajectories, and propellant
systems. German industry also contracted for research and development
of guidance and control systems, as well as turbopump machinery. The
von Braun team had developed managerial skills in working with
American contractors who built the Redstone, Jupiter, and Pershing
missiles. Because of the size of the Saturn program and the diversity of
the major contractors and subcontractors from coast to coast, a different
management organization was required. The task of developing and
integrating two or three large, complex stages and an instrument unit
into a single vehicle that would mate with the spacecraft and launch
facility was compounded by the multidisciplinary problems of weight,
size, and manrating. The complexity was further increased by budgetary
constraints and tight schedules. In responding to these new demands on
management, both MSFC and NASA Headquarters changed existing
agency techniques, developed new ones, and remodified techniques in
response to changing conditions.13
The reorganization of SSO in 1962 combined the similar Saturn I
and IB vehicles under the management of a single office, established the
Saturn V Launch Office, and set up the Saturn-Apollo Systems Integra-
tion Office. The reorganization further incorporated a new emphasis on
these "project offices," that were empowered to draw directly from the
expertise of the technical divisions. Internally, the technical divisions of
MSFC did not change much more under the new NASA organization
and continued to report directly to von Braun. As before, divisions were
not designated specifically to projects, but were organized by professional
disciplines — electronics, mechanical engineering, flight mechanics, and
so on. Each division director had the responsibility to maintain a high
level of expertise in his organization, keeping up with work in industry
and other government agencies and carrying on theoretical research.
Von Braun reminded everyone, "The technical people [must] keep their
266
MANAGING SATURN
hands dirty and actively work on in-house projects selected specifically
for the purpose of updating their knowledge and increasing their
competence." These practices were necessary to enable MSFC to corn-
all phases of development, production, and shop work. Von Braun
emphasized that this policy was the best preparation for evaluating con-
tractor standards and proposals. The goal was to achieve the best
economics in overall work and to get the maximum results for taxpayer
dollars.14
Von Braun noted in a memo on the reorganization, "It is important
to spell out the responsibilities of the project offices in contrast to those of
the technical divisions." The project offices managed efforts involving
more than one discipline and reported directly to von Braun. Because of
the technical complexity and scope implicit in project management, each
office required technical support in depth. "It gets this support, not by
creating it within its own organization, but by calling upon the technical
divisions," von Braun wrote. He left no doubt about the vigorous role of
project managers in the future operations of MSFC: "Since the direction
of the various projects assigned to our Center constitutes our primary
mission, I would like to make certain that Division Directors fully
understand and fulfill their responsibilities in support of the manage-
ment of those projects."
The 1962 MSFC reorganization reduced the premier position of the
technical divisions, or laboratories, and marked a historic break in the
evolution of the Peenemuende group. As Bill Sneed recalled, the change
was "painful" for von Braun to make. In his three-page memorandum
explaining the change and the reasons for it, von Braun urged person-
nel, especially his division heads, to accept gracefully their changed
status. "In the past, such a paper was needless," he wrote, and went on to
explain the requisite logic for the new management responsibility in the
program and project offices. "By keeping these principles in mind, and
maintaining the spirit of teamwork which has been our tradition, we can
adjust to our new conditions and retain our past performance stand-
ards."15
As the momentum of the Apollo-Saturn program increased and the
activities of NASA Headquarters proliferated in response to the manned
lunar landing program and other programs, a major reorganization was
planned to cope with all the expanding operations. The reorganization
involved all the major centers taking part in the Apollo-Saturn pro-
gram,16 and the change at Marshall Space Flight Center set the style for
its operations for the next six years, the major period of Saturn V
development. The change at MSFC strongly reflected past organizational
arrangements, but also increased the authority of certain segments of the
managerial structure. In addition, the change established successful new
working arrangements between NASA Headquarters and MSFC, as well
as within MSFC's new organizational framework.
267
APOLLO SATURN
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SATURN V
MANAGING SATURN
THE SATURN PROGRAM OFFICE
Effective 1 September 1963, the center director's office (with appro-
priate staff and functional offices) directed two new operational ele-
ments: the Research and Development Operations (R&DO) and Indus-
trial Operations (IO). Both of the new organizations possessed equal
operational authority, and both reported directly to von Braun as
Director of MSFC. Operations between the two organizations, however,
were continuous, and certain elements on the Industrial Operations side
had a direct continuous relationship with NASA Headquarters.17 The
new director of R&DO, Herman Weidner, was a long-time member of
the von Braun team from the Peenemuende era — a man with whom the
other von Braun team veterans could work. The new IO director, on the
other hand, came from industry, and reflected lO's contractual and
managerial functions. The first IO director was Robert Young, formerly
of Aerojet General. He played an interim role for about a year, and was
succeeded by General Edmund O'Connor, on leave from the Air Force.18
Young's decision to accept the job had delighted von Braun. Young
seemed to have the managerial talents and industrial know-how that
management of the Saturn program demanded.19 For personal reasons,
Young decided to go back to Aerojet, although some insiders at Huntsville
thought that he found it somewhat difficult to adjust to Marshall's style of
operations. Executives at Young's level still had to clear many decisions
through NASA Headquarters, as well as through von Braun's office;
managers coming into Marshall from private industry frequently found
the additional bureaucratic layers to be irksome. Also these executives
soon found that some subordinates at MSFC frequently disagreed with
the boss, even in large meetings. To some executives, this bureaucratic
democracy could be unsettling. In any case, the appearance of Edmund
O'Connor reflected an interesting tendency to bring on board a number
of Air Force officers with managerial credentials. Despite its Army
heritage, MSFC seemed to favor Air Force personnel in several key
positions. They not only had experience in the ways of government
bureaucracy, but also had more experience in managing large, complex
missile systems, compared to the Army's responsibilities for smaller,
artillery-type rockets.20 In the autumn of 1964, the Air Force transferred
42 field-grade officers to various mid-level management jobs throughout
NASA. Experienced in technical program management, these officers
were especially versed in configuration, program control, and quality
assurance. Marshall Space Flight Center received a dozen Air Force
officers, with the rest sent to Houston, Kennedy Space Center, and
George Mueller's office at NASA Headquarters.21
Whether the new MSFC missile managers came from the Army, Air
Force, civil service, or private industry, they still had to function within
the administrative framework of the 1963 reorganization agreed to by
269
STAGES TO SATURN
Marshall and NASA Headquarters. At MSFC, the two major components
that had to mesh were R&DO and IO.
In essence, the R&DO laboratories were direct descendants of the
older technical divisions, and the Industrial Operations elements were
modifications of the former Saturn Systems Office. At the heart of the
Industrial Operations organization were the three program offices,
established for the direct management of the industrial contractors who
had responsibility for the Saturn launch vehicles: the Saturn I-IB Office,
the Saturn V Office, and the Engines Office. The function of the new
Engines Office was to shift responsibility for engine development and
production from the laboratories to Industrial Operations, in keeping
with the intent of the 1963 reorganization for better management control
by means of program and project management.22
Each program office was set up similar to the Industrial Opera-
tions organization, so that each program manager had a cluster of small,
dual-purpose staff and functional offices in addition to the project offices
for technical management. Some closely structural elements were com-
bined. The Saturn V Program Office, for example, managed the S-IVB
stage, used on both the Saturn IB and Saturn V. Similarly, because some
engines were used in more than one stage or vehicle, direction of the
engine program was more effectively guided from one responsible
Engine Program Office.
Arthur Rudolph, head of the Saturn V Program Office, emphasized
that the managers of the staff and functional offices were not simply staff
but were equal to the project managers for each of the project offices
under Rudolph's jurisdiction. The staff and functional offices had
multiple roles because they supported not only the program manager but
each of the project management offices, and they interacted with NASA
Headquarters as well.23 The staff and functional office managers were
known informally in NASA circles as the "GEM Boxes" after George E.
Mueller, who headed the Office of Manned Space Flight.
Formal guidance and direction from Headquarters to the centers
came down through the Associate Administrator for Manned Space
Flight, to the center director, and to the program manager, but daily
informal management was accomplished through the GEM Boxes, who
provided a "mirror image" between Headquarters and the centers.24 The
GEM Boxes in the centers, identical to those in Mueller's office in
Washington, facilitated a daily, and free, flow of information in both
directions. "Since like persons were talking at both ends," commented
one long-time observer of the system, "confusion and misunderstanding
with accompanying loss of time and funds were held to a minimum." The
impetus for this aspect of the managerial apparatus primarily came from
Mueller. During visits to MSFC, Mueller emphasized to von Braun that
the laboratories (R&DO) were going to have to adopt more of a support
270
MANAGING SATURN
role in the new program management structure, and that better commu-
nications with Headquarters through IO were urgently required. Mueller
felt that the centers in general were too independent in their relation-
ships with Headquarters and that lack of regular communications was a
serious shortcoming. "So I put together this concept of a program office
structure, geographically dispersed, but tied with a set of functional staff
elements that had intra-communications between program offices that
were below center level and below the program office level so as to get
some depth of communications," Mueller said.25
Following the 1963 reorganization, the new program office began to
formulate a mode of operations. As head of the Saturn V Program
Office, Arthur Rudolph called on considerable managerial expertise in
project management of rocket vehicles dating back to the years at
Peenemuende, and especially during the ABMA period when he served
as project director for the Army's Redstone and Pershing programs.
From 1961 through 1963, he had worked at NASA Headquarters, in the
Systems Engineering Division of the Office of Manned Space Flight. He
had watched the plans for the Saturn V evolve and was aware of such
factors as schedules, funds, and performance requirements.26 He also
had specific ideas of how his program was going to run and placed
considerable emphasis on what he called program element plans. Rudolph's
staff often chafed under the requirements to write up these rather
specific documents, which detailed what each office was going to do and
how it was going to be accomplished. Most of the skeptics finally came
around, however. The program element plans forced people to think
about the goals and mechanics of their respective operations and how
their operations interacted with the operations of other offices. Even if
the authors seldom referred to the documents, they proceeded with
greater success because they were forced to analyze the procedures from
the start of the project. "I think the major problem is that in a big
program like the Saturn V you have many people involved and usually
people want to go off on tangents," Rudolph explained. "And the biggest
problem is really to get them all to sing from the same sheet of music, to
put it in the simple fashion. That's the biggest problem."27 James T.
Murphy, who acted as Rudolph's deputy manager of the management
division, summarized the role of his chief: "In its simplest concept, a
program manager, with a supporting staff, has been designated to
coordinate the efforts of all Government and private industry groups in
developing and producing the Saturn V launch vehicle."28
A major instrument in establishing a managerial approach was the
Saturn V program control system plan, originated by Rudolph's office in
1965, and known as Directive No. 9. The objective was to establish a
"baseline definition," against which progress could be plotted, problems
highlighted, corrective actions taken, and management kept informed.
277
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MS PC's Saturn V Program Of-
fice.
Directive No. 9 instructed personnel in the Saturn V Program Office to
implement the management approach in five major areas:
1. Baseline definition
2. Performance measurement and analysis
3. Problem resolution
4. Management reporting system
5. Program control center
The baseline definition was primarily geared to matters of cost, sched-
ules, and performance, and was achieved through program elements
such as logistics, finance, and testing. The program elements comprising
the baseline definition were under the control of the staff/functional
offices known as the GEM Boxes:29
• Program Control Office: Primarily responsible for costs and budgets,
progress reports, and logistics, including manpower and facility
requirements, scheduling and contracts, and configuration manage-
ment.
• Systems Engineering Office: Responsible for mission description,
overall systems specifications, and systems description.
• Test Office: Charged with test planning, performance, coordination
and standards, and for the establishment of checkout requirements
and coordination.
273
STAGES TO SATURN
• Reliability and Quality Office: Responsible for establishing and
maintaining reliability and quality standards, including contractual
requirements, compilation of statistics, and failure reports.
• Flight Operations Office: Charged with assuring that all flight hard-
ware was ready for manned flight operations, including the estab-
lishment of necessary requirements, plans, and coordination.
INTERFACES AND INTER-CENTER COORDINATION
The interfaces to be controlled throughout the Saturn program,
such as those between stages, between the payload and the vehicle, and
between the vehicle and the launch facilities, seemed limitless. With
contractors and three major NASA centers in the Apollo-Saturn pro-
gram, the interface problems covered physical, functional, and proce-
dural areas, and these problems often became intertwined. The neces-
sary documentation included both drawings and written directives to
establish basic responsibilities as well as the limits of responsibilities for
the parties involved. Once established, such documentation could not be
altered unless all parties came to agreement on terms.
The interface aspects were established at the beginning of the
Saturn V program with collaboration of appropriate inter-center coordi-
nation panels, working groups within MSFC, contractor advice, and a
strong input from the R&DO laboratories at MSFC.30 When a contractor
originated an engineering change proposal against the current configu-
ration, he knew in advance the impact on other equipment and organiza-
tions, since the interface documents were already drawn up. Contractors
had the opportunity to coordinate possible changes ahead of time by
notifying related personnel of the time of the change and its ramifica-
tions.
Difficulties often cropped up during the process of interfacing
various stages of the launch vehicle, spacecraft, related equipment and
systems, and the various centers. To maintain configuration control, a
group of inter-center coordination panels was established to resolve the
interface problems. Technical personnel were appointed from the cen-
ters and from other NASA agencies. The formal communications media
between panel members involved the interface control documents. The
documents were divided into two levels: level A documented technical
interfaces between the centers and level B did the same for hardware
supplied by the NASA contractors. If the change concerned a single stage
and involved no other interfaces, then the proposal could go through a
change board at the project level at MSFC. If the change affected the
interface with hardware on a different stage, it had to go to the program
level (level B). If the change affected the program of a different NASA
center, it was necessary to go through the inter-center coordination panel
274
MANAGING SATURN
to reach a decision (level A). In situations where the panel could not
reach a decision, an executive group, the Panel Review Board, supervised
and adjudicated the issues as necessary. The Board was chaired by the
Apollo Program Director at NASA Headquarters and channeled its
decisions back through the appropriate centers and program offices.31
Within MSFC itself, there were a number of "working groups" that
originated early in the Saturn program to cope with various development
problems that had cropped up. These groups became the acknowledged
elements to work on the various interface problems concerning Huntsville's
work on the Saturn program. The working groups were originally
created in 1960 by Oswald Lange, who at that time headed the Saturn
Systems Office, "to make available the experience of MSFC and contrac-
tor representatives toward the solution of stage interface and system
problems." The purpose of the groups was not to deemphasize the
responsibilities of other MSFC organizations or those of the contractor,
but to monitor special areas and make informed, incisive recommenda-
tions through appropriate channels. The number of such working
groups varied from time to time, with each group chaired by a senior
technical authority from one of the laboratories, and including repre-
sentatives from the appropriate program offices. Group recommenda-
tions were channeled through the Program Office Configuration Control
Boards.32
To gauge the status of the program and to assess its progress,
hundreds of MSFC personnel engaged in various levels of daily, weekly,
and monthly staff meetings. Although informal contact between Saturn
V Program Office personnel and contractor personnel occurred daily, in
addition to recurring visits to contractor plants, the most important
formal meeting was the Contractor Quarterly Project Review beginning
in late 1964. In these meetings, contractor and MSFC managers reviewed
not only the technical status of the project, but also the management
status. In the meantime, the Saturn V program manager's office custom-
arily held various staff meetings with each of the project managers in
Huntsville, and also conducted a more elaborate monthly Saturn V
Program Review with all of the project offices involved. These sessions,
begun early in 1965, kept the program manager fully informed and
provided an additional forum to cope with related problems. Rudolph
did not like frequent staff meetings. Instead he liked to have fewer
meetings in which the programs were discussed and analyzed in depth,
leaving the management burden in the interim primarily on the shoul-
ders of his project offices. This meant that the monthly sessions were very
long indeed, and one of the standard jokes in Rudolph's office involved
bleary-eyed project managers, in the early morning hours, dropping
notes out of office windows: "Help me — I'm in a Rudolph meeting!"
These monthly sessions helped to generate information for the
Management Council meetings for the Office of Manned Space Flight
275
STAGES TO SATURN
(OMSF), convened by the Associate Administrator at NASA Headquar-
ters each month, or as required. For these meetings, the program
managers and other designated personnel accompanied the MSFC
director and participated in analyzing problems and progress, while at
the same time receiving Headquarters information on policy changes and
various program directives. The format was usually concerned with four
main issues. 3
1. Where did the money go and can we manage within the allotted
funds remaining?
2. What preplanned tasks have been accomplished and can we meet
the projected schedule?
3. What are our major technical and programmatic problems and
what previously unforeseen actions must be taken to overcome
them?
4. What are our major motivational problems?
In addition, two other top-level meetings were customary in the
Saturn program, one within NASA management and one that included
the contractors. OMSF conducted an annual Apollo-Saturn program
review attended by NASA Administrator Webb and selected staff. The
center directors attended, and formal presentations were made by
designated senior executives from the centers. These annual reviews
gave the Administrator a comprehensive and critical analysis of contrac-
tor and program performance over the past year, with projections for the
year ahead. As required, George Mueller occasionally convened what he
called the Apollo Executive Group. This group involved the chief
executives of the contractors in the Apollo-Saturn program. They met at
various major contractor sites for briefings and visited each of the major
NASA centers. Mueller said that without the Apollo Executive Group,
"we would not have been able to succeed — it was one of the things that
made it possible to succeed." All of the chief executives became aware of
the problems and possibilities, and felt involved in the program. The
meetings also gave NASA and the centers "top level interest and
support."3
At a different level, the Saturn program used a technical review
system to ensure that development, design, fabrication, and test activities
for each stage were properly evaluated. These reviews, such as critical
design reviews and flight reviews, were attended by senior technical
experts and top management.
RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE CONTRACTOR
Aside from the various communications, visits to the contractor
facilities, and quarterly reviews with the contractors, the Saturn V
Program Office had immediate representation at major contractor plants
276
NASA Office of Manned Space Flight Management Council: the
principals, George E. Mueller (third from left), Associate Administrator for
Manned Space Flight and chairman, with manned space flight center
directors Wernher von Braun (MSFC), Robert R. Gilruth (MSC), and
Kurt H. Debus (KSC).
in the form of the Resident Manager's Office (RMO), which consisted of
the head of each office. At each location, the RMO operated as a "mirror
image" of the respective project manager back in Huntsville. The RMO
was directly responsible to the project manager, and communicated with
him daily. Each RMO had a small staff of technical and contractual
personnel from MSFC and, as the primary liaison between MSFC and the
contractor, exercised a reasonable amount of authority.35
Since the role of the RMO was to expedite decisions, a small cadre of
specialists was "to assure that project management interests were ad-
vanced and that decisions were made and implemented within the
designated scope of authority of the resident group." Guidelines sup-
plied to the RMO allowed him to make certain on-the-spot decisions with
the backing of his staff. These decisions included making commitments
in behalf of other offices and/or functions of the center. "This resident
element proved to be a most important link between government and
contractor activities in the management of large programs." In MSFC's
opinion, the process of management was accelerated as a result of this
on-site authority, and provided a "dynamic interface" between MSFC
and the contractor.36
Eberhard Rees admitted that the surveillance of contractor opera-
tions, as well as their management, was "somewhat sensitive from the
point of view of the contractor." In many instances, contractors felt that
277
STAGES TO SATURN
they should be allowed to go their own way after the contract was
signed.37 The longing for more freedom of action was evidently a legacy
of the experience that most Saturn contractors had previously had with
Air Force contracts. Huntsville had great technical competence; at
certain managerial levels of design and manufacturing, grumped one
highly placed contractor executive, Marshall maintained a one-on-one
surveillance. The Air Force, he said somewhat wistfully, was "not in your
pants all the time."3 } But Rees maintained that loose reins on the
contractor had not always worked out well from the MSFC point of view.
"Consequently," he said, "it became clear that close and continuous
surveillance of the contractor operation was required on an almost
day-to-day basis." The extent of the surveillance was proportional to the
subtleties and problems of the program, its relative position in relation to
the existing state of the art, and the extent of expertise possessed by
MSFC. The contractor's reaction to this aspect of NASA monitoring was
not favorable at first, but eventually this "penetration and monitoring"
was perceived to be a mutual benefit characterized by the often repeated
phrase, the "government-industry team." "Contractor penetration" was
an important concept that ultimately involved the contractor's relation-
ship with his own subcontractors.39
One of the most interesting aspects of contractor penetration was
the RMO approach. NASA could exert considerable influence on techni-
cal decisions that affected the managerial organization of the contractors.
General Samuel C. Phillips, who directed the Apollo Program Office at
NASA Headquarters, revealed this leverage during one of the program
review sessions held at NASA Headquarters in 1964. He noted that
various contractors had strengthened their organizations during the
preceding year, "either on their own or due to appropriate influence by
NASA."40
Phillips's comment on the use of appropriate influence was an
understatement, since MSFC could, and did, force contractors to change
their modes of operation. In 1963, the development of the S-IVB was in
its dual role as the second stage of the Saturn IB vehicle and as the third
stage of the Saturn V. This duality posed something of a problem of
interfacing for the S-IVB prime contractor, Douglas Aircraft Company.
Discussing the S-IVB project during the 1964 program review, Lee
James pointed out that MSFC management wanted to make sure that
Douglas did "not see two faces at Marshall. It is important they see only
one." As far as the contractor was concerned, the Saturn IB/S-IVB
manager acted as deputy to the Saturn V/S-IVB stage manager, placing
basic responsibility in the Saturn V Program Office.41
During his presentation, James spoke on the subject of "Saturn I/IB
Launch Vehicles and Related Facilities," in which he noted that manage-
ment constituted a "major part of the problem." Moreover, he continued,
"a major part of that problem was considered to be with Douglas."
278
MSFC/CONTRACTOR RELATIONSHIPS
R & O
OPERATIONS
I.O. DIRECTOR
REQUESTS
SUPPORT
PROGRAM MANAGER
STAGE MANAGER
DAY-TO-DAY
PROGRAM D RECTION
TECHNICAL
LABORATORY SUPPORT
RESIDENT MANAGER
ENGINEERS AND
ADMINISTRATIVE
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CONTRACTING I
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AUTHORITY
DELEGATION
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DOD
CONTRACTING
OFFICER REPS.
CONTRACTUAL
SERVICES
RECOMMENDAT.ONS
REQUESTS FOR
TECHNICAL ACTION
PRIME CONTRACTOR
WOO
DOD & WOO FURNISH
TO PRIME & SUBCONTRACTORS
SECONDARY CONTRACT ADMIN.
ISTRATION SERVICES, AUDITING
INSPECTION. PRICE ANALYSIS
AND PROPERTY ACCOUNTING
SUB
CONTRACTORS
NASA's Manned Flight Awareness program made its mark in all major contractor
operations (see diagram). This scene is in the Douglas plant; S-IVB stages are
being fabricated and assembled under the banner on the far wall, "Saturn VIP,"
which in Douglas stood for their "Very Important People" who had made safety or
quality assurance contributions.
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STAGES TO SATURN
Douglas had never set up a project-oriented organization, James explained,
and the management structure in operation never worked very well in
any case. The crux of the difficulty seemed to be the company's
Sacramento Test Facility (SACTO), set up as a part of the engineering
manufacturing divisions, with ties to both Santa Monica and Huntington
Beach. As a result, James said, there was no place "to pull their
organization together" to make sure programs like the battleship test and
the all-systems test evolved smoothly and logically. Management at MSFC
stepped in to remedy the situation. James put it bluntly: "We forced
Douglas to reorganize Sacramento into a separate entity." As a result,
SACTO reported directly to the upper echelons of Douglas manage-
ment, and MSFC was involved in the reassignment of Douglas's Deputy
Director of the Saturn Program to the new position of Director of
Sacramento Test Operations, a further benefit to the reorganization. To
enable MSFC to operate from a stronger posture at Douglas, the office of
the Resident Manager was strengthened, and a new person was brought
in for the job. James said that over 90 applications for the position had
been received, and he was pleased to report that "a very strong individu-
al" had been chosen. In fact, the successful applicant was so eager to
shoulder the responsibilities that he took a salary cut of $8500. "I think
we have found just the man we are looking for in order to give us the
strength on the spot that we need," James concluded.42
The policy of contractor penetration did not imply relentless med-
dling in the internal affairs or organization of the company. Indeed, most
of the pressure applied by MSFC seemed to occur early in the program.
Monitoring continued, but on a lesser scale. The initial problems were
peculiar to the complicated requirements of getting "cranked up" for a
new program such as S-IVB battleship testing, where MSFC, Douglas,
and Rocketdyne (the engine contractor) were all involved. MSFC formu-
lated a "start team" that used personnel from all three organizations.
This special group coordinated and channeled early activities, and
proved to be a successful approach in the S-IVB program. As the
program gained momentum, the contractor assumed more responsibili-
ty. "We also recognized in the S-IVB program that Douglas is a major
manufacturing organization and once they get rolling, they are a good
organization," said James emphatically. "Our problem always is on the
initial stages. We have made a major effort to concentrate on getting the
first stage out the door, knowing we can trust a contractor like Douglas to
follow on with the succeeding stages."4
The technique of contractor penetration to maintain high visibility
obviously generated some thorny issues in government-contractor rela-
tions. Nevertheless, MSFC felt that industry had a strong inclination to
take control of the job and the funding and pursue the job with a
minimum of government intervention. MSFC management believed this
inclination allowed too much opportunity for slippage, unidentified
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MANAGING SATURN
problems, and poor communications. Vigorous contractor penetration
reduced these program difficulties; in the long run, the contractors
seemed inclined to accept the penetration as a mutually useful aspect of
completing a successful program. "The restiveness that stemmed from
such close control was gradually dissipated very early in the Apollo
program as the benefit accruing from the industry-government team
approach was revealed," concluded Eberhard Rees.
Realizing the relationship between contractor motivation and suc-
cess, the Saturn V Program Office implemented general NASA policy
regarding contract incentives as a means of encouraging the contractor to
perform at the highest possible level of endeavor. Most of the original
contracts stipulated a cost-plus-fixed fee, useful in the early phases of a
program when management had to deal with many unknown factors and
close pricing was uncertain. After the R&D phase was well in hand and
the unknowns were worked out, it became possible to adapt incentive- or
award-fee provisions in all Saturn contracts except the S-II stage con-
tract. The S-II contract eventually had limited award-fee provisions for
management performance. The contracts for the lunar roving vehicle
and the instrument unit were cost-plus-incentive fee (CPIF) from their
initiation. The remaining contracts were changed in 1966 from cost-plus-
fixed fee to cost-plus-incentive fee.
The incentive contracts were established in two portions: a compara-
tively modest base fee, and a segment of payments scaled to incentives.
These scaled incentive fees were awarded in proportion to the contrac-
tor's success in meeting time schedules, cost allowances, and performance
ranges. The incentive fee contract was judged to be most successful in
cases involving hardware contracts where schedules, costs, and major
milestones were fairly well established. The Saturn V Program Office
considered the approach a successful alternative to fixed-fee contracts,
because the incentive-fee contracts encouraged the contractor to meet
commitments on hardware delivery and contributed to mission success.45
RELIABILITY AND QUALITY CONTROL
Within the Saturn V Program Office, as in other MSFC operations,
management paid special attention to the areas of reliability and quality
control. The project offices viewed reliability as a significant element of
basic design technique, and continued relevant procedures for judging
the design of subsystems, components, and parts, as well as the overall
stage design. This approach included techniques to evaluate the necessity
for redundancy, criticality of numbers, and failure mode and effects
analysis. Management also pursued an exceedingly active qualification
test program, exposing components and subsystems to simulated flight
loads under environmental conditions. This test was a major contributive
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STAGES TO SATURN
factor to the success of the Apollo-Saturn program, although it was
expensive. The hardware was costly, and rigorous testing of such a large
portion of it meant that much of the hardware could not be used later as
flight hardware. In some cases where funds were particularly tight,
qualification tests were conducted at a reduced level, followed by
intensive and exhaustive data analyses to extrapolate performance through
various conditions of flight. The object was to be able to use such
hardware on actual missions later on. In these instances, it was necessary
to be careful not to overstress these future flight components, and to
extrapolate data so as to avoid risks during the actual missions.46
The problem of quality control was further affected by MSFC's
reliance on the Department of Defense, which exercised quality control
management in some of the contractor plants. In the mid-1960s, MSFC
made an effort to increase its own quality control programs, particularly
in the inspection of incoming vendor surveillance. Douglas, for example,
evolved its own approved parts list; parts not listed were unacceptable in
design specifications submitted by prospective vendors. Basic guidelines
for the list came from MSFC documents, buttressed by information from
the military, industry sources, and Douglas's own experience, and were
substantiated by operational and test data in the course of the program.
The approved parts list included such items as bearings, fasteners,
switches, relays, transformers, wires and cables, capacitors, resistors,
semiconductors, and fluid fittings. Among the tangle of parts required to
make a rocket work, the pipes and tubing with their respective connec-
tions were expected to operate under extreme and rapid temperature
change, shocks, low pressure, and intense vibration. All parts had to be
flight weight and have the imprimatur of the approved parts list.47
The Saturn V Program Office continued to monitor the activities of
its own prime contractors, stepping in when necessary to advise changes.
One such instance occurred in July 1964, when one of the welds of the
S-I VB stage failed and the consequent rupture of the tankage caused the
loss of the entire structural test stage. As a result of this incident, MSFC
"caused Douglas to go into TIG welding with the higher heat input than
the MIG welding that they were using in certain areas." MSFC technical
personnel reported higher reliability after the change, and approved
Douglas's revision of weld inspection procedures, which MSFC judged to
have been somewhat weak.48
In pursuing reliability and quality control, the project managers
found that they had to exercise considerable diplomatic tact, making sure
that the contractor had sufficient leeway to develop valid design concepts
without overdoing it. "It is in the nature of experts that they become
beguiled by intriguing technological problems," warned Eberhard Rees,
and such beguilement could lead to excessive pursuit of reliability and
performance. This situation was sometimes tolerable in industry, in the
interest of better products for competition, but not in the space program.
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MANAGING SATURN
It was necessary to be constantly on guard against losing simplicity — easy
to do in the early stages of a program that was complex, large, and
pressed by tight schedules. "Even when weighed in the balance against
sacrifice of performance, design simplicity should be strongly favored,"
Rees recommended, because more components and higher performance
often increased the prospects for failure. Rees noted that "Project
management has here a rather complicated task of putting the brakes on
these tendencies without discouraging development of new technology
and with it of highly inventive people." Arthur Rudolph was adamant
about this point, and put it even more succinctly: "Make it simple, make it
i i • • i m4Q
simple, make it simple!
In the quest for high performance, reliability, and quality control,
incentive contracts constituted only one of a number of blandishments.
Several techniques were employed by MSFC, including cash awards and
special recognition for quality control, cost reduction, and other activi-
ties. At MSFC, the Saturn V Program Office cooperated with the
Manned Flight Awareness Office in a program to inform and remind all
workers in the Apollo-Saturn program about the importance of their
work and the need for individual efforts. By means of awards and
recognition programs, the Manned Flight Awareness concept became an
effective incentive technique. The prime contractors also conducted
special incentive programs, in collaboration with the project managers
and RMO personnel. North American's program was known as PRIDE
(Personal Responsibility in Daily Effort), and Douglas had its "V.I. P."
campaign (Value in Performance). MSFC's Manned Flight Awareness
personnel and the contractors also participated in a program to make
sure that vendors and subcontractors shipped critical spare hardware in
special containers and boxes. These boxes were marked with stickers and
placards imprinted with reminders to handle with particular care,
because the hardware was important to the astronauts whose lives
depended on the integrity of the hardware.50
THE PROGRAM CONTROL CENTER
The Saturn V Program Office relied on a facility known as the
Program Control Center as a focus for decision-making. The nature of
the Saturn program, with contractors and NASA facilities scattered from
coast to coast, presented a real challenge in codifying information for
managerial decisions. As one Saturn V Program Office manager said, it
was "essential that we had some way of making sure that we had pulled
together all the facets of the program into an integrated program with
good visibility. And that, I would say, has been probably the main
purpose of this Program Control Center — to try to provide the program
manager with that integrated visibility."5
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STAGES TO SATURN
The archetype of the Program Control Center was probably the
"Management Center," developed in 1956 for the use of Rear Admiral
William F. Raborn, Jr., during the Polaris program. To get ideas for
Raborn's Management Center room, his personnel visited the Air Force
Ballistic Missile Division in Inglewood, California, and, interestingly, the
ABMA operation in Huntsville. The Polaris center was designed to avoid
the look of a boardroom and was filled with 90 chairs facing a large
motion-picture and slide screen in the front, and numerous charts hung
on the walls around the room. The idea was to provide maximum visual
capability of Polaris events in a briefing room.52 The Boeing Company
elaborated this concept as a management tool during its Minuteman
missile program for the Air Force. Beginning in 1959, a series of Boeing
control rooms resulted in a style of visual presentations, by means of
charts and audio-visual aids, intended to reduce the reams of manage-
ment reports being used to monitor the progress of the program. The
company activated such a control room at its S-IC (the Saturn V first
stage) manufacturing facility at Michoud, near New Orleans, Louisiana,
in 1964. In 1965, Boeing was awarded a contract by MSFC to develop an
advanced control room management facility at Huntsville.53 This became
the Program Control Center (PCC) of Rudolph's Saturn V Program
Office. Although the Marshall center's PCC looked somewhat like a
boardroom, it became an unusually active facility. The conference table
in the center of the room seated 14, and the movable chairs around the
edges of the room raised its capacity to several dozen.
The PCC epitomized the managerial concepts of "management by
exception" and "single threading." The technique of management by
exception was based on the premise that the program manager should
keep his number of contacts within manageable limits, and Arthur
Rudolph relied heavily on his project managers to work with the
contractors and solve various problems as they arose. "Within my Saturn
V Program Office," Rudolph explained, "each project manager has wide
latitude to exercise management actions just as long as these actions meet
established technical performance requirements and schedule and budget
constraints." Rudolph's control over the project managers went just far
enough to ensure that performance, schedule, and budget guidelines
were met, that interfaces were kept in repair, and that unintended
redundancy was eliminated. "This policy of management by exception
has enabled us to operate effectively and efficiently and has given my
people the incentive to perform to their fullest capabilities," he said.54
The PCC needed to develop a means of singling out special
problems for more detailed analysis, including probable program impact,
and to know exactly who was responsible for monitoring and solving
problems. The concept of "single threading" provided graphic docu-
mentation for tracing a problem to a detailed position for assessment and
determining a probable course of action to resolve it.55 The means for
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MANAGING SATURN
such analysis were embodied in the data organized for viewing in the
PCC. Thus, the PCC was an arena for comprehensive displays for use by
management — a focal point for collection and presentation of informa-
tion concerning the status of the Saturn V program, and planned so as to
provide displays for various levels of detail. This approach permitted
managers to identify the problem, begin action for resolution, and
monitor progress.
The PCC for the Saturn V Program Office was one of a network of
such rooms located in the Apollo Program Director's office at Headquar-
ters, at each of the three Apollo-Saturn NASA centers (Kennedy,
Marshall, and Houston), at each of the prime contractors' offices, and at
Mississippi Test Facility. The network allowed top management and
other personnel to keep up with a myriad of activities, including logistics,
astronaut training, scientific projects, selection of lunar landing sites, the
worldwide tracking network, mission planning, and the mission itself.
Each had the latest information and up-to-date displays for its appropri-
ate job, including general Apollo-Saturn program information as re-
quired, along with a sophisticated communications system to accelerate
the decision-making process.56
The PCC provided two basic ways to display information: open wall
displays and projected visual aids. The open wall displays were used to
portray information that was updated and changed on a cyclical, day-to-
day, or new-problem basis. Most of the display charts were constructed so
that they could be moved in and out of position on horizontal tracks.
They were marked by coded symbols so the viewer could tell at a glance if
a project was lagging, ahead of schedule, or on schedule. Both the project
offices and the staff-functional offices submitted data and maintained
liaison with PCC personnel throughout the preparation and use of the
display charts, and the offices were responsible for having proper
attendance in meetings where their display material was to be discussed.
Each display carried the name of the individual responsible for the
data. If the project office representative could not answer questions or
supply additional information, the person to contact was immediately
identifiable from the chart, and a quick phone call could make him — or
the information — available during the meeting. Some charts concerned
items being covered by what MSFC called the problem resolution system.
The data indicated the criticality of the problem, the specific hardware or
operation involved, the originator of the data, the identity of the "action
manager," and the current status of the problem. Other charts showed
aspects such as costs and technical data (weight, performance, and
configuration management).
Rudolph always insisted on having a name associated with the charts.
He wanted to work with a person, he said, not an anonymous office.
Backing up the charts was a comprehensive set of "management matri-
ces" in notebooks, listing all individual counterparts, by name, for all
285
MSFC's Saturn V Program Office operated out of this Program Control Center,
rimmed with recessed, sliding status charts and double picture screens for
comprehensive, up-to-the-minute briefing on progress and problems in the far-
flung program.
major systems and subsystems of the hardware. The matrix pages
included MSFC counterparts for Industrial Operations and R&DO,
other centers, and the contractors. To find out why a valve did not work,
the Saturn V Program Office could call each person responsible for the
project, and not waste time calling the wrong office or waiting for an
office manager to decide who could provide a competent response to a
specific query.57 Rudolph wanted a fast and accurate response to prob-
lems, and he usually got it.
For a long time, the rear of the PCC was dominated by a huge PERT
chart (Performance, Evaluation, and Reporting Technique). PERT was a
sophisticated and complex computerized system, with inputs beginning,
literally, at the tool bench. Technicians on the floors of contractor plants
around the country monitored the progress of nearly all the hardware
items and translated the work into computer cards and tapes. Data for
costs and schedules were also entered into the system. The PERT
network was broken down into 800 major entities, and summarized
90 000 key events taking place around the country. PERT helped provide
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MANAGING SATURN
the answers. If a gas generator exhaust line under test in California was
showing problems, how would this affect the static test schedule at the
Mississippi Test Facility (MTF), and a scheduled launch from Cape
Kennedy? What would be its cost impact? How would it affect other
hardware? What would be done about it?58
Like the PCC network, PERT received a strong impetus in the
Polaris program in the mid-1950s.59 During the early phases of the
Saturn program, MSFC management regarded PERT as a very success-
ful effort. At a NASA Management Advisory Committee conference in
1964, von Braun said that PERT was the best source of information
available on the status of hardware programs. The PERT network did
not catch everything; for example, a parts problem on Boeing's S-IC-T
(test stage) had been missed. Still, MSFC managers in 1973 recalled
PERT as one of the most useful management systems, although the
PERT network was phased out about the time of the launch of the first
Saturn vehicle (AS-501) in the winter of 1967. One reason was that PERT
was tremendously expensive. A large number of people within NASA
and from the contractor's special computer programs were needed to
make the network perform adequately. "It has some use as a preliminary
planning tool," said R. G. Smith, a Rudolph successor, "but when tens of
thousands of events per stage are used, it is difficult to analyze, usually
lagging in real time usefulness, and subject to manipulation to avoid
exposure of real problems."6
During launch operations and special activities, the PCC was linked
to KSC and Houston by closed-circuit television. Although conferences in
the PCC were not televised by closed circuit (because of space limitations
and technical problems), the communications arrangement permitted
discussions in the PCC to be heard instantaneously at NASA Headquar-
ters and other centers. The ceiling of the PCC room was studded with
extrasensitive microphones, so that anyone at the conference table in
Huntsville could interject a comment or respond without leaving his seat,
and nobody had to wait until a speaker somewhere else had finished.
When a speaker in Huntsville was making a presentation, conferees in
Houston or Cape Kennedy could freely respond. In addition, conferees
visually followed the presentation at other locations by means of viewgraphs
supplied beforehand by the speaker. The viewgraphs were transmitted
by Long Distance Xerox (LDX) system on a leased telephone circuit.
Using standard typewriter-size sheets, the LDX line transmitted high-
fidelity copies at the rate of about two copies per minute. After receipt at
the other end, personnel used them to reproduce the numbered viewgraphs,
shown in sequence as requested by the speaker. The fast response of the
LDX system permitted up-to-the-minute documentation, and if there
was not time to prepare new viewgraphs, conferees at the other locations
could be supplied with regular Xerox copies instead. The ability to
exchange such material meant that informed decisions could be made
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STAGES TO SATURN
while the meeting was in progress. Rudolph insisted on detailed viewgraphs,
in words as well as diagrams, so that the viewgraphs could serve as
minutes of the PCC conferences.61
SATURN MANAGEMENT: A MATTER OF "STYLE"
The Saturn V program, and the vehicle itself, was enormously
complex. Counting everything from nuts, bolts, and washers to transis-
tors and circuit boards, the Saturn V booster alone had something like
3 000 000 parts (in addition, the command and service modules had
2 000 000 parts; the lunar module 1 000 OOO).62 Manufacture of the rocket
stages involved thousands of contractors and the expenditure of millions
of dollars per week. The scope and cost of the effort raised the obvious
question: how did NASA do the job? and, more specifically, how did
MSFC keep tabs on a multimillion-piece monster? Another question was:
is it possible to point to a unique style of management in the lunar
landing program?
James Webb, NASA Administrator from 1961 to 1968, warned that
in large-scale endeavors such as the Apollo-Saturn program, managers
needed to be especially flexible because many "unpredictable difficulties"
as well as many "unanticipated opportunities" would crop up. Many
traditional management concepts were not applicable because the large-
scale R&D endeavor was so dynamic. Managers needed to have a sound
foundation in basic management principles, but also needed to be able to
work in an environment where the lines of communication crisscrossed
and moved in unusual directions, and where the job was not always
exactly defined in the beginning. The successful manager had to do more
than understand the organizational framework backward and forward.
He had to grasp the total dimensions of the effort and define his role in
the task. In this context, successful aerospace managers availed them-
selves of existing fundamentals of management, whatever their source of
origin, and raised them to a higher degree of refinement in complex
activities involving high technology.63 One sophisticated observer charac-
terized NASA's managerial contributions:
To accomplish the moon landing within the time set by President Kennedy,
Apollo's designers deliberately hewed to techniques that did not reach far beyond
the state-of-the-art in the early Sixties. The really significant fallout from the
strains, traumas, and endless experimentation of Project Apollo has been of a
sociological rather than a technological nature: techniques for directing the massed
endeavors of scores of thousands of minds in a close-knit, mutually enhancive
combination of government, university, and private industry.
Apollo has spawned an intimate and potentially significant new sociology
involving government and industry, an approach that appears to stand somewhere
between the old arsenal concept favored by the Army and Navy and the newer Air
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MANAGING SATURN
Force concept that depends heavily upon private corporations to manage, develop,
and build big systems. The NASA approach combines certain advantages of each,
while enhancing the total abilities of both private and government organizations.64
In the Saturn program, successful management style was a blend of
the decades of experience of the original von Braun team in Germany
and management concepts from the Army, Navy, Air Force, other
government agencies, and private industry. As the early SSO began to
elaborate its relationships with prime contractors. Air Force concepts of
configuration management became more conspicuous. During the evolu-
tion of the Saturn program at MSFC, the Army's arsenal concept was
inherent in the R&DO arrangement, although its premier role was
altered as a result of 1963 reorganization. Both the Army and the Air
Force contributed key managers.
The Air Force influence was pervasive, from the Headquarters level
on down. George Mueller, Associate Administrator for Manned Space
Flight, came from private industry (Space Technology Laboratories), but
he had worked with several Air Force missile programs, including Atlas,
Thor, Titan, and Minuteman. His deputy for the Apollo-Saturn pro-
gram, Brigadier General Samuel C. Phillips (USAF), brought skills in
configuration management and logistics management that had been
acquired during the Minuteman effort. At MSFC, Robert Young, the
first IO director, had executive experience with an industrial contractor
(Aerojet) that also had been involved in Air Force missile programs.
Young was succeeded by General Edmund F. O'Connor (USAF). The
influx of other Air Force officers in 1964 has already been noted. On the
other hand, numerous Army officers left ABMA to join MSFC, including
Lee James, who served at one time as the Saturn I-IB Program Manager,
worked at NASA Headquarters, and later was head of the IO division.
James replaced General O'Connor, who had returned to the Air Force.
From NASA Headquarters, Mueller's GEM Boxes constituted a signifi-
cant managerial technique in the Apollo-Saturn program, and MSFC
elaborated upon its own concepts of working groups, management
matrices, and (borrowing a bit from the Polaris program) the Program
Control Center.65
From his vantage point as an active manager in the Army and NASA
and as an observer of Air Force management, Lee James paid special
tribute to the R&DO laboratories that he believed gave MSFC "unusual
depth." The laboratories were one of the outstanding aspects of MSFC
management under von Braun. "It's hard to make them work in the
government," James said. "That is a unique attribute."66 Although von
Braun emphasized the overriding authority of the program and project
offices in their relationships with the laboratories, contacts were not
always unruffled. During a session with Headquarters executives in 1964,
both Rees and von Braun agreed, "The project manager is definitely in
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STAGES TO SATURN
the driver's seat on project management matters. R&DO provides
technical knowledge in depth to solve the technical problems, but at the
same time carefully avoiding any interference with contract manage-
ment. The stage manager is the sole contact with the contractor."
Reading the minutes of the meeting a few days later, one of the top
managers in the Saturn V Program Office expressed his frustrations in
an astringent comment scribbled in the margin: "Wouldn't it be good if
this were so! Top mgt. needs to say so in a policy statement and then
enforce it."63 The situation festered for several months, until von Braun
issued a detailed directive to the heads of both Industrial Operations and
R&DO, in which the authority of Industrial Operations (and the Saturn
V Program Office) was asserted in explicit terms.69
Although it is difficult to document the specifics, relationships
between Industrial Operations and R&DO were often uneasy. As recalled
by an observer from within the Saturn V Program Office, one form of
managerial assertion was out-and-out harassment. A stage manager
might call up a laboratory chief in R&DO and complain about the lack of
activity or lack of cooperation from the counterpart personnel in the
laboratories. Other methods included pointed reminders about directives
from the program manager's office, a claim to be acting at the behest of
the program manager, the use of technical knowledge that others would
hesitate to contradict, and outright exposure of deficiencies.70
The same techniques were also applied within the Saturn V Program
Office, as the staff-functional managers (the GEM Boxes) jousted with
the stage managers. It must be remembered that Rudolph considered his
functional managers to have as much authority as his stage managers.
This approach was unique to the Saturn V Program Office; other
program offices tended to allow the hardware managers greater authori-
ty. Rudolph's arrangement was deemed necessary, however, to maintain
vertical control over the stage elements of the Saturn V, especially since
the stage managers were sometimes considered to manifest a parochial
attitude about their own activities.71 The role of the functional managers
was spelled out in a program element plan document:72
Establishment of managers for functional areas is an important management
concept used in the Saturn V Program. These functional areas, e.g. Program
Control, Systems Engineering, Test, may be considered as "vertical slices" of the
vehicle which result in stages, or "hardware" items. The functional managers are
responsible for planning, coordinating and directing their areas, insuring that a
single thread of effort is carried from the highest level of Apollo management in
Washington through the Center level and into the prime contractors.
The Saturn management concept consistently put a premium on
visibility, epitomized by the Program Control Center in the Saturn V
Program Office. Webb, who prided himself in the development and
exercise of managerial expertise, was amazed by its conceptual format
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MANAGING SATURN
and versatility. During a visit to MSFC in 1965, not long after the
activation of the PCC, Webb was given a thorough briefing on the facility
by Rudolph and Bill Sneed, who was head of the Program Control Office
at the time. Following the briefing, Webb addressed a select group of
MSFC personnel, and was obviously enthusiastic about the PCC concept.
"I saw here in the hour before you arrived," he exclaimed to his
audience, "one of the most sophisticated forms of organized human
effort that I have ever seen anywhere."73 Webb's remark was a special
compliment to Huntsville's PCC; Huntsville later became the model for
NASA's Apollo Program Office in Washington as well as for other
centers and prime contractors. Over a period of years, at Webb's behest, a
stream of executives from government and American and foreign
industry trouped through the PCC. The Saturn V Program Office also
received inquiries by telephone and letter from a wide spectrum of
sources, including the famed design group of Raymond Loewy and
Associates. A former member of the Polaris management team once
visited the PCC and came away thoroughly impressed. "This chart room
of yours is an amazing place," he said to Rudolph. "I used to think the
ones we had in the Polaris program were good, but this puts us to
shame."74
The Marshall center's organization experienced several adjustments
after 1969 in response to new directions in NASA programs. By 1972,
the IO segments operated as individual program offices and reported
directly to the head of the center. The R&DO laboratories were set up as
the Directorate of Science and Engineering, along with several other
directorate organizations. Under the new scheme, the Saturn Program
Office contained all the various stage and engine offices for the Saturn
IB and Saturn V, and also included the PCC. Many of the individuals
associated with the original Saturn V Program Office took new positions
involving Skylab, the Space Shuttle, and other projects. Following the
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in August 1975, NASA planned no more
launches of the Saturn class of vehicles, and the Saturn Program Office
was finally dissolved.
SUMMARY
MSFC management strongly reflected the tradition of the "dirty
hands" approach begun by the von Braun team at Peenemuende and
continued during the operations at ABMA. The organizational structure
and influence of the technical laboratories was another vestige of
rocketry work from the pre-World-War-II era. The pronounced shift
toward managerial functions after the 1963 NASA-MSFC reorganization
enhanced the prestige of Marshall's Industrial Operations component,
and the influence of Air Force concepts of missile management was
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STAGES TO SATURN
evident in the extended tenure of General Edmund F. O'Connor as its
head.
The crux of Saturn V management was Arthur Rudolph's Saturn V
Program Office. Rudolph's missile management skills had been en-
hanced by the Redstone and Pershing programs; as a Peenemuende
veteran, he could also relate effectively to von Braun and other key
MSFC managers of similar backgrounds. Within Rudolph's organization,
the "GEM Boxes" provided an effective and crucial link to offices at
NASA Headquarters and developed and applied various management
systems serving Marshall and the contractor; the Program Control
Center provided the means for visibility and accountability in the Saturn
program.
It is impossible to pinpoint any single outstanding or unique
management concept that led the program to success. The NASA-MSFC
"style" seems to be more of an amalgam of various concepts, although
these concepts were refined for the unique scope and complexity of the
Saturn program. In general, the government-industry partnership was
notably successful, and the in-house capability at MSFC was highly
effective in monitoring contractor performance and providing backup
skills and facilities. The organization and operation exhibited by the
Program Control Center lent a theme of "visibility" to the Saturn
program. Among the many managerial tasks, logistics was a major effort.
292
The Logistics Tangle
Lunar flights were critically dependent on the "launch window," when
trajectories of the orbiting moon and the space vehicle were compat-
ible. Crucial slippages in preparation time were avoided during the final
weeks prior to launch so that liftoff occurred during the "launch
window." Schedules and deadlines extended back to the production
process of rockets and their complementary equipment — a process that
was nationwide and exceedingly complex. Components from thousands
of contractors and subcontractors not only had to be completed on time,
but all components had to arrive on schedule at one of the major centers
so that units could be assembled and thoroughly checked out. The units
were then shipped to Cape Kennedy for stacking on the flight vehicle.
The Saturn V required 56 railroad tank cars to supply its necessary
propellants. The various stages for one launch vehicle spent up to 70
days in transit at sea before arriving at Cape Kennedy, while the S-IVB
and the instrument unit arrived as airborne cargoes. In the background
were over 20 000 contractors and subcontractors who supplied hundreds
of thousands of individual parts for the Saturn V. In 1966, Arthur
Rudolph, speaking as the Director of MSFC's Saturn V Program Office,
commented succinctly, "Not the least of the problems in the Saturn V
system is logistics."1
Wernher von Braun, Rudolph's superior at Huntsville, pointed out
two special reasons for emphasizing logistics. First, the costs of logistics
might run to as much as one third of the entire launch vehicle program's
budget. Any improvement, he stressed, saved money fast. Furthermore,
von Braun said, logistics seemed to be taken for granted too often, and
this led to troubles. By 1966, the Saturn launch vehicles had been
293
STAGES TO SATURN
launched successfully 13 times, and good logistics was an important
factor in this record of success. Still, there were occasional logistical
tangles, and "there have been some awfully close calls," von Braun
warned. Although the term logistics could be applied to many functions
such as financial analysis and procurement, the word as used during the
Saturn program applied to activities in direct support of hardware
development, testing, and mission operations. This task included spares
provisioning, inventory management, maintenance and maintainability,
training and technical support documentation, transportation, the supply
of propellants and pressurants, and the management, coordination, and
evaluation of the entire process.2
THE ORIGINS OF SATURN LOGISTICS
In retrospect, the need for a logistical program seems logical and
obvious, but it was slow to develop; the lack of such a program hampered
the Saturn program for several years. When Congress passed the Space
Act in 1958, the U.S. manned space program relied primarily on rocket
vehicles derived from the nation's military ballistic missile programs.
Despite their internal complexities, the Mercury and Gemini spacecraft
were manageable under existing conditions, and the Air Force provided
the requisite support functions for the launch vehicles and related
logistical phases. The Apollo program changed the ground rules, be-
cause NASA intended to supply its own launch vehicles, but lack of time
and money stalled the implementation of a logistical setup for the Saturn
launch vehicle program.3 In the early phases of Saturn program plan-
ning, many officials felt that there was no need for military-style "launch
vehicle system logistics" based on rocket weapons because NASA did not
have the problems of large numbers of rockets and dispersed launch
sites. Lamentably, this seemed to lead to a second assumption: since a
weapon logistical system seemed inappropriate for NASA, a consensus
evolved that there was no need for a logistical program at all.4 This
weakness in reasoning stemmed partially from differences in the nature
of the launch vehicles. NASA planned to launch a limited number of
vehicles at fixed intervals and from one point, contrasted with a theoretical
military situation where many launches occurred at unscheduled times
from widely scattered launch sites or field positions. In a national defense
situation, numbers of missiles and unanticipated circumstances required
an elaborate logistical backup. Troops in the field were essentially
unschooled as engineers and relied on a logistical array of technical
manuals, parts, spares, and rigidly scheduled maintenance. Saturn per-
sonnel, on the other hand, included a high percentage of engineers.
They did not have to rely on military procedures but could refer
immediately to engineering drawings and work out an appropriate "fix"
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THE LOGISTICS TANGLE
on the spot, supported by conveniently accessible laboratories and
machine shops at the launch site.5
The hopeful assumptions about the launch vehicles did not suffice.
Factors that required logistical management included the size and
complexity of vehicles, the wide geographic dispersal of launch and test
sites, the pace of the program, the armies of technicians involved, and the
number of suppliers around the country. "Misinterpretation then, caused
neglect of an integrated logistics program," Rudolph admitted. "Thus
we ... created for ourselves a considerable problem by not allowing
enough thought and planning toward logistics at the very outset."
Theoretically, once administrators pinpointed a basic weakness in the
Saturn program managerial structure, it should have been fairly eco-
nomical to borrow some techniques of weapon logistics and adapt them
to NASA's requirements. Comprehensive programs existed for the Min-
uteman and Pershing programs, but the logistics for an older, smaller
rocket did not always prove adequate for a newer, lar.ger one. As
Rudolph observed, "I am not at all sure that logistic support of a launch
vehicle program with its high rate of advancement in the state of
technology and its associated highly complex ground support equipment
is not more difficult than logistic support of a weapons system."
Further difficulties emerged as NASA management moved belatedly
to establish an adequate logistical program. As problem areas became
identified, additional funds to resolve the problems simply did not exist.
When systems analyses indicated badly needed changes in logistics, the
program manager had to take some sort of corrective action with existing
funds. It came to making tradeoffs; the program manager, began to rob
Peter to pay Paul and sometimes found himself in a dilemma. As
Rudolph phrased it, "how much of a calculated risk can he afford to
take"? In 1961-1962, Saturn V managers from MSFC and personnel
from the Apollo Program Office at NASA Headquarters initiated a series
of "intensive, accelerated studies" to bring the logistical picture into
focus. Essentially, the goal was to update the logistical organization to fit
the prevailing status of vehicle development and the availability of funds.
"This agonizing reappraisal lasted over many months," Rudolph recalled,
"but in this way, we were able to tailor tightly, I repeat, tailor our logistical
program to meet the essential requirement of each stage, yet stay within
budget limitations."6
Unsnarling the logistical tangle within the existing budget included
the reeducation of the program managers and program personnel
throughout the organization. Brigadier General Edmund F. O'Connor,
Director of Industrial Operations at Marshall, emphasized the general
lack of attention to logistics and misunderstandings about it in the early
years. He believed that no visibility existed. "In other words," O'Connor
continued, "we were having the same kind of trouble with logistics that
we had with documentation, reliability, and the like. We had a serious
295
STAGES TO SATURN
communications problem, no logistics baseline, no logistics thread run-
ning through the entire program."7
The outcome of this reevaluation was a formally organized logistical
program that would keep logistical requirements up to date and that
would hopefully avoid future problems. As the new plans emerged,
NASA managers realized that the logistical programs of the contractors
were also unclear. No one knew if contractor progress had achieved
desired goals or if problems existed. Under the new regimen, Saturn V
contractors began formulating logistical progress reports, and all devel-
opments were plotted against logistical control charts. In addition, each
of the hardware managers acquired a logistical manager, a move that
reflected the increasing concern and attention to the problem. Rudolph
installed an overall logistical manager in his office to keep tabs on the
lower echelons and the contractors, as well as on the MSFC laboratories
in Huntsville.8
NASA's logistical management finally crystallized by 1963. Much of
the push to reorganize the logistical format came from Stan Smolensky of
NASA Headquarters and from Eberhard Rees, Deputy Director — Techni-
cal, in von Braun's office at MSFC. At the top of the logistical organiza-
tion, NASA set up a Logistics Management Office at the staff level in the
Office of Manned Space Flight (OMSF) in Washington. This new office
reported directly to the Apollo Program Manager at OMSF and inte-
grated the overall Apollo-Saturn support programs. For the Saturn
launch vehicles themselves, MSFC organized a Project Logistics Office
which reported to the Director of Industrial Operations. This office
functioned both at a staff level and in an operational capacity, and acted
in close cooperation with the respective program managers within the
Saturn program as well as with the R&D laboratories at Marshall. The
R&D laboratories had the technical responsibility for the development of
much of the launch vehicle's systems and supporting hardware. For
example, the Test Laboratory did considerable investigation of the
special purpose vehicles, and the Astrionics Laboratory designated an
individual to cooperate on work involving the instrument unit. Because
many parts and components were being produced by the factories and
the vehicles were taking shape, the project logistics office had to decide
whether to repurchase or switch parts if a manufacturer decided to close
down a particular operation or start up a different product line. This
kind of situation meant that Marshall's personnel who were involved in
the quality and reliability aspects also became part of the logistical
organization. With the Project Logistics Office in operation in Huntsville,
Houston's MSC relied on MSFC's growing capability for moving the
command module, service module, and other large bits and pieces of
spacecraft hardware around the country. As for logistical requirements
emanating from the launch site in Florida, John C. Goodrum, head of
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THE LOGISTICS TANGLE
MSFC's Project Logistics Office, remarked that "Kennedy always consid-
ered themselves a logistics-oriented center," with internal administrative
channels to handle the job, although Marshall occasionally provided
transportation for KSC.9
The cooperative aspects of the logistical program included the
Department of Defense, which supplied some of the propellants and
pressurants for the Saturn program. Some cryogenic production plants
were jointly operated under the auspices of the Department of Defense
and NASA, and MSFC monitored the specifications and construction of
other plants around the country. By 1965, the major plants were in
operation to supply cryogenics for the rising tempo of Saturn testing and
launch operations. This capability was especially important for liquid
hydrogen (LH2). The space program helped raise the production levels
to 190 metric tons per day, with the Saturn program absorbing up to 95
percent of the nation's total capacity. Once a plant became operative,
NASA and MSFC were eager to coordinate its production with an active
test and flight series, because increased LH2 consumption was a way to
save money. Producers established a price for their product that was in
direct relation to the volume sold. In the early 1960s, liquid hydrogen
was about $20.00 per kilogram, but the price dropped to around $2.20
per kilogram for 450 kilograms, 45 to 65 cents per kilogram for 2250
kilograms, and leveled off at around 35 cents per kilogram for higher
volumes. Fortunately, MSFC "never got pinned" to the $20.00 curve,
Goodrum remarked, but the space agency paid some fairly high prices
for liquid hydrogen from time to time. For transportation of assorted
cryogenics, MSFC relied on fleets of trucks, mostly from commercial
carriers; the Air Force lent occasional support.10
By 1966, Rudolph felt that the logistical problem had been con-
trolled, and he confidently announced that the first Saturn V launch,
early in 1967, would get off on schedule early in the coming year. The
success in coping with the logistics of the launch cannot be underestimated.
A comparison of PERT figures indicated a total of 40 000 events for the
contractors working on the three stages and the instrument unit. For the
ground support equipment (GSE) managers, over 60 000 events needed
to be tracked. The components for ground support were manufactured
throughout the United States and arrived at test sites and KSC by every
conceivable means of modern transportation. Rudolph remarked that it
was virtually impossible to illustrate graphically the full GSE logistical
program and harder still to describe it.11
The GSE delivery requirements had many parallels in the transport
logistical requirements for the various rocket stages of the Saturn
program. The development of this phase of Saturn logistics also involved
a transportation network from coast to coast and relied on a wide
spectrum of transport equipment.
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STAGES TO SATURN
TRANSPORTERS: THE ROLL-ON/ROLL-OFF CONCEPT
Because the Saturn vehicles were originally designed for the utmost
in vehicle integrity and manned missions, it would be inadvisable to
degrade the integrity of Saturn components by using inferior transport
modes and techniques. Rocket stages were transported thousands of
miles and experienced hundreds of hours of constant vibration. There
was always the possibility of damage to welded joints and seals, as well as
to delicate components that were manufactured to very high tolerances.
On arrival at Cape Kennedy, additional checkout tests frequently ex-
posed a problem that could be traced to the transportation sequence. The
logistics of rocket stages were not to be taken lightly.12
As early as 1959, personnel at ABMA began to study the problems
of transporting boosters from the manufacturing area to the test stands
and the problem of the long journey from Huntsville to the Atlantic
Missile Test Range in Florida. Early proposals considered using existing
transporters devised for Redstone and Jupiter missiles, but this equip-
ment proved to be too small. To carry the larger Saturn series on
Redstone-Jupiter transporters, investigators discovered they would have
to disassemble and remove engines and associated equipment, then
replace the engines each time the complete vehicle moved from manufac-
turing to testing areas. This process was repeated during shipment to the
launch site. Engineers warned that such frequent reassembling would
compromise the reliability of the vehicle.
As a second proposal, planners envisioned a gargantuan BARC-style
amphibious vessel. The acronym came from Army nomenclature for an
amphibious machine in military inventory at the time: Barge, Amphibi-
ous, Resupply, Cargo. The Army used BARCs for over-the-shore deliv-
ery of heavy tanks and other cargo, and this apparently served as the
inspiration for an enormous BARC to transport Saturn rockets. This unit
would pick up a Saturn vehicle at the manufacturing area, carry the
vehicle to the test site and reload it after tests, and then the BARC would
lumber overland and plunge into the Tennessee River. After cruising
down the Tennessee and the Mississippi rivers, the ponderous BARC
would churn through the Gulf of Mexico, clamber onto the Florida coast
at Cape Kennedy, and move directly to the launching pads. The BARC
concept was eventually scrapped. The shallow draft raised doubts about
its seaworthiness in the Gulf, and its dimensions and difficult maneuverability
would necessitate major modifications to existing buildings and manufac-
turing areas to accommodate the transporter alone. The engineers
concluded that it would cost $5 000 000 and would not be operational for
four years. The ABMA study recommended the construction of towable
transporters for the Saturn vehicles and planned to use proven, seawor-
thy vessels on the waterborne leg of operations.
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THE LOGISTICS TANGLE
In October 1959, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA)
gave the go-ahead to the Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) to
begin engineering studies on the Tennessee River for dock facilities that
would be conveniently accessible to the manufacturing complex at
Redstone Arsenal. By December, AOMC received further authorization
from ARPA not only to construct the docks but also to begin designs for a
barge to carry the oversize boosters to the launch site at Cape Canaveral.
The engineers decided to equip the dock areas with electrical winches for
a roll-on/roll-off operation that would use the ground transporter to
wheel the stage aboard the barge, ride with it to its destination, and wheel
it out again. This operation promised the least strain and damage to the
stage during the strenuous handling and transportation phases.13
The size of the Saturn I first-stage boosters promised some head-
aches when the time came to move completed stages around the
manufacturing areas and between the ships and the static-firing areas of
Redstone Arsenal. The Saturn engineers in Huntsville devised a solution
to the problem. For the final assembly of the Saturn I first stage, workers
used a pair of huge circular assembly jigs to position the cluster of one
center tank and eight smaller tanks around it. These assembly fixtures at
either end of the rocket then became the load-bearing structures for
transportation. After the completed booster was raised with huge jacks,
wheel and axle assemblies were positioned at each end. With the stage
lowered onto these assemblies, they were affixed to the assembly jigs,
which now became support cradles for towing the stage. The wheel
assemblies, using aircraft tires, were designed for independent braking
and hydraulic steering. The transporter was towed by an army truck
tractor at five to eight kilometers per hour through successive phases of
checkout and test. NASA also used the transporter for loading and
unloading the stage from the barges that carried it from Huntsville to the
launch site on Florida's east coast.14
For the S-IC first stage of the Saturn V, MSFC's Test Laboratory
designed a similar transporter in 1963. The S-IC transporter used a
modular wheel concept, based on a two-wheel, steerable unit and
clustered to comprise two dollies fore and aft — a total of 24 wheels. The
wheels, similar to the 24-ply tires for earth-moving equipment, stood
about as high as a man. Each modular pair of wheels incorporated a
separate system for power steering, with all systems of a particular dolly
interconnected by a computer to correlate the steering angles for all
wheels in unison. Since the dolly units could be steered to ±90° from the
axis of the transporter, the entire rig and its load could be maneuvered
sideways, into, and out of checkout bays and test areas. MSFC used a
modified Army M-26 tank retriever as the tractor unit for towing the
S-IC and its huge transporter. The M-26, a 179-kilowatt (240-horsepower)
model weighing 55 metric tons, included 27 metric tons of water ballast
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STAGES TO SATURN
to cope with the counterweight of the transporter. The total length of the
tractor and transporter unit came to about two-thirds the length of a
football field and was capable of rolling along at eight kilometers per
hour. In theory, the driver in the tank retriever's cab was in charge of the
direction of travel, but in practice, he acted as a coordinator of a crew of
other drivers and transporter personnel. When the S-IC transporter rig
"hit the road," its entourage included a cluster of observers who walked
along at each corner of the vehicle and alerted the driver coordinator
positioned in the front of obstacles and clearances that were blocked
from his view. The driver in turn relayed instructions to drivers on the
transporter who were riding in cabs front and rear and who could
manipulate the massive fore and aft dollies as required. Before taking
on an actual stage, the entire crew trained throughout the MSFC
complex on a tubular S-IC simulator that was built to the dimensions and
weight of the actual stage.15
The size of the stages aboard the transporters and the combined
loads they represented created some unique problems in hauling them
across country. At Huntsville, highway engineers laid out a special
roadway stretching 13 kilometers down to the docks on the Tennessee
River. At Michoud, another Saturn roadway included the length of an
old airstrip that lay between the manufacturing complex and the docking
area for the barges. In California, where the Douglas and North
American contractor plants were situated in urban areas, the state
cooperated in granting special permits for the use of public highways for
moving the S-II, S-IV, and S-IVB stages. These stages, though smaller
than the S-IC, nevertheless presented special difficulties. Douglas, the
The first S-IC flight stage is cautiously towed through Marshall Space Flight
Center on its way to the adjoining Tennessee River and its barge transportation.
THE LOGISTICS TANGLE
manufacturer of the S-IV and S-IVB stages for the Saturn I and Saturn
IB, became the first major West Coast contractor to encounter such
inconveniences. As the S-IV second stage of the Saturn I began to take
shape in 1960, transport problems became pressing. A Douglas execu-
tive, H. L. Lambert, said that the problems of handling and transporting
Saturn S-IV stages had reached the point where such considerations
threatened to impose limits as a design factor.16
Each stage followed distinctive logistical patterns. After manufac-
ture in California, the S-II traveled to the Mississippi Test Facility (MTF).
The S-IC stage, manufactured at nearby Michoud, was also tested at
MTF. Both stages, for all their prodigious bulk, could be transported
with comparative ease via seagoing barges that used the extensive river
and canal systems constructed around the Michoud and MTF facilities.
After testing, barges once more carried the S-IC and S-II stages (and
earlier S-I and S-IB vehicles) to Cape Kennedy. Logistical patterns for
the S-IV and S-IVB were more complex. S-IVB was smaller than its
companions and presented some unique handling difficulties in moving
it through an especially congested area of Los Angeles to the shipping
facilities. Difficulties were also encountered in loading the stages for a
barge trip and delivering the stages further north and even further
inland to the Douglas test facilities at Sacramento.
Customized apparatus for handling and transportation of the S-IV
and IVB stages was paralleled by "customizing" the eventual routes to
test and reshipment facilities. Although logic compelled logistics engi-
neers to opt for canals and seaborne transportation instead of land
transport, the overland mode still had to be used. The overland mode
was the only way to move a stage from the manufacturing areas to the
loading docks for the canal and seaborne segments of its journey.
Douglas and NASA personnel in California began negotiations to move a
27 000-kilogram load on roads, subject to the various jurisdictions of
state, county, and city. The planning and coordination took days.
Fortunately, cooperation of local law enforcement organizations expe-
dited the task, and flagmen from railroads in the area agreed to special
duty when the stage and its accompanying entourage approached
railroad crossings. Commercial firms that operated vans and various
truck equipment, as well as local school districts with extensive bus
schedules were called into consultation on the logistics of overland
rockets. Because the rocket stage spread across all available lane space
and the shoulders of the road, no parking space remained. Vehicles
waited at roadside until the stage transporter moved by. Regular auto
traffic could be rerouted, but bus lines and cartage business on normal
schedules had to reroute their trips more carefully. The stage and
transporter spread up as well as out, so utility companies agreed to raise
(or even bury) their lines when no practical alternative routes seemed
feasible. All other encumbrances along the right of way were eliminated
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STAGES TO SATURN
along the final route. Finally, Douglas had the responsibility to coordi-
nate the remaining myriad travel arrangements. NASA representatives
cooperated with various military personnel on sea transport, while all
three elements (Douglas, NASA, and the military) kept in touch on times
of arrival and departure, interior schedules, proper support equipment
to load and unload the cargo, and additional problems.
Inevitably, complications arose. Early in the S-IV program, a stage
enroute from Huntington Beach to Santa Monica for transfer to a barge
collided with one of nature's denizens. H. E. Bauer, then a senior S-IV
manager with Douglas, easily recalled the novel circumstances. It happened
early in the morning, with the loaded transporter creeping at 6.4
kilometers per hour. "At that speed nothing much should happen,"
Bauer reminisced, "but, incredible as it may sound, we did run over a
very mature and ripe skunk." By a stroke of luck, the stage itself escaped
unscathed, but the transporter remained a large, odoriferous problem — "we
had a 231/2 ft. wide, 461/2 ft. long, 22 000 Ib. skunk on our hands." With
other missions pending for the one-of-a-kind transporter, the Douglas
Aircraft Company chemists who devised an effective deodorizer ranked
high on the list of unsung heroes of the Saturn program.17
Ground transport of North American's S-II stage, manufactured at
Seal Beach, proved to be less difficult. The Seal Beach complex was only
a few kilometers from the Navy's harbor at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons
Station, and a broad, four-lane highway facilitated movement of the S-II
from the manufacturing area to the docks, although all local traffic had
to be stopped during the operation.18
The S-IV, S-IVB, S-IC, and S-II stages acquired miscellaneous
customized accessories for logistical operations, including access kits. The
size of the S-IC permitted a much more elaborate panoply of tiered and
balconied work platforms, installed inside and out. The S-II access
equipment resembled that of the S-IV and S-IVB, a work platform which
moved up and down an internal tunnel inserted through the center of
both the oxidizer and fuel tanks. Movement, shipment, and accessories
for the Saturn's engines relied on more conventional means. Early in the
1960s, after preliminary static tests at Edwards Air Force Base in
California, F-l engines were flown to Huntsville by the U.S. Air Force
Military Air Transport Service aboard C-133B cargo planes. Beginning
in 1967, the engines arrived at Michoud by truck from California,
although MSFC occasionally arranged to deliver the engines by boat.19
NASA'S "NAVAL FLEET" FOR THE SPACE PROGRAM
Marshall Space Flight Center began its first important waterborne
work with the Palaemon, a converted Navy barge. The vessel was
about 79 meters long, with two deck levels. The Navy used the Large
302
An S-II stage on its transporter.
Covered Lighter (YFNB) class during World War II, primarily during
the Pacific campaigns, as floating supply and maintenance centers for
forward operational areas. The vessels were originally designed to be
self-contained. The lower decks were divided into crew quarters, galley,
machine shop, and a machine room for a pair of diesel generators to
supply power. The NASA conversion essentially retained the lower deck
configuration, but the top deck was removed and covered over to house
the Saturn I first stage as it rested on its transporter. The structure was
"beefed up" at some points, and reinforcement strips on the floor helped
carry the weight of the cargo. At the forward section, the Palaemon
included a different berthing arrangement for a 10—12 man crew on the
upper and lower deck levels, and included the radio shack and pilot
house.
To propel the barges, MSFC's Project Logistics Office relied on
commercial marine contractors like the Mechling Barge Lines, Incorpo-
rated, of Joliet, Illinois. One of Mechling's tugs, the Bob Fuqua, played an
especially significant role in the Saturn program, beginning with the
Palaemon and the shipment of the first of the Saturn I first stages from
Huntsville to Cape Canaveral. Normally, river tugboats like the Bob
Fuqua pushed, rather than pulled, a string of barges. With the tug in the
rear, it was easier to maneuver the barges ahead and to drop off or pick
up a barge at river docks. The high pilot house on the tug made it easy to
see over the string of low, broad-beamed barges and follow the channel.
The Palaemon, however, featured a high, metal-canopied superstructure
for the protection of Saturn stages, reminiscent of a military quonset hut
set atop the barge. Because the tug captain and pilot could not see to
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STAGES TO SATURN
guide the barge, the Palaemon ?> pilot house, not the tugboat's, became the
bridge for controlling the barge and tugboat while under way, although
the tug continued to supply power from the rear. In emergencies, control
reverted back to the tug. This remote-control procedure, unique in
barging operations, was ironed out in early 1961, based on water trials on
the Tennessee River using the Bob Fuqua and the Palaemon with a test
booster aboard. Barge captains and pilots had to relearn control tech-
niques and maneuvers from the forward pilot house on the barge.
The Bob Fuqua possessed other advantages. It was also a seagoing
tug, and the Mechling organization operated it under seaway rights that
permitted the tugboat to move the Palaemon directly from port to
port — from the Tennessee docks, down the Mississippi, across the Gulf,
and up the Atlantic Coast to the launch site at Cape Canaveral. After
leaving the Mississippi, the barge and tug followed the Gulf Intracoastal
Waterway to St. George Sound, located off the Florida panhandle; across
the Gulf of Mexico to San Carlos Bay (near Ft. Myers); through the
Okeechobee Waterway across Florida to Stuart, on the Atlantic Coast;
then up the Florida Intracoastal Waterway to the Cape Canaveral Barge
Canal. The complete voyage from Huntsville covered about 3500 kilome-
ters and took 10 days; by using the Intracoastal Waterway, the barge and
its cargo traveled only 452 kilometers in open seas, and the route kept
them no more than 80 kilometers from sheltered ports along the Gulf
Coast. The barge and tug entourage usually included a 12-man
complement: a five-man crew from Mechling to handle the barge and
tug, a half-dozen NASA personnel traveling with the stage, and one
government monitor with overall responsibility for the operations. The
leisurely pace of the cruise, with the amenities of a well-equipped galley,
showers, and air-conditioned quarters, often attracted upper-echelon
MSFC personnel, if they could find a good excuse to go along.20
The inaugural voyage of the Palaemon occurred in April 1961 when
it departed from Huntsville for Cape Canaveral. Its cargo included a
dummy S-IV stage for the SA-1 vehicle and a huge water-ballasted tank
that simulated the size and weight of the Saturn S-l first-stage booster.
Crews at MSFC and the Cape rehearsed movements for loading, unloading,
maneuvering the stage and its transporter, operating the barge. The
Palaemon made the return trip in May, in time for its first operational
cruise, carrying a dummy S-IV payload along with the first SA-1 flight
stage that had just completed static-firing tests and final checkout at
Huntsville. But on 2 June 1961, the single lock at Wheeler Dam on the
Tennessee River collapsed. All river traffic halted and the Palaemon and
its intended cargo were trapped upstream. The launch schedules were
endangered, and NASA and MSFC scrambled to find a way to get the
stage to Florida. The high national priority rating of the Saturn program
and the cargo operations of the Atomic Energy Commission at Oak
Ridge, Tennessee spurred prompt action. It did not take long for the
304
THE LOGISTICS TANGLE
TVA to build roads around the collapsed lock to a point below Muscle
Shoals, Alabama. But the Saturn stage still needed a barge to carry it.
The Marshall center got in touch with the Navy, and requested
another suitable YFNB barge. The Navy found one in the "mothball
fleet" at Pensacola and MSFC personnel went to work on its modifica-
tions. It was appropriately christened Compromise. The cargo aboard the
Palaemon finally left the MSFC docks on 5 August 1961; workers
unloaded the cargo at Wheeler Dam and towed the Saturn SA-1 booster
and S-IV dummy stage around the locks, reloaded the booster and
dummy stage aboard the Compromise, and reached the Cape on 15
August, meeting the 10-day delivery schedule. NASA pressed a different
tug into service, using a tow line, and the Compromise carried its load
exposed; the tight schedule did not allow time to fit the barge with the
distinctive metal canopy or controls of the Palaemon. Before the end of
the year, Compromise was rebuilt to more suitable specifications, complete
with protective canopy and a newly outfitted pilot house in front. Prior to
the reopening of the Wheeler lock in the spring of 1962, NASA
authorities decided that the original sobriquet for the Compromise did not
convey the proper image. The barge was recommissioned the Promise?1
For transportation of the S-IV and S-IVB from the West Coast to
Huntsville and then to the Cape, NASA at first relied on ocean freight-
ers. The larger S-II stage needed more specialized treatment, since its
size did not allow it to be stored within the confines of a freighter's hold
or above deck. In December 1963, NASA concluded agreements with the
Military Sea Transport Service to use the Point Barrow for shipment of
S-II stages from California to test and launch sites in Mississippi and
Florida. The Point Barrow was a Navy LSD (Landing Ship, Dock) that had
seen extensive Arctic duty before its conversion for the space program.
Beginning in 1964, the Point Barrow carried some S-IVB stages as well as
the larger S-II under a protective canopy located in the rear of the ship.
The other large vessels that operated for the Saturn program
included the U.S.N.S. Taurus and the YFNB barge Poseidon. The Taurus,
similar to the Point Barrow, carried S-IVB and S-II stages to Mississippi
test locations and to Kennedy Space Center, and the Poseidon was an
oversized barge built to carry the big S-IC first-stage boosters of the
Saturn V between MTF, MSFC, and Cape Kennedy. The open-deck
barges Little Lake and Pearl River shuttled S-IC stages directly from the
factory doors at Michoud to the test stands at MTF. The barges were left
uncovered because the stages were hoisted directly off the barges into
position at the vertical test stands. Because neither barge had a forward
pilot house, the tugs that moved them featured a second bridge perched
on a framework tower rising above the original pilot house on the tug.
The rig looked like a seagoing forest fire watchtower to most spectators.
The remainder of MSFC's fleet was on the West Coast for S-IV and
S-IVB logistics. In addition, a small flotilla of seven tanker barges was
305
Saturn's Barges
An S-IB stage is loaded aboard
the barge Palaemon at Mi-
choud.
This fleet of six liquid-oxygen
barges carried liquid oxygen from
a nearby oxygen production plant
to the Mississippi Test Facility.
Three similar barges carried liq-
uid hydrogen.
An S-IC stage is aboard th
barge Pearl River at the Mil
sissippi Test Facility. The hig
auxiliary bridge at the rear c
the barge was constructed fc
use by the tug Apollo in seein
over the cumbersome bulk of th
S-IC.
This flotilla of three barges
being pushed up the Tennesst
River early in 1965. The loadt
ones carried first and secon
stages of the Saturn IB dynam
test vehicle.
The barge Poseidon ferried
S-IC and S-II stages between
MSFC, Michoud, Mississippi
Test Facility, and KSC.
THE LOGISTICS TANGLE
stationed at MTF. These barges were designed to carry a 875 000-liter
tank of liquid hydrogen and moved between New Orleans and MTF to
support the S-II and S-IVB static test firings.22
William Mrazek, a top official in MSFC's Industrial Operations
Division, once remarked that the Apollo program was possibly the
greatest engineering program in history, overshadowing the Manhattan
Project that produced the atomic bombs of World War II and outranking
the efforts of the builders of the Egyptian pyramids.23 He could have
added that the Apollo project depended on the existence of other
massive American enterprises in engineering such as the Panama Canal
and the river navigation system managed by the Tennessee Valley
Authority.
After tests at Sacramento, S-IVB stages were sometimes carried by
barge and freighter either directly to the Atlantic Missile Range (by way
of the Panama Canal and the Gulf of Mexico), or indirectly to MSFC — a
14-day voyage up the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee rivers to Huntsville
for testing, and back out again. Rifle fire raised a potential hazard for the
Saturn rocket stages on the Mississippi and its tributaries. MSFC and
contractor authorities began to worry that the huge targets on the barges
might attract young boys and their small-bore rifles. Marshall asked for a
Coast Guard escort for some of the first trips, not only as protection from
adolescent sharpshooters, but also from riverbank moonshiners. John
Goodrum, head of MSFC's logistics office, said that he didn't remember
that a barge was ever hit, but somebody once put a bullet hole in the pilot
house. "That's very common on the Mississippi," Goodrum laughed. The
natives were pretty good shots, and no one ever got hurt — they just
decided to let you know that they were there.24
Full-sized stages for the Saturn I, Saturn IB, and Saturn V contin-
ued to move up and down the Mississippi and Tennessee rivers in the
Palaemon, Promise, or Poseidon, aided by the specially rigged Bob Fuqua.
Occasionally, some of the components of one of the stages had to be
carried back and forth between Michoud and Huntsville for additional
tests and analysis at MSFC, and these components could be lashed down
as a deck load on one of the regular commercial barges that plied the
rivers. Components for the S-IC stage took the water route to MSFC for
testing; one cargo consisted of the 10-meter diameter intertank assembly
at 6650 kilograms and 2 "Y ring" supports, 10 meters in diameter and
over 6800 kilograms apiece. The average voyage of 1996 kilometers from
New Orleans docks to the MSFC docks in Huntsville involved several
segments and changeovers as the barge string was passed from one
towboat to another. The first segment ran 1396 kilometers upriver to
Cairo, Illinois, and took 10 days. At Cairo, the "rocket barge" joined a
barge group under the control of an Ohio River towboat for the
76-kilometer leg to Paducah, Kentucky, the outlet of the Tennessee
307
STAGES TO SATURN
River. The Igert Towing Company's Bill Dyer acquired control of the
barge at Paducah and began the 521 -kilometer run to Huntsville.
On the Tennessee River, the massive, federally supported Apollo-
Saturn project took advantage of a predecessor: the Tennessee Valley
Authority project. Nine multipurpose locks and dams created a naviga-
tion channel from Paducah to Knoxville, Tennessee, a span of 1014
kilometers. At an average depth of 3 meters, the river channel was quite
comfortable for river barge operations. For the Bill Dyer, the first lock to
lift the towboat and barge occurred just 35 kilometers from Paducah.
Then followed a placid, 322-kilometer cruise at about 14 kilometers per
hour as the river turned south across the western end of Tennessee, past
a series of small river landings with whimsical names like Sarah's Garter
and Petticoat Riffle. At Pickwick Dam, near the border of Alabama, the-
barge group was lifted again and turned east toward Huntsville. En route
were additional locks at Wilson Dam and Wheeler Dam, elevating the Bill
Dyer and its cargo a total of 77 meters within 407 kilometers of river
channel. About 8 hours after emerging from the Wheeler locks the Bill
Dyer put in at the MSEC boat slip, and the 521 -kilometer journey on the
Tennessee was completed.25
SPACECRAFT BY AIRCRAFT: NASA's AIR CARGO SERVICE
Helicopters were occasionally pressed into service to meet logistical
needs for the Apollo-Saturn program. In support of vehicle dynamic
tests at Huntsville, an Army CH-47A, dangling its cargo underneath,
flew from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Huntsville. The Saturn IB load consisted
of an adapter unit that connected the instrument unit to the service
module and housed the lunar module. The tapered adapter component,
9 meters long and 6.7 meters in diameter at the base, made quite an
impression as it swayed through the air during the 965-kilometer flight
from North American's facility at Tulsa.26 The most impressive aerial
deliveries were made by special transport aircraft that were designed to
carry entire Saturn S-IV and S-IVB upper stages.
As the Saturn I program progressed, NASA officials became in-
creasingly concerned about coordinating arrival of separate stages at the
Cape to meet the launch schedules. Lower stages for the Saturn I and
Saturn IB required a comparatively short voyage from Huntsville and
from Michoud. Delivery of the S-IV and S-IVB from California also
involved the use of seagoing barges and transports to carry these upper
stages down the Pacific Coast, through the Panama Canal, across the Gulf
of Mexico, and finally across Florida to Cape Canaveral. The odyssey of
the S-IV and IVB stages required occasional side trips up the Mississippi
and Tennessee rivers to Huntsville for additional tests at MSFC facilities
before returning to the Cape. This complex and slow operation and the
308
THE LOGISTICS TANGLE
potential delays from foul weather at sea generated increasing concern
about meeting carefully coordinated deliveries of vehicle stages and
related hardware. Transportation of the larger S-II second stage of the
Saturn V and the S-IVB third stage from California to the Cape
multiplied the concern. Another potential weak link was the Panama
Canal. If the canal were to be shut down for some reason, seaborne
shipments would be forced around South America and the carefully
calculated launch schedules would collapse.27
Against this background, managers within NASA began thinking
about other modes of transportation to ensure rapid delivery of upper
Saturn stages, beginning with the S-IV. The size of the S-IV ruled out
delivery to the Cape by rail or road. As the lead center of launch vehicle
development, MSFC let a contract in 1960 to the Douglas Aircraft
Corporation to determine the feasibility of air transport. A Douglas
assessment team spent several months on the project and came up with a
proposal that envisioned a "piggyback" concept that used an Air Force
C-133 transport. Design studies included pictures of the rocket stage
positioned above the C-133 and perched atop streamlined fairings.
Because the stage was exposed to the passing airstream, planners
expected to fit the stage with a streamlined nose cone, with vertical
stabilizers at the rear to enhance its aerodynamic qualities in transit.
Suggestions from other sources ran the gamut from airplanes to gliders
to lighter-than-air vehicles. One proposal envisioned the use of a blimp,
which would putter along from California to Florida with a swaying S-IV
stage slung underneath. As late as 1963 serious thought was given to
resurrecting a modern successor to the prewar dirigible, with an interior
cargo hold to carry rocket stages.28
The Douglas organization already possessed its own reservoir of
experience in the transportation of rockets by aircraft. The Douglas
Thor IRBM had been freighted regularly on transcontinental and
intercontinental flights by Douglas C-124 Globemasters, and the com-
pany was confident that this mode of transport was practical because its
own aerial operations had not damaged any rocket or its systems. The
Thor, however, had been designed for airborne shipment,29 and the
situation was now reversed. Douglas was ready to listen when approached
with an unusual scheme: the modification of an existing aircraft to
completely enclose the rocket stage with an airplane's fuselage.
The idea of a bloated cargo airplane originated with an imaginative
group associated with John M. Conroy, aerial entrepreneur of an outfit
aptly named Aero Spacelines, Incorporated, in Van Nuys, California.
Aero Spacelines intended to acquire surplus Boeing B-377 Stratocruisers.
About 1960, Conroy and some partners acquired title to over a dozen
four-engined airliners, used mainly by Pan Am and Northwest Orient on
their intercontinental routes during the Stratocruiser's heyday in the
1950s. The Conroy group at first planned to use the planes for
309
STAGES TO SATURN
nonscheduled air carry operations, but airlift for Air Force rockets also
looked promising. By 1961, plans had progressed to fly NASA's new
family of large launch vehicles.30
Drawing heavily on his own financial resources, Conroy pushed the
idea of his bulbous, "volumetric" airplane despite the considered opinion
of many aircraft engineers and aerodynamicists that no plane could be
distorted and distended enough to swallow an S-IV rocket stage and still
be able to fly. But Conroy was persuasive. R. W. Prentice, who managed
the S-IV logistics program at Douglas, remembered him as real "swash-
buckler," the sort of aviation character that reminded him of the cartoon
hero named "Smilin' Jack." Conroy apparently found some kindred souls
among influential Douglas executives, because he persuaded the com-
pany to go along with him on a presentation to NASA and MSFC. Some
of the NASA managers were unconvinced, but the energetic Conroy
touched a responsive chord in MSFC's visionary director, Dr. Wernher
von Braun. As John Goodrum, chief of MSFC's logistics office, recalled
the sequence of events, von Braun warmed to the idea from the start.
The idea was innovative and its boldness appealed to him. Neither MSFC
nor NASA Headquarters could allocate substantial funds to such a
project at the time. Nevertheless, buoyed by the interest evinced at both
Douglas and MSFC, Conroy decided to plunge ahead, although there
was no guarantee of a contract.31
The first phase of the project called for lengthening the fuselage
(by inserting the cabin section of another Stratocruiser) to accommodate
the S-IV stage. After the flight test of that modification, phase two called
for the enlargement of the plane's cabin section to approximately double
its normal volume. The swollen, humpbacked addition to the original
Boeing airframe was originally fabricated as a nonstructural element
stuck on the top of the fuselage. This alteration allowed test pilots and
engineers to conduct flight tests and analyze the altered flying character-
istics in comparative safety. The first flight occurred on 19 September
1962, followed by more than 50 hours of cross-country trials and other
experimental flights. Satisfied that the reconfigured aircraft could in-
deed fly, workmen finally cut away the original inner fuselage and the
massive external shell was mated to the basic airframe as a load-bearing
structure. The name Aero Spacelines selected for its unique plane was a
natural. The former Stratocruiser became a B-377 PG: the Pregnant
Guppy. The new plane had cost over $1 000 000. 32
The Guppy's designers intended to make the plane a self-contained
cargo transportation system. The fuselage separated just aft of the wing's
trailing edge to load and unload the S-IV and other cargoes. The ground
crew unloaded and attached three portable dollies to the rear part of the
plane and disengaged the various lines, cables, and bolts connecting the
fuselage sections. The rear portion was then rolled back to expose the
plane's cavernous hold.33
310
THE LOGISTICS TANGLE
In the course of work on the Guppy, Conroy began running out of
cash and credit. He figured he needed some tangible support from
NASA in the form of an endorsement to keep his creditors at arm's
length. On 20 September 1962, only one day after the first air trials of the
reconfigured prototype cargo version, Conroy and an adventuresome
flight crew took off for a demonstration tour. At this stage of the plane's
development, the B-377's original fuselage was still intact, and the
massive hump attached to the outside was held up by an interior
framework of metal stringers and wooden two-by-fours. Conroy had to
get a special clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration which
allowed him to proceed eastward from Van Nuys, as long as he avoided
major population areas en route. Following several interim stops, the
Pregnant Guppy flew to Huntsville, where Conroy wanted to demon-
strate the plane to MSFC officials and perhaps get some form of
unofficial encouragement to enable him to continue the plane's devel-
opment.
He landed at the airstrip of the Army's Redstone Arsenal, a facility
shared jointly by MSFC and the Army. The Guppy was visited by a mixed
group of scoffers and enthusiasts, including von Braun. While some
onlookers made sour jokes about the reputed ability of the awkward-
looking plane to fly Saturn rocket stages from the Pacific to the Atlantic
coast, von Braun was delighted. With both time and money in short
supply, Conroy wanted to pull off a convincing test of the Guppy's ability
to fly a heavy load. Because there was no time to install enough sandbags
in the hold to simulate the proposed cargo capacity, the plane was
completely gassed up with a load of aviation fuel to make up the weight
difference. MSFC's logistics chief, John Goodrum, observed the proceed-
ings, and most of the people around him seemed very doubtful of the
plane's potential. "In fact," remembered Goodrum, "there were some
pretty high ranking people who stood right there and shook their heads
and said it just wouldn't fly — there is no way!"
With Conroy at the controls, the big plane lumbered down the
runway and into the air. The pair of MSFC observers aboard this first
flight included Julian Hamilton, a key manager in Saturn logistics
programs, and Herman Kroeger, a member of the von Braun group
since the V-2 program in Germany and a former test pilot. Even with the
number one and two engines out, the plane could maintain course
and altitude with only light control. This feat so impressed ex-test pilot
Kroeger that he lapsed into German in describing it to his colleagues
after the plane landed. Von Braun was so interested that he wanted to fly
in the airplane. The MSFC director crawled in the airplane and took off,
to the consternation of those still dubious about the airworthiness of the
fuel-heavy airplane braced on the inside by a wooden framework. The
flight was uneventful, and informal contract talks began the same day.
There was little doubt that Conroy needed some firm support. His
311
finances were in such bad shape that he reached Huntsville only by
borrowing some aviation gas from a friend in Oklahoma, and MSFC
agreed to supply him with enough gas to fly home to California.34
Conroy was able to supply information for more serious contract
negotiations by late fall of 1962. Conroy reported in a letter to von Braun
that performance of the Pregnant Guppy guaranteed cruising speed in
excess of 378 kilometers per hour. The correspondence also revealed the
growing extent of MSFC cooperation and support for the proposed
Guppy operations involving cooperation from military bases, although
no official contracts had been signed. Aero Spacelines planned to keep
critical spares at strategic locations along its route structure to reduce
downtime in case of malfunctions. This arrangement included the special
allocation of a "quick-engine-change" unit at Patrick AFB, Florida, near
the launching sites of Cape Canaveral. NASA also planned to arrange for
Aero Spacelines to purchase supplies of fuel and oil at the military bases
along the Guppy's route.35
In the spring of 1963, the space agency was planning the first
two-stage launch of the Saturn I vehicle, designated SA-5. The first four
launches had carried inert second stages, and SA-5 had special signifi-
cance as the first of the giant Saturn boosters to have both stages "live"
and operational. The agency was growing anxious over the delivery of
the S-IV-5 stage because of a time slippage caused by test problems, and
the Pregnant Guppy would save considerable time by flying the stage
from California to the Cape in 18 hours, as opposed to 18-21 days via
ship. In a letter dated 25 April 1963, NASA's Director of Manned Space
Flight, D. Brainerd Holmes, emphasized the Guppy's importance to
Associate Administrator Robert Seamans. Holmes wanted to make sure
that the FAA was "advised of NASA's vital interest" in securing the
Pregnant Guppy's prompt certification so that lost time could be made up
in the delivery of the S-IV-5 stage. Holmes pointed out that NASA had
also made several telephone calls to FAA officials.36
As evidence of NASA's growing commitment to Guppy operations,
Aero Spacelines was finally awarded a contract from MSFC, to cover the
period from 28 May— 3 1 July 1963, to complete the plane's tests and make
an evaluation as soon as possible. The FAA awarded the B-377 PG an
airworthiness certificate on 10 July, and MSFC immediately conducted a
transcontinental trial flight with a simulated S-IV stage aboard. Although
the Pregnant Guppy did not receive its final certification as a transport
craft until 13 November 1963, NASA relied on the plane to carry Apollo
spacecraft hardware to Houston during the late summer months, and in
mid-September the Pregnant Guppy took on the S-IV-5 stage at Sacramento
for delivery to Cape Kennedy for the launch of SA-5. Technical
problems in the first stage delayed the launch for many weeks, but the
two-stage rocket finally made a successful flight on 29 January 1964.37
312
THE LOGISTICS TANGLE
The Guppy saved up to three weeks in transit time and effected
substantial savings in transportation costs, and won endorsements and
long-term contracts from NASA officials. The plane was operated by
MSFC but carried a variety of NASA freight including launch vehicles
for the Gemini program, Apollo command and service modules, hard-
ware for the Pegasus meteoroid detection satellite, F-l engines, the
instrument unit for Saturn I, and "other general outsized NASA cargo."3
For these reasons, as well as NASA's concern for the larger space
hardware in the Saturn IB and V programs, NASA managers expressed
interest in correspondingly larger aircraft. Because the S-IVB stage was
larger than the S-IV, it would require a larger plane if air operations
were to be continued. A larger plane could carry the instrument unit for
both the Saturn IB and the Saturn V as well as the Apollo lunar module
adapter unit. Moreover, a second plane could serve as a backup for the
original Guppy. At one point in the discussions about a second-
generation aircraft, serious consideration was given to the conversion of
an air transport large enough to handle the S-II second stage of the
Saturn V.
Even before the Pregnant Guppy had won its first NASA contract,
Conroy was writing to von Braun about a successor aircraft equipped
with powerful turboprop engines and large enough to transport the
S-IVB. NASA did not seriously consider the second-generation Guppy
until the original Pregnant Guppy had demonstrated its worth. Robert
Freitag, NASA Headquarters' Director, Manned Space Flight Center
Development, wrote von Braun in early 1964 noting the "outstanding
success we have enjoyed with the Pregnant Guppy." In addition to the
Pregnant Guppy's use by MSFC to carry rocket stages, Freitag said the
Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston was anxious about having a
backup aircraft available. Freitag envisioned three possibilities: acquire a
similar Pregnant Guppy and rely on water transport for the S-IVB and
S-II stages, acquire a larger type for S-IVB operations and leave the S-II
to water transport, and acquire an S-II-size aircraft that could also handle
the smaller S-IVB. Any of the three possibilities could meet the logistical
requirements of the Houston center, but a decision was needed soon; the
timing for production and delivery of Saturn rocket stages to the Cape to
meet launch schedules was in question. "Since time is of the essence,"
Freitag concluded, "I would appreciate receiving your recommendations
including advantages and technical funding plan for accomplishing our
objectives at the earliest possible date."3
Evidence suggests that MSFC gave serious thought to a mammoth
aircraft capable of handling a rocket stage the size of the S-II. On 2
February 1964, MSFC drafted a request for quotation titled "Large
Booster Carrier Aircraft." The document suggested the development of
either an airplane or a lighter-than-air vehicle capable of transporting the
313
STAGES TO SATURN
S-II (or S-IVB) to test sites in southern Mississippi and the Cape. "In any
case, the program is to be characterized by austere funding and early
delivery schedules." Several companies proposed various schemes, in-
cluding the use of modified B-36 bombers or English-built Saunders-Roe
Princess flying boats.40 None of these plans ever materialized. NASA
concluded that an S-II cargo aircraft would take too long to develop and
would cost too much. Also the number of planned Saturn V launches was
revised downward, reducing the requirements for S-II transportation.
The S-IVB, however, was programmed for frequent launches in both the
Saturn IB and Saturn V class of vehicles, so the desire for a backup
airplane persisted.41 With its Boeing Stratocruiser inventory, Aero Spacelines
proved to be ahead of any competition in supplying a second volumetric
air transport.
As before, Aero Spacelines developed the new aircraft with its own
resources, although personnel from MSFC came to California to cooper-
ate on the design studies, and a flight-test expert from NASA's Flight
Research Center at Edwards, California, worked very closely with the
design team. Originally dubbed the B-377 (VPG) for "Very Pregnant
Guppy," the second-generation plane finally emerged as the "Super
Guppy," or B-377 SG. The larger, heavier cargoes for the Super Guppy
required increased horsepower. Although parts of three other B-377
aircraft were incorporated into the Super Guppy, the cockpit, forward
fuselage and wing sections, and the engines came from a Boeing C-97J,
an Air Force transport version of the commercial Stratocruiser. This
aircraft had Pratt & Whitney turboprop engines. Conroy realized that it
was imperative for his big new airplane to have the more efficient and
powerful turboprop powerplants. Conroy had learned from his contacts
in the Air Force that the C-97J airplanes were headed for retirement, and
he had hoped to get the airframes as salvage and the engines on a
low-priced lease. Conroy succeeded, with NASA lending special assistance
in securing the engines. During the spring of 1965, NASA's Office of the
Administrator made overtures to the Air Force: "We definitely feel that it
would be in the public interest and advantageous to the government if
these engines were made available" to transport rocket stages, engines,
and other large cargoes. "Under these circumstances," NASA explained,
"we would appreciate it if you would approve the proposed lease."42
Conroy got his engines, and the Super Guppy began acceptance tests
before the year was out.
NASA wanted to put the aircraft in service early in 1966, after the
plane had proved its flying capabilities, although final FAA certification
came later in the spring. John C. Goodrum, chief of MSFC's Project
Logistics Office, felt that the utility of the Super Guppy was of such
importance that it should be considered operational for "critical cargoes"
on a "limited basis" as soon as possible. Although FAA examiners had not
yet flown the Super Guppy by March, Goodrum urged operational
314
THE LOGISTICS TANGLE
service based on the judgment of NASA's own test pilots at Edwards
that the plane was satisfactory for transport duties. He advised NASA
Headquarters that MSFC planned "immediate utilization" of the airplane
to ship a Saturn instrument unit manufactured by IBM in Huntsville.
The Super Guppy landed at Huntsville within a week, apparently by
special arrangement with the FAA, and flew the IU to the Douglas plant
at Huntington Beach for systems testing with an S-IVB stage. The plane
made a return trip before the end of the month and delivered another
S-IVB test stage to MSFC.43
As the Super Guppy became fully operational during 1966, its
success reflected the expertise accumulated in missions using its prede-
cessor. The Super Guppy's cargo was loaded from the front, and the
entire forward section of the fuselage was built to swing aside on hinges
just ahead of the wing's leading edge. This modification added to the
ease and swiftness of its operations, and was largely dependent on the
ground support techniques and equipment developed for the Pregnant
Guppy in the early 1960s. After modification, equipment designed for
the S-IV served equally well for the larger S-IVB. The cargo lift trailer
(CLT) became a major item in the support equipment developed for
handling space hardware as air cargo. The CLT was developed at MSFC
and operated on the scissor-lift principle to raise its load for transfer into
the cargo hold of the airplane. The CLT could also be used as a
transporter over short distances. A movable pallet supported the S-IV on
the CLT. The pallet had cradle supports fore and aft that were linked to
the pallet with shock mounts of an oil-spring type. The CLT raised the
pallet to the loading level of the cargo bay, then the pallet was rolled off
and secured inside the aircraft. For aerial shipment, ground crews did
not use the shroud that protected the rocket stage during water trans-
port. Instead, engineers designed lightweight covers to fit over the
exposed areas fore and aft, and a bank of static desiccators in the
propellant tanks comprised the environmental control system while
airborne. Both Guppy aircraft carried the instrumentation to monitor
pressure, humidity, temperature, and vibration readings in flight as part
of the plane's permanent equipment. In a typical delivery sequence, the
rocket stage moved eight kilometers overland from the Douglas plant at
Huntington Beach to the Los Alamitos Naval Air Station. After loading
the stage, the pilots flew north to Mather Air Base, not far from SACTO.
When stage tests were completed, the final leg of the airborne logistics
sequence concluded with delivery at Cape Kennedy for preflight check-
out and launch.44
Although no stage damage occurred during the aerial delivery by
the Guppies, the planes occasionally experienced some troubles, and
some delivery schedules were affected by adverse weather. The Guppies
might make three or four stops between California and Florida, depending
on the winds aloft and weather en route. Aero Spacelines relied on a
315
Saturn Air Transport
Top left, an Army CH-47A helicopter
arrives at the MSFC dynamic test stand
with the Saturn IB adapter unit it has
flown 970 kilometers from Tulsa, Okla-
homa. Top right, the Pregnant Guppy
aircraft is loading an S-IV stage into its
aft fuselage. Above, the Super Guppy
arrives at MSFC in fall 1966. Right,
the Super Guppy takes on an S-IVB
stage.
THE LOGISTICS TANGLE
string of selected SAC bases and other Air Force fields for fuel and
operational support, and these installations were normally alerted ahead
of time for the appearance of the strange-looking Guppy in the landing
pattern. Not long after the start of Pregnant Guppy flights, a misadven-
ture occurred, and NASA's S-IV rocket stage was temporarily impounded
by Air Force security personnel. Don Stewart, who represented MSFC as
a monitor for the early operational flights, recalled that the Guppy pilot
had been forced off his normal route out of Los Angeles to avoid bad
weather, and the plane had begun to run low on gas. Both Stewart and
the pilot thought their alternate field, a SAC base, had been notified of
Guppy operations. They were mistaken. After a night landing, the plane
was surrounded by SAC security police brandishing carbines and M-l
rifles. The SAC guardsmen were caught off balance by the large and
unusual aircraft that carried a rocket, and they directed the plane to a
remote corner of the airfield until the intruder's credentials could be
verified. The Guppy crew dozed fitfully in the plane until the base
commander was convinced of Stewart's story, checked with the proper
authorities, and finally issued a clearance to refuel and take off in the
early hours of the morning.45
In flight, the Pregnant Guppy behaved normally, although Air
Force and NASA ground crews had to learn to cope with some of its
unusual idiosyncracies on the ground. During a stop at Ellington Air
Force Base at Houston, high winds swept into the vast hold of the
detached aft section, and caused light damage to the plane's tail. After a
couple of mishaps involving the Super Guppy, designers beefed up the
massive dome and redesigned the latching mechanisms on the hinged
nose section. The Super Guppy experienced occasional engine problems,
and NASA wisely kept the plane on the ground during high winds.46
Despite these occasional incidents, the ungainly looking airplanes
routinely performed their duties week after week, and flew one-of-a-
kind, multimillion dollar cargoes between NASA facilities, contractor
plants, and the launch site at Cape Kennedy. The Guppies transported
other diversified cargoes in addition to rocket stages and engines. During
1968, the Super Guppy carried the special environmental chamber used
for final preparation of the manned Apollo command module prior to
launch, as well as carrying cryogenic tanks for an experimental nuclear
rocket. As the Skylab orbital workshop progressed in the late 1960s and
early 1970s, the Guppies ferried such components as the multiple
docking adapter, the Apollo telescope mount, and the Skylab workshop
itself (adapted from the S-IVB).47 The success of Aero Spacelines and its
original Pregnant Guppy attracted the attention of other firms with
thoughts of diversification, and in July 1965 the company was acquired
by the Unexcelled Chemical Corporation. The new organization not only
proceeded with the Super Guppy configuration; it also constructed a
377
STAGES TO SATURN
small fleet of volumetric aircraft to haul outsized cargoes such as large
aircraft sections, jet engines, helicopters, oil drilling equipment, and
boats for NASA as well as for the Air Force and commercial firms.48
Although the cargoes carried by the Guppies were limited in
number, they were unique and of considerable importance. In the
opinion of John Goodrum, head of MSFC logistics, the payoff of the
Guppy operations was exceptional for NASA, especially during the
1966-1967 period, when closely scheduled Saturn IB and Saturn V
launches put a high premium on rapid aerial deliveries of S-IVB stages
and instrument unit components to Cape Kennedy. It would be too
strong to say that the Guppy operations saved the Saturn program,
Goodrum said reflectively, but without the availability of the unique
planes, NASA might have been forced to scrub some of the scheduled
launches and might have incurred horrendous costs in money and time.49
The Guppy shipments of outsize components such as jet engines
and wing sections offered a unique and highly valuable mode of
transport in terms of commercial operations. The Guppies carried a
limited number of otherwise awkward and critical items in situations
where the saving of time was paramount. Nowhere was this capability
more evident than in the nation's Apollo-Saturn program.
SUMMARY
Logistics were not thoroughly analyzed at the start of the Apollo-
Saturn program. The logistical requirements of Saturn parts, spares, and
propellants, including the delivery of large rocket stages from the West
Coast to the East Coast, took considerable manpower and unanticipated
planning time. The dimensions of the stages required custom-built
transporters, customized inspection equipment, and other accessories.
Logistics managers learned to allot plenty of time for the planning and
coordination that was necessary to move Saturn rocket stages over public
roadways.
The extent of NASA's water and air operations was little known to
the general public. The water routes encompassed passage through both
the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans, and required negotiation of the
Panama Canal, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Intracoastal Waterway. The
waterborne routes were time-consuming, but remained the only feasible
mode of transporting the largest of the Saturn stages. Saturn transporta-
tion also relied on inland waters for transportation between the Gulf
Coast and Huntsville; logistics managers took advantage of canals and
other waterways for the transfer of the S-IC and S-II stages from the
manufacturing center at Michoud and from test areas at the Mississippi
Test Facility. The airborne operations represented the imagination and
ingenuity of the Saturn program. The Guppy aircraft made an invalua-
318
The Navy assisted NASA with water transportation of Saturn stages. It made
available the U.S.N.S. Point Barrow, which first carried S-IVB stages from
California through the Panama Canal to the Gulf coast; when the Guppy aircraft
took over S-IV transport, Point Barrow carried S-II stages from California to the
Mississippi Test Facility.
ITEM
DESCRIPTION
USE
OWIER^'
^OPER.
OPER.
COST*
REMARKS
USNS POINT BARROW
MODIFIED NAVY AKD
COVERED
TRANSPORTS S-II STAGES TO
MICHOUD AND S-IB, S-IC &
SIVB TO KSC
US NAVY/
/ MSTS
$4500
DAY
BARGE ORION
MODIFIED NAVY YFNB
COVERED
RIVER & OCEAN TRANSPORT
OF S-IC 8. S-ll STAGES;
PRIMARILY BETWEEN
MICHOUD. MSFC AND KSC
S3000
DAY
BARGE PROMISE
MODIFIED NAVY YFNB
COVERED
TRANSPORT OF S-IB STAGES
BETWEEN MICHOUD, MSFC,
AND KSC
$3000
DAY
MICHOUD
BARGE PALAEMON
COVERED BARGE
TRANSPORT OF S-IB STAGES
BETWEEN MICHOUD, MSFC,
AND KSC
$3000
DAY
MICHOUD
POSEIDON
MODIFIED NAVY YFNB
COVERED
RIVER & OCEAN TRANSPORT
OF S-IC & S-II STAGES;
PRIMARILY BETWEEN
MICHOUD, MSFC AND KSC
S3000
DAY
MICHOUD
BARGE PEARL RIVER
MODIFIED NAVY YFNB
UNCOVERED
TRANSPORTS S-IC &' S-II
STAGES BETWEEN MICHOUD
AND MTF
$2200
DAY
MICHOUD MTF
REMOTE CONTROL
BARGE LITTLE LAKE
MODIFIED NAVY YFNB
UNCOVERED
TRANSPORTS S-IC & S-II
STAGES BETWEEN MICHOUD
AND MTF
$2200
DAY
MICHOUD MTF
SUPER GUPPY
AIRCRAFT
MODIFIED BOEING YC97J
AIRCRAFT
TRANSPORTS S-IVB STAGES,
INSTRUMENT UNITS, LEM
ADAPTERS AND F-l ENGINES
AERO X
SPACE/
XjHffi
$16.00
MILE
TRANSPORT CARGO FOR
DOD.MSC, 4MSFC
PREGNANT GUPPY
AIRCRAFT
MODIFIED BOEING 377
AIRCRAFT
TRANSPORTS APOLLO S C.
& S C COMPONENTS
AERO /
SPACE/
dHB
$16.00
MILE
TRANSPORT CARGO FOR
DOD, MSC, & MSFC
/
•COSTS SHOWN ARE FOR FULL CREW IN OPERATIONAL STATUS
ble contribution to the maintenance of schedules, which held the line on
costs.
NASA and MSFC implementation of a logistics plan was an
essential factor in meeting deadlines, especially for rocket launches.
Stages reached Kennedy Space Center on schedule, and NASA's pro-
gram for a lunar landing before the 1970s stayed close to its timetable.
319
Step by Step
Few events are as spectacular as that of a Saturn V at liftoff en route to
the moon. In fact, the commanding role of the mammoth vehicle has
tended to obscure its supporting players, the Saturn I and Saturn IB
boosters. Chapter 1 1 recapitulates some of the milestones of these earlier
rockets and describes some of the payloads and visual instrumentation
used in early launches to acquire crucial information about the near-
Earth environment and the behavior of exotic propellants in the
weightlessness of space.
Perhaps the biggest gamble of the Apollo-Saturn program rode on
the launch of AS-501, the first Saturn V to lift off from Cape Kennedy.
The decision to go "all up" on this launch circumvented the costly and
time-consuming process of incremental flight testing of each stage prior
to launching a complete vehicle. This mission, followed by trouble-
shooting the problems of AS-502, the first manned Saturn V launch
(AS-503), and the first lunar landing mission (AS-506, or Apollo 11),
constitute the highlights of chapter 12.
321
1
Qualifying the Cluster Concept
The Saturn I flight tests were uniformly successful, and the unique size
and complexity of the clustered rocket made its success all the more
remarkable. Midway in the Saturn I flight test programs, Dr. F. A. Speer,
Chief of MSFC's Flight Evaluation and Operational Studies Division,
Aero-Astrodynamics Laboratory, summarized the first five flights (which
included the first live two-stage vehicle, SA-5); a summation that turned
out to be a prognosis for all 10 vehicles of the Saturn I series. "All five
flights were complete successes," Speer reported, "both in achieving all
major test missions and in obtaining an unprecedented volume of system
performance data for flight analysis." Speer asserted, "It is correct to
state that, up to this point, no major unexpected design change had to be
initiated on the basis of flight test — thus proving the design maturity of
the Saturn I vehicle."1 Troubles occurred, to be sure; but they did not
cause serious delays in the mission schedules, nor serious redesign
efforts.
On 27 October 1961, the first Saturn lifted from the launch pad at
Cape Canaveral. All the static tests, dynamic tests, and test firings before
this first launch had pointed to a successful mission, but until the liftoff of
SA-1, no one could say for certain that an eight-engine monster like the
Saturn would really work. The long countdown demonstrated the
compatibility of the ground support equipment, and the launch crew
released the "bird" (as NASA crews called the rockets) with no technical
"hold" to mar the mission. The SA-1 vehicle soared to an altitude of 137
kilometers and impacted the Atlantic Ocean 344 kilometers downrange.
323
STAGES TO SATURN
The postmission report verified the confidence of the Marshall team in
the structural rigidity of Saturn's airframe, and the quartet of gimbaled
outboard engines demonstrated the design goals of vehicle control and
reliability. The validity of the concept of the clustered Saturn booster
could no longer be questioned.2
EARLY BIRDS: BLOCK I AND BLOCK II
The 10 launches of the Saturn I booster included both Block I and
Block II versions. The H-l engine was common to all the vehicles, but a
number of significant differences distinguished Block I from Block II.
The most visible distinguishing feature for the Block I series, SA-1
through SA-4, was the absence of aerodynamic fins on the first stage.
Moreover, the Block I vehicles did not include live upper stages.
Consistent with NASA's building block concept and the requirements for
validating the clustered concept first, these first Saturn I launches used
live lower stages only. The dummy upper stages looked like the future
live versions, had the same approximate center of gravity, and had
identical weight. Inert S-IV and S-V stages, topped by a nose cone from
an Army Jupiter rocket, brought the typical height of the Block I series to
about 50 meters.
The flight of SA-1 was remarkable for the small number of
modifications that were required for succeeding flights. Experience
gained from successive launches inevitably resulted in changes, but the
only major difficulty that turned up with SA-1 was an unanticipated
degree of sloshing of propellants in the vehicle's tanks. Beginning with
vehicle SA-3, additional antislosh baffles were installed, which brought
this undesirable characteristic under control. None of the Block I
missions called for separation of the upper stages after the S-l first-stage
engine cutoff, although the SA-3 and SA-4 vehicles experimentally fired
four solid-fuel retrorockets, anticipating the separation sequence of
Block II missions. Other preliminary test items on SA-4 included
simulated camera pods and simulated ullage rockets on the inert S-IV
stage. The last two vehicles also carried a heavier and more active load of
electronics and telemetry equipment. The telemetry equipment and
associated test programs varied with the goals of each mission, but the
total array of such gadgetry and the means of acquiring information help
explain not only the success of the Saturn program but also the
comparatively low number of R&D flights required to qualify the vehicle
as operational.
The flight of SA-4 culminated with only seven engines firing instead
of eight. One of the appealing features of clustered engines involved the
"engine-out capability" — the prospect that, if one engine quit, the remaining
engines could compensate by burning longer than planned. So NASA
technicians programmed a premature cutoff of one engine 100 seconds
324
QUALIFYING THE CLUSTER CONCEPT
into the flight. The experiment succeeded, the SA-4 performing as
hoped on the remaining seven engines.
During this basically uneventful series of launches, the Saturn I
carried its first payloads. The missions of SA-2 and SA-3 included one
very unusual experiment, called Project Highwater, authorized by NASA's
Office of Space Sciences. The inert S-IV and S-V stages for these
launches carried 109000 liters (30000 gallons) of ballast water for
release in the upper atmosphere. As NASA literature stated, "release of
this vast quantity of water in a near-space environment marked the first
purely scientific large-scale experiment concerned with space environ-
ments that was ever conducted." One of the questions apparently
bothering NASA planners was the consequences of a stage explosion in
space or the necessity of destroying one of the Saturn rockets at a high
altitude. What would happen to the clouds of liquid propellants released
in the upper atmosphere? Would there be radio transmission difficulties?
What would it do to local weather conditions? Project Highwater gave
answers to these questions. At an altitude of 105 kilometers, explosive
devices ruptured the S-IV and S-V tanks, and in just five seconds, ground
observers saw the formation of a huge ice cloud estimated to be several
kilometers in diameter, swirling above the spent stage to a height of 145
kilometers above the sea. It was a dramatic sight for the observers below
at Cape Kennedy and marked the first use of the Saturn launch vehicles
for a purely scientific mission.3
During 1964, introduction of the Saturn I Block II vehicles marked
a new milestone in large launch vehicle development. To the casual
observer, the most obvious distinction was the addition of the eight
aerodynamic fins to the lower stage for enhanced stability in flight. As far
as NASA was concerned, the most significant feature of Block II was the
addition of a live upper stage, the S-IV, built by Douglas. Moreover, the
S-IV stage also marked the inauguration of liquid hydrogen propellant
technology in the Saturn vehicle program; six RL-10 liquid hydrogen
rocket engines supplied by Pratt & Whitney were used. These engines in
the upper stage would allow orbital operations for the first time in Saturn
I launches. Above the S-IV stage, the Block II vehicles also carried the
first instrument canisters for guidance and control. The instrument
canister controlled the powered ascent of the big rocket and carried an
array of sensing and evaluation equipment for telemetry acquisition from
the ground.
In addition to the untried cluster of six RL-10 liquid hydrogen
engines for the S-IV, the Block II Saturns relied on uprated, 836 000-newton
(188 000-pound) thrust H-l engines, that gave the first stage a total thrust
of slightly over 6 672 000 newtons (1.5 million pounds). Further, the new
engines powered an improved S-l first stage. The length of the propel-
lant containers, for instance, had been increased to provide additional
propellants for the uprated engines. Despite the added weight penalty of
325
Top left, Saturn I SA-4 rises from the
launch pad on 28 March 1963. The
last of the Block I vehicles, it has no
aerodynamic fins as does SA-5, which
sits on the pad at top, right. At left is an
artist's conception of S-IV stage separa-
tion in space, with the six RL-10 en-
gines kicking the payload into orbit.
the extended container length, there was an overall gain in efficiency of
the Saturn I first stage because of numerous changes. These included,
for example, weight savings through simplification of the propellant
interchange system that lessened the amount of residual fuel and
oxidizer trapped in the propellant interchange lines. Heightened confi-
dence in the reliability of the H-l engines enabled reduction of the
holddown time at launch from 3.6 .seconds to 3.1 seconds; this savings
shifted an additional 0.5 second of maximum boost to the powered flight
phase, thereby enhancing the vehicle's performance. Efficiency of pro-
pellant depletion was also increased as a result of experience and
numerous subsystems changes. The first SA-1 vehicle used 96.1 percent
of its fuel, for example; by the time of the flight of SA-10, the use had
reached 99.3 percent. Payload capability was also increased by reducing
the amount of pressurants on board. The height of the Block II rockets
326
QUALIFYING THE CLUSTER CONCEPT
varied with the different missions they performed. With a Jupiter nose
cone, SA-5 was about 50 meters high, but the remainder of the Block II
vehicles, SA-6 through SA-10, carried prototype Apollo capsules and
other payloads, which stretched them to approximately 57.3 meters.4
Although electronic instrumentation and telemetry provided reams
of pertinent information on the health and performance of the rocket
during a mission, flight-test personnel needed visual documentation as
well. For this reason, the Saturn vehicles all carried an invaluable array of
visual instrumentation equipment. The Block II series continued the
visual instrumentation that was begun during Block I flights. MSFC
engineers wanted very much to know about the behavior of propellants
within the vehicle during flight, so a number of different visual instru-
mentation systems were carried. Great attention was given to on-board
television systems. Work with on-board TV began at MSFC early in 1959
under the cognizance of the Astrionics Division. Research emphasized
the development of a compact and extremely rugged camera to stand up
under the punishment of liftoff, boost phase, and free trajectory coast in
extreme temperature and pressure environments. MSFC tried out the
system on 31 January 1961 on the Mercury-Redstone that carried the
chimpanzee Ham. The real-time, high-resolution transmitting system
worked very well from liftoff across the optical horizon to about 320
kilometers distant. At the same time, the MSFC group was perfecting
multiple-camera, single-transmitter equipment for the Saturn I missions;
it became operational just prior to SA-1 in the fall of 1961. The system
offered "real-time display and permanent storage of pictures televised
from the vehicle during test flight." As mounted on SA-6, for example,
two camera locations were utilized. On the ground, a videotape recorder
and a kinescope recorder provided real-time viewing and storage capabili-
ty. To identify each picture image, the kinescope recorder system
included a digital key, indicating the camera position and time-of-flight
reference. Within five minutes of a completed flight, high-resolution
individual shots could be available for study.5
Television was originally selected for use on rockets because recov-
ery of motion picture film seemed uncertain. Still, the TV units had
limitations because a number of critical vehicle functions were not
compatible with television camera operations and imagery. For this
reason, the Saturn I flights also incorporated motion picture coverage of
test flights.
A technique to incorporate such coverage was successfully demon-
strated during the Redstone program in 1961 when inflight photo-
graphic instrumentation captured the separation of a warhead from a
Redstone rocket booster. Early in the Saturn development program,
investigators recognized the need for a similar photo system for visual
analysis of phenomena that could not be simulated during ground testing
or acquired through vehicle telemetry. Plans provided for inflight
327
STAGES TO SATURN
motion picture and television coverage for the first stage of the SA-1
mission in October 1961 on the basis of the Redstone camera technology.
Lack of time and money prevented use of such equipment for the first
Saturn launches, and effort was redirected toward the mission of SA-5,
the first live, two-stage Saturn I. Responsibility for the camera became a
joint program of MSFC's Astrionics Laboratory and the Propulsion and
Vehicle Engineering Laboratory. With approval for the project in
October 1961, Marshall named Cook Technological Center, a division of
the Cook Electric Company of Chicago, as the major contractor. Cook
Technological Center then proceeded with the development and manu-
facture of jettisonable and recoverable camera capsules to be flown on
SA-5, 6, and 7.
The camera capsules consisted of three sections: the lens compart-
ment, with camera lens and a quartz viewing window; the combined
camera and its control unit in a separate compartment; and a recovery
compartment, housing descent stabilization flaps and a paraballoon for
descent and flotation, a radio and light beacon for aid in recovery
operations, and more conventional recovery devices such as sea-marker
dye and shark repellant. The capsules were designed to cope with the
stresses of powered flight, ejection, reentry, impact into the sea, and
immersion in saltwater. Four model "A" capsules were positioned to
record external areas of the Saturn vehicle, facing forward. Four more
model "B" capsules were mounted in an inverted position to record the
phenomena inside designated LOX tanks and around the interstage
between first and second stages. For the "B" models, technicians linked
the cameras with fiberoptic bundles to transmit images from remote
locations and used incandescent lights and strobe systems for illumina-
tion. Engineers preferred to use color film whenever possible because it
provided a better three-dimensional image than the gray tones of the
black and white film. One camera used an extremely fast and sensitive
black and white film to record phenomena inside the center LOX tank
because of the lighting inside the tank.6
The launch of SA-5, 29 January 1964, was what NASA liked to call
"a textbook launch." As the first Block II vehicle, the SA-5 recorded a
number of firsts: first S-IV stage to fly, first guidance and control
packages, and first successful stage separation. The SA-5 was the first
Saturn using uprated engines, marked the first successful recovery of
motion picture camera pods, and was the first orbital Saturn vehicle.
Although SA-6 got off the launch pad without a hitch, it caused a
moment of concern among mission controllers when one of the H-l
engines inexplicably shut off prematurely. Unlike SA-4, this was not part
of the programmed flight, but the Saturn performed beautifully, proving
the engine-out capability built into it by Marshall engineers. With hardly
a perturbation, the vehicle continued its upward climb; stage separation
and orbit of the S-IV upper stage went as planned. Telemetry pinpointed
328
QUALIFYING THE CLUSTER CONCEPT
the engine problem in the number 8 engine turbopump, which shut
down at 1 17.3 seconds into the flight. When telemetered information was
analyzed, engineers concluded that the teeth had been stripped from one
of the gears in the turbopump, accounting for the abrupt failure of the
engine. Luckily, Marshall and Rocketdyne technicians, through previous
ground testing of the turbopump, had already decided that its operating
characteristics dictated a modified design. A change had already been
planned to increase the width of the gear teeth in this particular
turbopump model, and the redesigned flight hardware was to fly on the
next vehicle, SA-7. Consequently, there were no delays in the Block II
launch schedule and, incidentally, no further problems with any of the
H-l engines in flight.7
Otherwise, the flight of SA-6 was eminently successful. The SA-6
was the first to carry a dummy Apollo capsule into orbit, and it tested the
capsule by jettisoning the launch escape system tower, part of the Apollo
spacecraft hardware development. The performance of the Block II
series progressed so well that the Saturn I boosters were declared fully
operational by NASA officials after the SA-7 flight (18 September 1964),
three launches earlier than expected. The unmanned Apollo spacecraft
on board met guidelines for design and engineering, compatibility of the
spacecraft and launch vehicle, and operation of the launch escape system.
The launch also confirmed the integrity of major critical areas of the
launch vehicle such as the Saturn I propulsion systems, flight control,
guidance, and structural integrity. For SA-7, the only event that might be
considered an anomaly involved the recovery of the cameras. After stage
separation, the jettisoned camera pods descended by parachute and
landed in the sea, downrange of the expected recovery area. Then
Hurricane Gladys blew in and closed the sector. Seven weeks later, two of
the ejected SA-7 camera capsules washed ashore, encrusted with barna-
cles, but with the important films undamaged.8 The last three Saturn I
vehicles carried a redesigned instrument unit with more sophisticated
components that did not require separate, pressurized sections; the result
was a lighter and shorter vehicle with enhanced performance. With a
different environmental control system, the new instrument unit was the
prototype for the Saturn IB and Saturn V vehicles. The most significant
feature that set all three vehicles apart from their predecessors was the
payload — the unusual, winglike meteoroid technology satellite known as
Pegasus.9
SATURNS FOR SCIENCE: THE PEGASUS PROJECT
Project Pegasus was something of an anomaly in the Apollo-Saturn
program. Responsibility for Pegasus management, design, manufacture,
operation, and analysis of results was charged to Marshall Space Flight
329
STAGES TO SATURN
Center. The reputation of the Marshall center rested not on satellites, but
on the launch vehicles designed and engineered by the von Braun team.
The Pegasus was also unique because it was the only NASA satellite to use
Saturn boosters. It was especially significant from the standpoint of
designing later versions of the Saturn vehicles. Data collected by Pegasus
would either confirm the ability of existing designs to operate without
danger from meteoroid impact or require new designs to cope with the
dangers of meteoroid collisions. The Pegasus project was an example of
the painstaking scope of the Apollo-Saturn program research and
development to avert any sort of serious problem. Finally, the project
demonstrated several ways in which the operation contributed to the
general store of scientific knowledge, as well as to the design and
operation of boosters, spacecraft, and associated systems.10
Meteoric particles striking the Earth travel at speeds up to 72
kilometers per second. A dust-speck particle, weighing a mere 0.0085
gram, at such a speed packs the energy of a .45-caliber pistol fired point
blank. Meteoroid phenomena in the near-Earth space environment
commanded serious attention, the more so because many critical mo-
ments of manned Apollo-Saturn missions occurred in potentially hazardous
zones. The Gemini spacecraft experienced meteoroid impacts many
times during a 24-hour period, but the specks encountered in the lower
Gemini orbits were too small to cause a puncture in the spacecraft skin.
Higher orbits for the Apollo series raised concerns about heavier
meteoroid particles. "It is the stuff of intermediate size that concerns a
space-vehicle designer," Wernher von Braun emphasized. "Particles of
only a few thousandths of a gram, whizzing at fifteen to twenty miles a
second, can penetrate a spacecraft's wall or a rocket's tank. They
constitute a definite risk." A meteoroid puncture in a gas compartment
or propellant tank could cause a serious leak, and in the case of a highly
pressurized container create an explosive rupture. Particles also created
heat at the moment of impact. With highly volatile propellants aboard, as
well as the oxygen-enriched cabin atmosphere, penetration by a burning
meteoroid would touch off a destructive explosion. Even without com-
plete penetration, impacts could cause "spalling." The shock of impact
with the skin of a spacecraft could eject fragments from the skin's interior
surface to richochet inside the vehicle. These flying fragments raised a
serious possibility of danger to a crew or to vital equipment. The need for
information was clear.11
Late in 1962, designers of spacecraft of the Apollo-Saturn program
had very limited knowledge of the abundance of meteoroids in the
vicinity of Earth, where numerous manned flights were planned and
where crucial phases of the lunar missions would occur. Astronomers
could provide information on meteoroids with mass above 10~4 grams,
since they could be sighted optically from observatories or tracked by
radar. Vehicle sensors like those on Explorer XVI provided some statistics
330
QUALIFYING THE CLUSTER CONCEPT
on the abundance of smaller particles, but the lack of data on the
intermediate-sized meteoroids caused persistent doubts, because infor-
mation on the intermediate range presented configuration criteria "of
utmost importance for the design of spacecraft." Pegasus was intended to
fill in the gap. As stated in the official report: "The objective of the
Pegasus Meteoroid Project is the collection of meteoroid penetration data
in aluminum panels of three different thicknesses in near-earth orbits.
... In fact, the abundance of meteoroids in the mass range 10~5 to 10~3
will be decisive with respect to the necessary meteoroid protection for
future long-duration manned missions."12
Attached to the S-IVB second stage, Pegasus deployed in 60
seconds, extending two wings to a span of 15 meters, with a width of 4.6
meters and a thickness of about 50 centimeters. The Pegasus wing mount
also supported solar cell panels for powering the satellite's electronics.13
In full deployment, the Pegasus in flight exposed about 80 times more
experimental surfaces than Explorer meteoroid detectors exposed. The
meteoroid impact sensor was a charged capacitor with a thin dielectric, a
metal foil on one side, and a sheet of aluminum on the other side.
Perforation by a meteoroid caused a momentary short between the metal
plates. The discharge burned off any conducting bridges between the
two metal layers; thus the capacitor "healed" after each perforation. The
shorts, or discharges, were recorded as hits.14 Special sensors carried by
the satellite provided information on (1) the frequency and size of
meteoroids capable of damaging the spacecraft structure and equipment,
and (2) the direction of the meteoroids as a function of frequency and
power of penetration.15
PEGASUS MISSIONS
Planned as part of the qualification program for the Saturn I rocket,
the three Pegasus flights instead assumed the status of completely
operational flights following the success of SA-7. On 29 December 1964,
Pegasus I, the first meteoroid detection satellite, arrived at Cape Kennedy
to join its Saturn I booster, SA-9.16 The numerical designation of the
boosters fell out of sequence because of variations in their manufactur-
ing. After designing and building its own first-stage boosters for the
Saturn I program, NASA-MSFC departed from the original concept of
work in-house to rely on industrial contractors. Chrysler Corporation
became the prime contractor for the S-I first stage of the Saturn I, and
Douglas continued to supply the S-IV second stage. In the process of
gaining experience, Chrysler's first Saturn booster, SA-8, moved less
rapidly through manufacturing and test than the last booster produced
by MSFC, SA-9. In retrospect, it seems appropriate that MSFC's last
rocket launched the first Pegasus, MSFC's first satellite.17
331
STAGES TO SATURN
To carry the Pegasus aloft, the S-IV second stage and the instrument
unit underwent some minor modifications. Because heat absorption
could upset the satellite's thermal balance, Douglas supplied the S-IV
with a special coat of paint to reduce the heating factor. New equipment
consisted of an "auxiliary nonpropulsive vent system" to cut down
excessive tumbling and enhance the orbit stabilization. Designers also
incorporated the reworked instrument unit. NASA officials scheduled
the launch of SA-9 for 16 February 1965, and technicians at Cape
Kennedy worked hard to meet their preflight deadlines. With the
Pegasus payload shrouded in the Apollo service module and adapter,
KSC personnel affixed it to the S-IV second stage on 13 January. The
next day, at Launch Complex 37-B, workers finished mating the Apollo
command module to the AS-9 vehicle. In their drive for flawless
operations, NASA and contractor personnel continued to tinker with the
satellite right up to the last minute. On 14 February, only two days before
the launch, technicians from MSFC and Fairchild made final changes in
the meteoroid detection subsystem.
On 16 February, the Saturn I vehicle SA-9 successfully lifted off
from Launch Complex 37-B with NASA's largest unmanned instrumented
satellite to date. It was the first time a Saturn rocket had been used to loft
a scientifically instrumented payload into space. In a flawless mission, the
Saturn I put Pegasus into orbit, and inserted the command module into a
separate orbit where it would not interfere with scientific measurements.
A remotely controlled television camera, mounted atop the S-IV second
stage, captured a vision of the eerie, silent wings of Pegasus I as they
haltingly deployed.
Pegasus took 97 minutes to circumnavigate the Earth. From scattered
Moonwatch stations, observers reported the magnitude of the satellite as
zero to seven as it moved through space.18 When the residual fuel from
the S-IV vented, Pegasus began to tumble, with occasional intense flashes
when solar rays glanced off the large wings. With its moderate orbital
inclination (31° to the equator), the best path for observation in the
United States ran close to Boston and Chicago, but conditions were
difficult because the satellite hovered only a few degrees above the
southern horizon and the extensive slant range made sightings difficult.
However, at the Smithsonian Institution's observatory in South Africa,
visual sightings were easily made. As the sun's light glittered on the
outstretched wings of Pegasus, observers caught flashes of reflected light
that lasted for as long as 35 seconds.19
Because Pegasus relied on solar cells for power, NASA spokesmen
hoped that the satellite would work at least a year, but with 55 000 parts
in the system, some project officials were reluctant to predict a full
12-month lifetime, at least for the first vehicle. In the beginning,
everything seemed to be working well. On its fourth orbit, scientists
thought they caught the first signal of a meteoroid hit, and by the end of
332
Above, a Fair child technician
checks out the extended Pegasus
meteoroid detection surface in
March 1964. At right is an
artist's conception of Pegasus
in orbit with meteoroid detec-
tor extended.
the first seven days of flight, they were eagerly anticipating the first full
reports read out from the Pegasus memory banks. In the first two weeks,
Pegasus indicated almost a score of hits by interplanetary objects. By late
May, NASA verified more than 70 meteoroid penetrations. NASA
spokesmen unhappily verified extensive failures in the Pegasus satellite
as well, but MSFC and Fairchild personnel had just enough time to solve
these difficulties before the launches of Pegasus II and III.20
The second of the meteoroid satellites, Pegasus II, arrived at KSC on
21 April 1965. The final countdown for SA-8 began on the afternoon of
24 May. With a scheduled 35-minute hold, the countdown ticked on
without a hitch into the early morning of the launch, 25 May. The flight
of SA-8 marked two especially notable departures from past experiences
in the Saturn program. For one, the SA booster was manufactured by
Chrysler, and Saturn flew with a first stage supplied by a contractor for
the first time. It symbolized the end of an era for the von Braun team and
the long-standing arsenal "in-house" philosophy transferred from the
333
STAGES TO SATURN
old ABMA days to the young space program of NASA. For another,
SA-8 blasted off at 2:35 a.m. in the first night launch of a Saturn rocket.
Highlighted against the dark night skies, the winking lights of the launch
tower and the blinding glare of the floodlights around the base of the
launch pad gave the scene an unusual new fascination. The darkness
gave even higher contrast to the fiery eruption of ignition and the lashing
tongues of fire during liftoff. Always awesome, the thundering roar of
the Saturn I's ascent seemed mightier than ever before, as it seared its
way upward through the dark overcast above the Atlantic. NASA officials
timed the launch to avoid conflict in the communications with Pegasus I,
still in orbit.' Both satellites transmitted on the same frequency, and the
fiery night launch of Pegasus II put the second satellite at an angle of
120°, one-third of an orbit apart from the first.21
The launch illustrated the accuracy of the propulsion systems and
confirmed the reliability of the flight electronics, which were improved in
successive launches of the Saturn I series. Wernher von Braun praised
the flight as "a lesson in efficiency," and George Mueller, Associate
Administrator for Manned Space Flight, commented that the flight was
very significant to future space flights, with their need for very close
timing for rendezvous missions. Time magazine considered the flight
from other points of view. The magazine approvingly reported the
success of the cluster concept used on the S-l booster and the faultless
performance of the second stage with its six RL-10 engines: "The
smooth success of last week's launch suggests that LH2 has at last become
a routine fuel." The editors acknowledged the need for more informa-
tion on meteoroid hazards in space flight but found the greatest
significance in the launch itself. "Far more encouraging for space
exploration," said Time, "was the smoothness with which the many-tiered
rocket was dispatched into the sky." So often a rocket vehicle spent weeks
or month on the pad with delays, but no setbacks occurred in the launch
of SA-8, "which left its pad as routinely as an ocean liner leaving its
pier."22 The second Pegasus satellite began returning data in short order.
Within one day after launch, it indicated two meteoroid penetrations.
Modifications on Pegasus II included successful refinement of the detec-
tor electronics and a handful of minor readjustments. The second
Pegasus experienced some troubles during its mission, primarily with the
analog and digital telemetry channels. Technicians finally smoothed out
the digital failure, and even though the analog transmissions continued
intermittently, they worked well enough to rate the mission a success.
Tracing the source of trouble, workers finally decided it originated in a
thunderstorm during preparation of the spacecraft on the pad, because
the wettest section contained the circuit failure.23
On 21 June 1965, the Apollo command module and associated
hardware arrived at KSC for the launch of the last meteoroid detection
satellite, Pegasus III. With planned modifications for Launch Complex
334
37-B to service the uprated Saturn IB launch vehicle, NASA officials
decided to move the flight of SA-10 ahead to 30 July to avoid delays in
both the launch and the modifications of the launch pad. Technicians ran
a series of checks to verify panel deployment and compatibility of
systems, then joined Pegasus III to the instrument unit of the SA-10
vehicle. On 27 July 1965, the KSC launch crew ran an uneventful and
successful countdown demonstration test for SA-10, the last Saturn I. By
29 July, the final phase of the launch countdown was under way and
proceeded with no technical holds to liftoff on the next day. The SA-10
vehicle performed flawlessly, inserting the command module and Pegasus
III into the planned orbital trajectory. On the basis of data from all three
meteoroid detection satellites, NASA spokesmen announced in Decem-
ber that the Apollo-Saturn structure would be adequate to withstand
destructive penetration by meteoroids during space missions. The Pegasus
project was successful.24
The information gathered by the Pegasus trio included much more
than variations in theoretical meteoroid penetration data. In his capacity
as Director of the Space Sciences Laboratory, Ernst Stuhlinger praised
the secondary results, which returned scientific data valuable to the
design and engineering of future spacecraft, as well as knowledge of
specific scientific nature. "It sometimes occurs that an experiment,
planned for one specific objective, provides observational results far
beyond the single-purpose mission for which it was originally conceived,"
he said. "Project Pegasus, which has the primary objective of measuring
the near-Earth environment, is an example in case." For the benefit of
spacecraft designers, the 65 000 hours accumulated in all three missions
provided significant and valuable data on meteoroids, the gyroscopic
motion and orbital characteristics of rigid bodies in space, lifetimes of
electronic components in the space environment, and thermal control
systems and the degrading effects of space on thermal control coatings.
For physicists, the Pegasus missions provided additional knowledge
about the radiation environment of space, the Van Allen belts, and other
phenomena.25
The last of the meteoroid detection satellites, Pegasus III, carried a
captivating experiment, one of the first intended to be left in space, to be
personally retrieved by an astronaut at some future date. Eight large
detector segments were removed from the Pegasus wings, replaced with
"dummy" panels and 48 temporary coupons, cut from samples of the
detector surfaces. The coupons, in turn, carried 352 items of test
materials and thermal samples, some of them in use, others considered as
candidates for future application. Examples of the test items included
aluminum skin specimens, ranging from sandblasted and anodized
surfaces to pieces covered with luminescent paint and gold plate. The
launch of Pegasus III put it into an orbit of 530 kilometers. After 12
months, NASA planners expected the orbit of Pegasus III to decay some,
335
STAGES TO SATURN
putting it in position for a potential rendezvous with a Gemini spacecraft.
Theoretically, one of the Gemini astronauts could emerge from the
Gemini capsule, maneuver himself to the Pegasus wings, recover a
selected group of test specimens, and return to the spacecraft. With the
return of the astronaut's armful of samples to Earth, scientists could not
only make direct studies of the effect of meteoroid impacts on metals in
interplanetary space but also examine specimens of meteoroids taken
directly from the space environment. Unfortunately, the experiment was
never possible during Gemini, and the final Pegasus reentered the
atmosphere on 4 August 1969. Its destruction during reentry brought an
untimely end to an intriguing experiment.26
SATURN I IN RETROSPECT
In terms of rocket development, the series of Saturn I launches was
remarkably successful. Most rocket programs had severe teething trou-
bles early in the game; up to two or three dozen test shots and loss rates
of 50 percent were not out of the ordinary. True, the Saturn I used
engines and tanks extrapolated from earlier programs, but uprating the
H-l engine had brought difficulties, and a cluster of this magnitude was
untried. Moreover, the later Saturn missions introduced a sizable new
LH2 upper stage, powered by a cluster of six RL-10 engines.
For all this, there seems to have been persistent criticism of the
Saturn I series of launches. Basically, it appeared to be a multimillion-
dollar launch vehicle program with no significant missions or payloads.
Even before the launch of SA-2 in the spring of 1962, NASA had
announced the Saturn V. It was this vehicle, not Saturn I, that had the
mission and payload that counted: a lunar voyage with a payload
equipped to land men on the moon and get them back again. As a
preliminary to Saturn V missions, plans were already in progress for the
Saturn IB, which would test a Saturn V third stage in orbit and begin
qualification of crucial hardware such as the command module and lunar
module.
The Saturn I, as one NASA historian has written, was a "booster
almost overtaken by events." A number of individuals, within NASA as
well as on the outside, felt that Project Highwater and, to a lesser extent,
Project Pegasus were makeshift operations to give Saturn I something to
do and to placate critics who complained that the Saturn was contributing
little to science. There is probably some truth in these allegations.
Highwater in particular seems to have been an impromptu operation,
revealing nothing new. Although NASA literature solemnly referred to
scientific aspects, von Braun called Highwater a "bonus experiment," and
noted that the water was already aboard Saturn I stages as ballast.27
With hindsight, the apparently superfluous Saturn I launches still
contributed to the Saturn program, underscoring the innate conserva-
336
tism of Marshall Space Flight Center. Aware of potential early failures in
a launch series, MSFC evidently planned for several, but to make the
series as successful as possible, Marshall also went into each launch with
vehicles tested and retested to the point where the possibility of failure
was virtually eliminated. Marshall's own thoroughness made the remark-
able string of 10 successful launches seem unnecessarily redundant. In
any case, the launches verified many concepts for systems and subsystems
applied to later Apollo-Saturn missions, provided valuable experience in
the operation of LH2 stages, demonstrated the validity of the cluster
concept, and tested early versions of Saturn guidance and control.
Payloads for the Saturn I launches may not have been as dramatic as
those for other vehicles, but Saturn I missions, overall, were nevertheless
beneficial.
In a strict sense, the series of Pegasus launches was not very
earthshaking. None of the three satellites promoted any fantastic new
discoveries; no dramatic design changes occurred in either the Saturn
launch vehicles or the Apollo spacecraft as a result of unexpected
information about meteoroid penetration. The value of the Pegasus
involved a positive, rather than a negative, reading of the test results. The
satellites confirmed basic estimates about meteoroid frequency and
penetration in the operational environment of the Apollo-Saturn vehi-
cles. This confirmation provided a firm base of knowledge to proceed
with basic designs already in the works. In fact, it was good that the
Pegasus series did not turn up significantly different data, which would
have entailed costly redesign and additional time and research into
meteoroid phenomena as related to boosters and spacecraft. Instead, the
effect was to add to the growing confidence of Apollo-Saturn designs
already in process and to permit NASA to plunge ahead toward the goal
of landing man on the moon within the decade. It would have been easy
to dismiss what was, in fact, a successful developmental phase in the
overall Apollo-Saturn program.28
In terms of subsequent programs, the legacy of Pegasus included
significant contributions in the development of thermal coatings used on
many major satellites, as well as on the Apollo spacecraft. The Pegasus
also had a significant impact on the development of the communications
satellite (comsat) project, because the results indicated that the comsat
satellites would indeed have a profitable lifetime in orbit, the probability
being high that they would survive or escape damage from meteoroids.
Wernher von Braun was emphatic on this point: "I would say the
Pegasus data have really become the main criteria of spacecraft design,
ever since Pegasus, for all manned and unmanned spacecraft."29
JUNIOR PARTNER TO APOLLO: SATURN IB
The Saturn IB represented significant advances toward the hardware
and techniques to be used in lunar landings. S-IB first stages included a
357
STAGES TO SATURN
number of modifications to increase the overall vehicle performance, as
compared with the S-I series. The aerodynamic fins were further
modified, and changes in fabrication techniques saved considerable
weight (see chapter 3). The eight H-l engines were uprated from
836 000 to 890 000 newtons (188 000 to 200 000 pounds) of thrust each.
Most importantly, the Saturn IB missions provided an opportunity to
flight-test the first Saturn V hardware. The S-IVB upper stage with its
single J-2 engine was nearly identical to the upper stage carried on the
Saturn V, and the same was true of the instrument unit (see chapter 8).30
Saturn IB missions began with the unmanned launch of AS-201
from KSC Launch Complex 34 on 26 February 1966. With both stages
live, the vehicle made a successful 32-minute suborbital flight, reaching
an altitude of over 480 kilometers with impact into the south Atlantic
about 320 kilometers from Ascension Island.
The primary tests concerned separation of the spacecraft, followed
by the command module's reentry into Earth's atmosphere. The maneu-
ver successfully demonstrated that the command module's heat shield
could withstand the intense temperatures created by atmospheric friction
during reentry. The first Saturn IB experienced relatively few problems
in flight, although the mission was nearly canceled during countdown.
Bad weather delayed the launch date for three days, and on the day of
the liftoff, launch officials postponed the firing command for three
hours while technicians did some trouble-shooting on several last-minute
technical problems. The most serious difficulty involved the gaseous
nitrogen purge system that cleaned out the engines and the related
machinery prior to launch. At T— 4 seconds, the gaseous nitrogen
pressure limits had dropped below the red-line level and an automatic
cutoff sequence was started. After resetting the equipment and starting
the countdown once more, at T— 5 minutes engineers perceived the
problem again and requested a hold. Engineers estimated that it would
possibly take two hours of work to recheck and reset all the equipment.
Reluctantly, the recommendation was made to scrub the launch. Still
searching for options, a group of launch crew engineers suggested a
different test of the system to assess other alternatives, and stage
engineers agreed; so the countdown was restarted at T— 15 with the
gaseous nitrogen pressures reset at different levels. The countdown and
launch were finally completed successfully.31
Saturn IB missions carried inflight visual instrumentation perfected
during the Saturn I missions. Only two movie cameras were used,
however, and a ribbon parachute was added to the capsules to slow their
descent even more, because some capsule damage had occurred on the
SA-6 mission. Typically, the cameras were located atop the first stage to
record stage separation and ignition of the S-IVB second stage. On the
AS-201 flight neither of the parachutes worked properly, and the Air
Force recovery team found only one capsule. On the other hand, the
338
QUALIFYING THE CLUSTER CONCEPT
guidance and control system performed as expected, telemetry was good,
and no structural problems were discerned. The propellant utilization
system worked as designed: the LOX and LH2 were depleted simultaneously.
All things considered, the two-stage Saturn IB vehicle achieved a notable
inaugural flight.32
The second launch of the Saturn IB series, on 5 July 1966, carried
an out-of-sequence number designation, AS-203. Originally scheduled
for the second launch in the series, AS-202 became third in line to gain
additional time for checkout of its Apollo spacecraft payload. NASA
made the announcement in April, explaining that the AS-203 mission
primarily involved launch vehicle development. Mission objectives for
the second Saturn IB launch concentrated on the orbital characteristics
and operation of the S-IVB second stage, so the vehicle had a simple
aerodynamic nose cone in place of the Apollo spacecraft. Launch officials
considered the second stage itself, with 10 metric tons of liquid hydrogen
aboard, as the payload. Testing was scheduled to gain further informa-
tion about liquid hydrogen in the orbital environment and about proce-
dures for reignition of the S-IVB in orbit, a requirement for Saturn V
missions in the future. The reignition sequence was not to be live but
simulated with the S-IVB and J-2 engine systems. In an attempt to
telescope development of the stage and engine operations, last-minute
consideration was given to an actual restart of the J-2 engine. A number
of people within Marshall Space Flight Center, however, opposed restarting
the J-2 because that would unduly complicate the developmental flight.
In a letter to Major General Samuel C. Phillips, Eberhard Rees estimated
that a complete restart sequence would require an additional 1800
kilograms of liquid oxygen and 1400 kilograms of other equipment and
provisions and would compromise the main test goals of the behavior of
liquid hydrogen in the orbital environment as well as other test proce-
dures. "Douglas and MSFC are confident that a successful AS-203
mission, as presently defined," said Rees, "should establish whether or
not successful restarts can be accomplished on Saturn V missions."3
For reignition under weightless conditions, fuel and oxidizer had to
be settled in the bottoms of the propellant tanks. Engineers hoped to
achieve this through the use of the hydrogen continuous vent system.
The venting gas imparted thrust which pushed the propellants to the
bottom of the tanks. This thrust could be augmented by occasionally
opening the liquid oxygen tank propulsive vent valve. To study the
stability of the liquid hydrogen in orbit and to check settling of the liquid
hydrogen at the bottom of the tanks, the S-IVB carried a pair of TV
cameras mounted inside the tank. Prior to launch, a checkout of the TV
system uncovered trouble in one of the cameras. After a hold of almost
two hours, NASA engineers decided not to postpone the launch any
longer and the vehicle lifted off with only one of the cameras expected to
work. Fortunately, the remaining camera functioned well, and the
339
STAGES TO SATURN
images verified the hopes for proper propellant behavior during venting
and for settling of the propellants prior to reignition. Motion picture
color coverage of stage separation, recovered from the ocean in one of
the camera capsules, was also of high quality and showed the desired
performance.
Following the satisfactory TV coverage of the behavior of liquid
hydrogen under weightless conditions and a simulated restart of the J-2,
technicians proceeded with the plan to break up the S-IVB stage in orbit.
This rather dramatic procedure was intended to verify ground tests that
had been carried out on structural test models at Douglas facilities on the
West Coast. Investigators from Douglas and MSFC wanted to establish
design limits and the point of structural failure for the S-IVB common
bulkhead when pressure differential developed in the propellant tanks.
Ground tests were one thing; the orbital environment of space was
another. Breakup occurred near the start of the fifth orbit when the
common bulkhead failed and the stage disintegrated. The results con-
firmed the Douglas ground experiments; the S-IVB stage could with-
stand tankage pressure differentials over three times that expected for
... 34
normal mission operations.
AS-202, launched on 25 August 1966, returned to the suborbital
mission profile because the primary purpose was to test the heat shield
on the command module (CM). Extensive holds, taking up three days,
had been caused by problems with the spacecraft and ground telemetry.
With the problems finally resolved, the AS-202 vehicle lifted off in a
flawless launch. The S-IVB successfully tested its ullage rockets and
ignited as planned despite some minor valve malfunctions in the recirculation
system of the J-2. Separation of the S-IVB and the CM caused oscillatory
motions of the S-IVB, which could have made for tricky maneuvers for
CM docking with the lunar module (LM) in manned missions, but the
S-IVB auxilliary propulsion system brought the stage back under control.
In accordance with the planned profile, the CM made a "skipping"
reentry to raise the heat loads and subject the heat shield to maximum
punishment. Recovery of the scorched CM occurred near Wake Island in
the Pacific Ocean.
The success of the first three Saturn-IB missions heightened expecta-
tions for the first manned launch, scheduled for 21 February 1967 as AS-
204. The three-man crew included Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White II,
and Roger B. Chaff ee. During a checkout of the complete vehicle on
the launch pad at KSC's Launch Complex 34 on 27 January, a flash
fire erupted inside the CM. Trapped inside, the three astronauts died.35
The exhaustive investigation of the fire and extensive reworking of
the CMs postponed any manned launch until NASA officials cleared the
CM for manned flight. Saturn IB schedules were suspended for nearly a
year, and the launch vehicle that finally bore the designation AS-204
carried an LM as the payload, not the Apollo CM. The missions of AS-201
340
QUALIFYING THE CLUSTER CONCEPT
and AS-202 with Apollo spacecraft aboard had been unofficially known
as Apollo 1 and Apollo 2 missions (AS-203 carried only the aerodynamic
nose cone). In the spring of 1967, NASA's Associate Administrator for
Manned Space Flight, Dr. George E. Mueller, announced that the
mission originally scheduled for Grissom, White, and Chaff ee would be
known as Apollo 1, and said that the first Saturn V launch, scheduled for
November 1967, would be known as Apollo 4. The eventual launch of
AS-204 became known as the Apollo 5 mission (no missions or flights
were ever designated Apollo 2 and 3).36
As Apollo 5, the original AS-204 vehicle lifted off from Launch
Complex 37 at KSC on 22 January 1968 in an unmanned test of the lunar
module in Earth orbit. The LM was enclosed in a spacecraft-lunar-
module adapter and topped by an aerodynamic nose cone in place of the
Apollo command and service modules (CSM). Evaluation of the LM
included ignition of the descent and ascent stages and LM staging and
structures. Engineers also intended to conduct an S-IVB propellant
dumping experiment in orbit, following separation of the stage from the
LM. Dumping was considered necessary to make the S-IVB safe before
docking of the CSM with the S-IVB-attached LM.
Some months prior to the AS-204 mission, NASA planners realized
that the vehicle was going to be sitting stacked on pad 37 for a
considerable period of time awaiting the arrival of the LM. NASA took
advantage of the opportunity to monitor the conditions of the launch
vehicle over a long period of time, as it stood on the pad exposed to the
elements on the Florida coast. On 7 April 1967, the first stage had been
erected; the second stage and the instrument unit were added in the next
four days. Marshall and contractor personnel devised a detailed set of
criteria for periodic inspections of the vehicle starting that same month.
No components had to be replaced because of corrosion; advance
planning had paid off. The vehicle was under constant nitrogen purges
to protect the engine compartment and other equipment areas from the
salty atmosphere. The vehicle propellant tanks were also kept under
pressure with dry nitrogen. These procedures were maintained during a
kind of musical chairs operation as the LM and its associated hardware
were moved in and out, off and on, for several weeks. After arrival of its
ascent and descent engines and their mating, they had to be taken apart
in August to repair leaks in the ascent engine. Then the two stages were
mated again until September when a new leak required demating.
Several items of LM hardware had to be shipped back to the contractor
for additional work. The ascent and descent engines of the LM were put
together again in October, and tests were run until November when the
spacecraft was taken to the pad and mechanically mated with the booster.
The flight readiness tests were not accomplished with the total vehicle
until late in December with the LM in position, nearly nine months after
the launch vehicle had been put in place on Launch Complex 37.
341
LAUNCH ESCAPE SYSTEM -
COMMAND MODULE-
NORTH
AMERICAN
SERVICE MODULE
SPACECRAFT.
LEM ADAPTER
IBM INSTRUMENT UNIT
DOUGLAS
S-IVB
2nd STAGE
APS MODULE
J 2 ENGINE NOZZLE
LOX TANK-
FUEL TANK
CHRYSLER
SIB
1st STAGE
REACTION MOTORS
-PROPELLANT TANK
-HELIUM TANK
•SERVICE MODULE
PROPULSION
ENGINE NOZZLE
•HYDROGEN TANK
224
-LOX TANK
-RETRO ROCKET
Hi ENGINE NOZZLES -
FT
Above is a cutaway drawing of
the Saturn IB launch vehicle. At
right, the first S-IB rises success-
fully from KSC's Launch Com-
plex 34 on 26 February 1966.
At far right, the first manned
Saturn IB, Apollo 7 , is shown on
the launch pad at night, poised
for takeoff the next day, 1 1 Oc-
tober 1968.
QUALIFYING THE CLUSTER CONCEPT
The successful mission of AS-204 in January 1968 was therefore
very gratifying to the launch vehicle crews as well as to the LM crews.
Both the first and the second stages performed well, and a new
liquid-hydrogen-recirculation-chilldown control valve on the S-IVB worked
without a hitch, eliminating a potential problem uncovered on the
AS-202 mission. The guidance and telemetry systems met requirements,
the panels protecting the LM deployed, and the LM separated from the
S-IVB with no trouble. During the S-IVB liquid oxygen dump and
liquid-hydrogen dump experiments, the exhausting of propellants through
the J-2 engine caused minor attitude variations in the stage, but these
were corrected by the thrust vector control system and the auxiliary
propulsion system modules. On the morning of 23 January 1968, the
S-IVB stage disintegrated during reentry. AS-204 once more set the
stage for the first manned launch in the Apollo-Saturn program: AS-205,
known as Apollo 7.37
Launched on 11 October 1968 from KSC Launch Complex 34, the
Apollo 7 had a crew made up of Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Donn F. Eisele, and
STAGES TO SATURN
R. Walter Cunningham. Primary objectives for the mission pertained to
the GSM, crew performance, manned mission support facilities for the
GSM, and GSM rendezvous techniques. With three astronauts aboard
and the necessary provisions to sustain them in orbital flight, the launch
of AS-205 marked again an increase in payload capability. Much of this
increase came from the reduction of measurement instrumentation from
the prior Saturn launches. AS-204 had required 1225 measurements;
720 sufficed in AS-205. The Apollo 7 spacecraft also was the product of
extensive redesign since the disastrous fire the year before. It featured a
quick-opening one-piece hatch, an extensive substitution of materials to
reduce flammability, and a modification of the cabin atmosphere for
testing and prelaunch operations. Even though primary attention cen-
tered on the manned aspects of the mission, NASA and Rocketdyne
personnel were closely watching the augmented spark igniter lines for
the J-2, which had been modified after they failed during the Apollo 6
mission on 4 April 1968 (see chapter 12).
The ascent of both Saturn IB stages went like clockwork. During the
boost phase of the S-IC stage, Schirra routinely reported an instrument
readout of the pitch program, and noted, "She['s] running — it's getting a
little noisy now." Then Schirra called out the sequence of inboard and
outboard shutdown of the H-l engines, followed by confirmation of
S-IVB ignition on cue at programmed thrust levels. In between com-
ments from Schirra that the ride from the S-IVB was "a little bumpy,"
flight controllers in Houston also caught Schirra's enthusiastic remark,
"She's riding like a dream," and a voice from the spacecraft that "the
window view is sensational."38 After more than one hour in orbit, the
instrument unit initiated the automatic "safmg" sequence, which in-
cluded the propellant dumping operation. Separation of the GSM from
the spent S-IVB stage took place on schedule, and the astronaut crew
turned the GSM around for the simulated docking maneuver (the
AS-205 did not actually carry an LM). As part of the simulated LM
rendezvous exercise, the GSM was maneuvered to a station-keeping
position near the spent S-IVB stage as it tumbled through space. On 18
October, seven days after liftoff, the S-IVB reentered over the Indian
Ocean. The three astronauts completed 163 orbits before successful
reentry and splashed down into the Atlantic on 22 October, where they
were picked up by teams from the recovery ship Essex. The Apollo 7
mission achieved all primary mission objectives, and the last of the Saturn
IB flights was over. NASA intended the AS-201 through AS-205 flights
to qualify the Apollo spacecraft, and the requirements had been met.
The Saturn IB first stages had also performed as expected, but more
importantly the S-IVB upper stage and the instrument unit for the
Saturn V were successfully qualified in orbit.39 In less than a year, the
space agency expected to land men on the moon. That mission required
the giant Saturn V.
344
With the exception of the S-IVB, every stage of the Saturn launch
vehicles depended on clustered engines. The feasibility of large, high-
thrust engine clusters was demonstrated by the first successful launch of
the Saturn I and verified in one mission after another. Later Saturn I
flights (the Block II series) proved the feasibility of using liquid hydrogen
fuels in Saturn upper stages. The Saturn I series also provided the
opportunity to perfect visual instrumentation systems and to try out
evolving concepts of guidance and control as well as hardware and
software tagged for the manned lunar landing program. Even though
the Highwater experiments contributed little to astronautical science, the
Pegasus flights yielded pertinent information that confirmed booster and
spacecraft designs under way and accumulated scientific data that
influenced the design and operations of later manned and unmanned
spacecraft.
Introduction of the Saturn IB afforded NASA the opportunity to
flight-test important elements of Apollo-Saturn flight hardware. This
included the S-IVB upper stage, the instrument unit, the command and
service modules, and the lunar module. During the Saturn IB missions,
operations planned for the Saturn V were given a trial run, including
orbital coast and restart of the S-IVB and stage separation of the S-IVB
and lunar module. The orbital operations and restart of the J-2 engine
subjected the instrument unit to the kind of sequencing critical for future
lunar missions, and advanced telemetry and visual instrumentation
yielded knowledge of the behavior of cryogenic propellants (particularly
liquid hydrogen) in orbit.
Finally, the Saturn IB powered the first manned Apollo mission,
Apollo 7. This manned, Earth-orbital mission cleared an important hurdle
before the towering Saturn V lifted a similar payload and steered a
course for the moon.
345
The Giant Leap
Vehicle AS-501, the first Saturn V, lifted off from Launch Complex 39
at the Kennedy Space Center on 9 November 1967. After several
weeks of trial and error, the launch capped a countdown that experi-
enced no serious holds or delays. The prime mission objectives for the
Apollo 4 launch vehicle were to verify the first "all up" test of the Saturn V,
including all three stages and the instrument unit. The mission objectives
also emphasized the qualification of Launch Complex 39 and its ground
support equipment, as well as the first orbital reignition of the S-IVB
third stage as configured for the Saturn V. The launch of Apollo 4
included a number of "firsts." For TV viewers, the most visible events
were the ignition and liftoff of the vehicle itself, the word from Mission
Control in Houston that the spacecraft had entered its simulated lunar
trajectory, and the successful reentry and splashdown of the command
module. However, as mission director William C. Schneider remarked,
these events represented only the tip of the iceberg. "Most of the things
we were proving were below the surface," he explained, "not readily
apparent to public view."1
Before an airplane entered operational service, hundreds or even
thousands of hours of flight testing proved its air worthiness. For each
Apollo-Saturn launch, every component aboard the vehicle was making
its first and last flight. For this reason, the weeks, months, and years of
ground testing were necessary, and for this reason, the vast array of
telemetry was necessary to evaluate the performance of parts and systems
that could never be flown again or even recovered for postflight analysis.
347
STAGES TO SATURN
ALL-UP: THE MUELLER MODE
The AS-501 flight had tremendous significance. It was not only the
first Saturn V but it also tested several major systems for the first time in
an "all-up" configuration. As one observer described it, "The all-up
concept is, in essence, a calculated gamble, a leap-frogging philosophy
which advocates compression of a number of lunar landing preliminaries
into one flight. It balances the uncertainties of a number of first-time
operations against a 'confidence factor' based on the degree of the
equipment reliability achieved through the most exhaustive ground-test
program in aerospace history." If NASA had followed prior custom, the
S-IC first stage might have been launched by itself, testing the concept of
the five clustered F-l engines, each of which had a thrust nearly equal to
that of the entire first stage of the Saturn IB. Then a two-stage vehicle
would be launched to try out the clustered J-2 engines of the
liquid-hydrogen-fueled S-II second stage. Next the three-stage booster
would be launched, and finally the entire Apollo-Saturn vehicle including
the GSM. This program would have entailed four separate flights, 12
months extra for preflight preparations, and analysis of postflight data
for each launch — all this running into hundreds of millions of dollars.2
The concept of the all-up launch did not originate with von Braun
or with MSFC, but came from the experience of George E. Mueller, who
took up his new duties as Director of the Office of Manned Space Flight
for NASA on 3 September 1963. When Mueller took office, NASA was
faced with extreme budgetary pressures. The request submitted origi-
nally to President Kennedy had totaled $5.75 billion. In the hectic
months following Kennedy's assassination, President Johnson had a very
short time for making a multitude of decisions and experienced heavy
pressure from Congress to reduce federal expenditures. One influential
senator, not a friend of the space program, informed the President that
unless NASA expenditures were kept under $5 billion for the next year,
Johnson would lose the senator's vote for the tax bill — and the President
wanted that bill very much. These financial pressures on the Johnson
administration constitute one reason for all-up testing. As James Webb
recalled, "Under these circumstances, NASA made a complete reevaluation
of its plans for the NASA program and decided to revise it, going to the
very advanced and, to some, risky approach of the 'all-up systems test'
procedure for the Saturn V-Apollo combination." It seemed to be the
only way to achieve the lunar landing within the decade. Moreover, it
imposed a stronger discipline on the contractors and on NASA itself.
Even so, Webb admitted, "It was a very bold move."3
Obviously, budgetary constraints played a large role in the all-up
decision. On the other hand, this procedure also matched Mueller's
background in rocket development and testing. Before joining NASA,
Mueller had been with the Space Technology Laboratories in Redondo,
348
THE GIANT LEAP
California, where he had been in charge of a number of technical
operations for various Air Force missile programs. These included the
Thor, Atlas, Titan, and Minuteman ballistic missiles. The all-up concept
had been introduced in the development of the Titan II missile and was
being written into the development plan for the Minuteman ICBM.4
In the fall of 1963, the flight-test sequence for the Saturn launch
vehicles was based on a plan issued by Brainerd Holmes, Mueller's
predecessor. The Holmes plan reflected the conservative philosophy of
the Marshall Space Flight Center, which tested new vehicles step by step.
In the case of the Saturn IB, for example, the plan called for two
launches, one in August 1965 with both stages live but still utilizing a
guidance system from the Saturn I. The second Saturn IB would be
launched late in 1965 with the same configuration, and the operational
Saturn IB with a prototype instrument unit was not to be flown until
January 1966. The same plan called for the first Saturn V launch in
March 1966, with a live first stage, inert second and third stages, and a
prototype instrument unit. The second Saturn V launch, scheduled for
July 1966, was to have live first and second stages, an inert third stage,
and a prototype instrument unit. As Mueller settled into his new job, he
came to the conclusion that the financial consequences and the time
consumption of the step-by-step approach simply could not meet the
national goal of a lunar landing by the end of the decade. "It was pretty
clear," Mueller said, "that there was no way of getting from where we
were to where we wanted to be unless we did some drastically different
things, one of which was all-up testing."5
It did not take Mueller long to act. On 1 November 1963, in office
less than a month, Mueller dispatched a priority teletype to the directors
of the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston; Launch Operations Center,
Cocoa Beach, Florida; and Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville:
"Subject: Revised manned spaceflight schedule. Recent schedule and
budget reviews have resulted in a deletion of the Saturn I manned flight
program and realignment of schedules and flight mission assignments on
the Saturn IB and Saturn V programs." The teletype directed that the
first Saturn IB flight, SA-201, and the first Saturn V flight, AS-501,
should comprise all live stages, and both should carry complete space-
craft. Mueller also indicated that he wanted the first manned Saturn IB
flight to be AS-203. For Saturn V, he wanted the first manned flight to be
AS-503. In other words, Mueller was suggesting that the first manned
flights in each series occur on the third launch, instead of the seventh.
Mueller asked for responses to his proposed schedule by 1 1 November
and concluded with the comment, "My goal is to have an official schedule
reflecting the philosophy outlined here by November 25, 1963."6 The
arrival of Mueller's teletype at Huntsville caused a furor comparable only
to the debate on Earth orbit rendezvous versus lunar orbit rendezvous
(EOR-LOR).
349
STAGES TO SATURN
The first occasion for von Braun to discuss the message with his top
staff occurred on Monday, 4 November, at the staff luncheon. A lively
and occasionally rancorous debate continued for the next several days.
The Mueller idea went against the approach of the von Braun team,
steeped in a step-by-step, conservative philosophy of flight testing.
Before the V-2 was operational, dozens of test rounds had been fired;
many remembered the numerous abortive launches suffered in the early
development period of Redstone and Jupiter. The chance of failure on
the inaugural Saturn V seemed too high, and the financial risk too great.
As recalled by Bob Young, Chief of Industrial Operations at the time, the
reaction among von Braun's senior technical staff was "one of shock and
incredulity." The general reaction seemed to be, "It is simply not done
that way." The meetings, and the debate, continued. Walter Haeussermann,
for example, pointed out that it was difficult to predict the rate of success
for an all-up launch. How was it possible, for instance, to assign the
probability of success or failure for a first stage on the first flight? Other
people groused about the limited time available, and there was continu-
ing concern about the workability of liquid hydrogen — particularly in the
S-II second stage with its cluster of five engines. There was still some
question about the degree of readiness of the instrument unit. One
individual close to the discussions at this time, Frank Williams, said that
he could not remember anyone who thought it was a good idea or that it
would work at all.
The initial consensus at MSFC was to oppose the all-up decision. Bob
Young recollected that both von Braun and Rees were low keyed in
voicing their doubts, but in the end they sided with Mueller. Rees, in
retrospect, stressed the time element in particular. He pointed out that
the original approach would have required reconfiguring the launch site
for every launch. The time involved in this reworking would have made a
landing on the moon within the decade very doubtful. Still, there was
considerable ambivalence on the part of the senior staff at Marshall Space
Flight Center. Dieter Grau seems to have summed up the situation most
accurately. "I'm not aware," he wrote years later, "that a consensus was
obtained on this subject in favor of the all-up concept, although I know
that Dr. von Braun went on record for the Center supporting this
concept eventually. Just as Dr. Mueller could not guarantee that this
concept would succeed, the opponents could not guarantee that it would
fail. Dr. Mueller wanted to eliminate the additional costs which a more
cautious approach would have required and Dr. von Braun decided
MSFC should share the risk with him." The decision was declared to be
MSFC policy, even though doubts continued to be expressed by many at
Huntsville.7 Without saying so, von Braun himself still harbored some
concerns.
By 8 November, von Braun was ready with the interim response that
Mueller had requested. "There is no fundamental reason why we cannot
350
THE GIANT LEAP
fly 'all-up' on the first flight," von Braun wrote. Nevertheless, he urged
the importance that a "fall back" position should also be maintained, if
some problem developed in a technical area with scheduling or in
funding before the launch of AS-501.8 Before sending the letter,
however, von Braun called Mueller, read him the draft and discussed the
various issues involved. He reminded Mueller that details were somewhat
sketchy, because the program under discussion was a multibillion dollar
program with dozens of contractors, and it was difficult to rethink such a
radical change and reschedule everything in less than a week. Mueller
acknowledged the tentative character of the discussion and was reassured
by von Braun's description of Marshall's consensus. Stretching things a
bit, von Braun told him, "Our development team here with whom we
discussed everything in much detail is solidly behind the all-up flight
concept."9
Although correspondence between Marshall and NASA Headquar-
ters continued to endorse the all-up principle and in-house memoran-
dums at Huntsville encouraged commitment to it, there was still some
sniping from von Braun's senior management. When Mueller and
Robert Seamans, NASA Associate Administrator, visited Marshall early
in December 1963, the Saturn V Program Manager, Arthur Rudolph,
raised the issue again. He steered Seamans over to a corner where a
model of the Saturn V was standing next to a model of the Minuteman on
the same scale and discoursed on the comparative simplicity of solid-
propellant rockets as opposed to the complexity of liquid chemical
rockets the size of the Saturn V. His doubts about the all-up concept were
implicit. He paused dramatically, turned to Seamans and said, "Now
really, Bob!" Seamans got the point. "I see what you mean, Arthur," he
said. Encouraged, Rudolph buttonholed Mueller, drew him over to the
same models and repeated his discourse about the relative merits and
disadvantages of each. Mueller was unimpressed. "So what?" he responded.10
The planning for the all-up flight of AS-501 continued. In the spring of
1964, following a visit to Marshall, Dr. Golovin reported to General Sam
Phillips at Headquarters that the all-up concept was being supported with
enthusiam by MSFC management.11
AS-501 : GETTING TO THE LAUNCH ON TIME
From the time of Mueller's all-up teletype of 1 November 1963, it
was four years, one week, and one day until the launch of AS-501. The
interim was filled with exhaustive research and development of Saturn V
systems, subsystems, and components. At Kennedy Space Center, a
parallel effort involved the construction and verification of Launch
Complex 39. Prior to the arrival of the AS-501 vehicle, the facilities had
received a comprehensive checkout using an interim Saturn V facilities
351
STAGES TO SATURN
test vehicle, called 500-F. Saturn 500-F was rolled out on 25 May 1966,
followed by exhaustive testing and development of procedures at Cape
Kennedy.12
This preliminary experience provided invaluable information prior
to the first operational launch of AS-501. Nevertheless, NASA manage-
ment realized that the launch of the live vehicle would provide significant
additional information for future Saturn V operations. For AS-501,
therefore, additional plans were made for extraordinarily detailed expe-
rience reports. According to the instructions issued by General Phillips,
It is important that accurate, comprehensive records are obtained of failure,
delays, holds, and scrubs for each pre-launch test and launch attempt on flight
hardware, GSE [ground-support equipment], software, launch instrumentation,
facilities, control centers, or MSFN [Manned Space Flight Network] which are
involved in the final countdown from T— 4 days to T— 0. Data should be recorded for
all failures, delays, holds and scrubs even though the time sequence or length of the
pre-launch test in process at the time of the failure may not have been affected.13
In the meantime, Saturn V stages began arriving at KSC. All did not
go well. Problems with hardware caused considerable delays and post-
ponement of the launch date. In March 1967, an agenda for a briefing on
AS-501, to be attended by General Phillips, included mention of 1200
problems resulting in 32 discrepancy reports. The memo to Phillips
indicated that work teams had divided the problems into four separate
categories and planned to work them off at an intensive rate of 80 per
day. A typical problem was the discovery of an errant bolt in one of the
F-l engines and the requirement to see how it got there to make sure that
nothing similar would happen again.14 Then in June 1967, after the
AS-501 vehicle had already been stacked, it was necessary to take it down.
On the West Coast, North American Rockwell had discovered some 80
weld flaws in the S-II second stage, designated S-II-6; it developrecMliat
S-II-1, already sitting in the AS-501 stack, had similar flaws. This costly
delay nearly escalated when Boeing decided to follow up on its own stage,
the S-IC, and discovered similar difficulties. Subsequent tests gave the
S-IC-1 a clean bill of health, but not without a flurry of concern for the
status of AS-501. Late in the month, NASA Headquarters issued a special
directive calling for better management of the hardware changes on the
AS-501 vehicle. In an attempt to keep the launch schedule on an even
track, the teletype message warned, "It is essential that change traffic of
all types be reduced to only those changes which are mandatory for safety
or mission success."15 Finally, having overcome these and other numerous
difficulties, AS-501 was "rolled out" on 26 August 1967.16
The teething troubles of AS-501 were not over, however, even after
the vehicle reached the launch pad. Numerous preliminary test opera-
tions exposed a host of potential complications.17
352
THE GIANT LEAP
The countdown demonstration test (CDDT) on AS-501 brought out
additional difficulties which, as Program Manager Rudolph admitted,
"caused numerous holds, delays, crew fatigue, scrubs, and recycles."
Three recycles were required and instead of about one week, three weeks
were needed to complete the test. Everything, Rudolph said, encountered
difficulties — the Saturn V, the spacecraft, the launch facility, everything.
Rudolph contended, however, that he was not surprised. It was, after all,
the first time that a multitude of components were integrated into a
"super system." On the first stage, for example, a number of the
propellant valves opened simultaneously instead of in sequence as had
been intended. On the second stage, items within the S-II were damaged
by filling the LOX tanks too rapidly. In the third stage, cable connections
were shorted as a result of the accumulation of moisture in the environ-
ment of the launch site. The instrument unit had difficulty in the
environmental control system designed to keep the electronics in black
boxes cool during operation of the vehicle. In the ground support
equipment, a malfunction prevented proper pressure in the helium
bottles, and the ground computer's problems included "intermittent
operation due to design deficiencies, loose connections, electronic com-
ponent failures, and insufficient maintenance."1
International prestige, as well as millions of dollars, were riding on
the mission of AS-501. At NASA Headquarters, the Public Affairs Office
was apparently feeling increasingly uncomfortable about questions from
the press concerning the condition of AS-501. Would it ever fly, or not?
Late in October, the head of the Public Affairs Office, Julian Scheer, met
with Administrator Webb and representatives of the Office of Manned
Space Flight in a heated conference that ended with Webb announcing
that when he wanted the launch date announced, Webb would say so.
Finally, the date was set for 7 November 1967. Then, less than a week
before liftoff, on 2 November, MSFC started worrying about leaks in the
seal rings of LOX fill and drain valves caused by aging of the Teflon over
the long time that AS-501 had been on the launch pad. Concern was
expressed about the batteries of the S-II stage for the same reason.
Although these and other problems were subsequently solved, it put the
count approximately 40 hours behind the detailed work plan leading to a
launch on 7 November. General Phillips resolutely rescheduled the
launch of Apollo 4 to 9 November at 7 a.m. EST.20
Summing up the troublesome and erratic prelaunch experience with
AS-501, Rudolph ticked off the lessons learned. The prolonged holds
and recycling of the count wore out critical components with short
lifetimes. For this reason, continuously updated logistical plans had to be
prepared. Rudolph asserted that production components in many cases
did not live up to the standards attributed to them by the qualification
test program. He warned that the suppliers had to maintain much stricter
353
STAGES TO SATURN
manufacturing control and quality control to prevent degradation of
such equipment. A number of problems resulted from the first-time
conditions at Cape Kennedy. Work crews had to redesign many items "on
the spot" while constrained by complicated procedural changes under
pressure of the countdown. To launch successfully, concluded Rudolph,
it was necessary to plan built-in holds, not only to replace components but
also to prevent fatigue of the crews.21
These behind-the-scenes struggles heightened the drama of the
launch of Apollo 4; the media, in the meantime, were attempting to
convey to the American public something of the complexities of the
Saturn V vehicle. Trying to find familiar examples with which to
compare the Saturn V, the press corps and public relations offices came
up with mountains of Saturn esoterica.
Because of its size and astronomical statistics, the F-l engine
received a good deal of mention in the press. The engine burned 145 000
liters (40 000 gallons) of propellant per minute, the equivalent of three
metric tons of propellant per second. The cluster of five F-l engines,
which put out 33.4 million newtons (7.5 million pounds) of thrust,
performed their operation for only 150 seconds, although each of the
engines was tested for an average of 650 seconds of static firing before a
launch. NASA also figured in a lifetime factor of 1400 seconds as a
confidence factor for each engine. The only limiting factor was therefore
the amount of propellant that could be crammed into the S-IC first stage.
The first stage boasted its own set of gargantuan statistics. Its girth
was ample enough to allow three big moving vans to drive, side by side,
into the first stage tank. The LOX tank of the first stage held enough
liquid oxygen to fill at least 34 railroad tank cars (or 54, depending on
which handout was read). To get the fuel from the tanks to the engines,
the pumps on the S-IC first stage worked with the force of 30 diesel
locomotives, and some of the fuel lines and associated valves were big
enough for a man to crawl through. Fully fueled and running, the S-IC
first stage turned out the equivalent of 1 19 million kilowatts (160 million
horsepower) — twice as much power as all the rivers and streams of
America running through hydroelectric turbines at the same time.
In trying to visualize the size of the Saturn V rocket, writers most
frequently compared it in height to a 36-story building, or noted that it
towered well above the Statue of Liberty, and weighed 13 times as much.
A public relations pamphlet issued by North American Rockwell in-
cluded the information that "6 200 000 Ibs. is over 3000 tons; a good-
sized Navy destroyer is only 2200 tons. Which gives you a fair idea of how
much weight will have to be lifted off the ground before the Apollo
spacecraft can be boosted into orbit, then shot almost 1 1 400 statute miles
out into space and intricately maneuvered during the Apollo 4 flight." In
terms of space payload capability, a writer for Fortune magazine pointed
out that the Saturn V could lift "1500 Sputniks on a single launch, or
354
THE GIANT LEAP
9000 copies of Explorer I, this country's first satellite, or 42 manned
Gemini spacecraft."
To make the most of the first Saturn V flight, data collection was also
geared up to astronomical capabilities. During the Mercury test program,
for example, d,ata were received on the ground at a rate that would fill a
standard printed page every second. The Apollo-Saturn vehicle was
designed to relay some 300 pages of data in one second. The research,
design, manufacturing, test, and preparation leading to the moment
when the rocket was poised for its leap into space had required the
services of over 300 000 scientists, engineers, technicians, and craftsmen,
representing over 20 000 companies. The estimated cost for the AS-501
vehicle was $135 million for the rocket and $45 million for the space-
craft.22
AS-501: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
The enormity of the effort involved in the Apollo-Saturn program
and the trials and tribulations of getting the AS-501 countdown to work
provided an additional dramatic background for the final preparations.
The inherent risks of the all-up concept seemed to multiply the chances
for total failure. The electric tension of the atmosphere heightened
perceptibly with the influx of VIPs. Congressional figures, the diplomatic
corps and other foreign visitors, industry executives, and NASA manag-
ers began arriving at the Cape. Late in the afternoon of 6 November, von
Braun left Huntsville in NASA's Gulfstream No. 3. After arrival at
Patrick Air Force Base, von Braun was scheduled for an exclusive
executive dinner and conference. The next day, Tuesday, 7 November,
included further executive sessions with the Office of Manned Space
Flight and other contractor personnel. Early in the morning of 8
November 1967, the final 24-hour countdown period for AS-501 began.
The day included a major press conference at the Vertical Assembly
Building, and, late in the evening, a dinner for top-level NASA personnel
and industry representatives.
At dusk on 8 November, the silhouette of AS-501 faded with the
setting sun, but as darkness -descended over the Atlantic, Apollo 4
reappeared as a shining white pillar swathed in floodlights on Pad 39.
The towering vehicle made a dramatic focal point for the pressures that
mounted during the night. The count continued through programmed
holds, then through a spate of minor difficulties as the clocks ticked away
the minutes and seconds to the scheduled launch time, seven o'clock in
the morning of 9 November.
At only one second past the appointed hour, the Saturn V lifted off
the pad, its engine exhaust emitting plumes of stabbing red fire, lighting
up the low-lying Cape landscape — an exceedingly dramatic scene in the
355
Top left, the first flight-ready Saturn V,
AS-501, is rolled out of the Vehicle
Assembly Building at KSC on 20 August
1967. Above, the AS-501 stands for
weeks on the pad at Launch Complex 39,
bedeviled by minor problems. Then (left)
on 9 November 1967, it lifts off to a
perfect flight; the "all-up" concept has
been vindicated.
THE GIANT LEAP
half-light of dawn. The spectacular flames, billowing exhaust clouds, and
the rolling thunder of the engines stunned the onlookers. Dr. William
Donn, of Columbia University's Lamont Geological Observatory, at
Palisades, New York, reported that the only man-made sounds that
exceeded the liftoff noise of the Saturn V were nuclear explosions and
added that the only natural sound on record that exceeded the noise of
the Saturn V engines was the fall of the Great Siberian Meteorite in 1883.
Five and a half kilometers away, in the studio trailer of the Columbia
Broadcasting System, the commentary of CBS correspondent Walter
Cronkite was all but drowned out by the thunder of Saturn's engines, and
Cronkite himself was subjected to a shower of debris shaken loose from
the walls and ceiling of his broadcasting booth.23
The all-up concept was undeniably successful. With AS-501 up, von
Braun could finally admit his lingering doubts about it. He turned to
Rudolph in the firing room at Kennedy Space Center, and told him that
he thought such a completely flawless three-stage flight would never have
been possible on the first try.24 During a postlaunch press conference von
Braun said, "No single event since the formation of the Marshall Center
in 1960 equals today's launch in significance [and] I regard this happy
day as one of the three or four highlights of my professional life — to be
surpassed only by the manned lunar landing."25
The flight of Apollo 4 was a success on all accounts. In W. C.
Schneider's first teletyped 24-hour report, the opening sentence told the
story: "The Apollo 4 mission was successfully accomplished on 9 November
1967." Talking to reporters later, he called AS-501 a bench mark to aim
for in succeeding flights. Apollo 4 would be "a tough act to follow."26
The flight marked the initial flight testing of the S-IC and S-II
stages; the S-IVB was essentially the same as that used in the Saturn IB
launches. The first-stage S-IC performed with the accuracy anticipated
by launch officials. A timer cut off the center F-l engine at 135.5 seconds
into the flight, and the outboard engines cut off at LOX depletion in
150.8 seconds, when the vehicle had recorded 9660 kilometers per hour
at an altitude of 61.6 kilometers. The separation of the first stage took
place only 1.2 seconds off the predicted time lines, and the cameras
aboard the S-II showed a clean separation of the stages. Other major
systems of the S-IC, including the pneumatic control pressure system,
pressurization, and propellant utilization, performed within acceptable
ranges. On the S-II second stage, the cluster of five J-2 liquid-hydrogen
engines achieved perfect sequencing for engine start and burn. Two
slight variations were observed by ground controllers: engine-start bottle
pressures were somewhat higher than predicted, and the temperatures
of the thrust chamber jackets increased at rates higher than predicted.
Neither of these minor anomalies exceeded the operational limits of the
Saturn V; all other systems performed normally. Cutoff for the S-II
occurred at 519.8 seconds, about 3.5 seconds later than indicated on the
357
STAGES TO SATURN
mission control sheets. The troublesome external insulation on the
liquid-hydrogen tank of the S-II stage survived the countdown and
launch with no recorded failures.
Variations in the S-IVB third-stage performance were greater than
those of the lower stages. In achieving orbit, the guidance control system
ended the first third-stage burn a few seconds beyond the predicted
shutdown point, when the stage achieved a speed exceeding 27 000
kilometers per hour at an altitude of 192 kilometers. Prior to the restart
sequence, after two revolutions in Earth orbit, telemetry received at Cape
Kennedy indicated that the liquid-hydrogen ullage pressure was some-
what below the anticipated minimum and that the status of the helium
repressurization spheres was below normal for S-IVB restart prepara-
tions. Mission personnel decided that the engine could be reignited in
spite of these deficiencies, and the third stage responded successfully.
The instrument unit (IU) ended the second burn several seconds short of
the expected duration, reacting to the earlier extended burn of the S-II
stage, made at higher thrust levels of the J-2 five-engine cluster, which
enabled the third stage to make its mission profile with less burn time
required. The IU operated exceptionally well with only 40 questionable
measurements and a single pair of confirmed failures out of about 2862
measurements made during the Saturn V portion of the mission.27
Behind the primary mission objectives, NASA personnel closely
monitored many individual items of flight hardware. Of singular impor-
tance was the experience of coordinating the platoons of NASA and
contractor personnel during the long months of prelaunch operations.
Even as the painstaking procedure of checking out each stage and every
item in the stage progressed, launch engineers were evaluating the
procedures themselves on this first Saturn V mission. The mobile launch
concept was only one example. Planned and orchestrated to reduce the
time the vehicle remained on the launch pad and exposed to the effects
of corrosion, dust, and weather, the concept required that the Saturn V
be assembled and checked out inside the huge VAB. With the huge
vehicle complete, the plan called for mobility to reposition the complete
vehicle on the launch pad, 5.5 kilometers distant. This meant the use of
the crawler, bearing the combined launcher and vehicle out to the pad.
The launch itself tested the holddown arms for the first time. Not only
did the arms stabilize the vehicle during rollout to the pad and keep the
vehicle in place during the long countdown, but they also held down the
straining vehicle after ignition until computers verified satisfactory
operation of the engines and signaled release of the rocket. The strain
was so intense that the mobile launcher was actually stretched about 20
centimeters.
The mission also tested the gimbal capability of the engines. The
vehicle had to make a roll maneuver around its vertical axis after launch
and pitch into an inclined northeasterly trajectory after climbing away
358
THE GIANT LEAP
from the launch pad. Before ignition of the J-2 engines of the second
stage, mission personnel closely watched the second-stage ullage maneu-
ver. Following separation of the first and second stages, the nearly
weightless propellants tended to surge forward, climbing the propellant
tank walls as acceleration decreased. Unless the propellants were settled
once more against the propellant line inlets to the engines, no second-
stage ignition could occur. So the eight ullage rockets had to fire first,
accelerating the stage and forcing the propellants into place. The system
worked, and the five J-2 engines burned as expected. The emergency
launch escape tower jettisoned perfectly, and the third stage performed
like the veteran it was. The IU for the Saturn V functioned just as
planned, and reignition of the S-IVB third stage represented another
crucial test: the second burn would supply the acceleration required for
the translunar trajectory.
The S-IVB reignition had appeared to be a particularly difficult
sequence. The behavior of hydrogen in orbit was a problem, and the
restart sequence depended on especially designed, complex equipment.
After its first burn, cutoff, and three-hour coast through space, the J-2
had to be reconditioned to cryogenic temperatures before the final
restart sequence began. To purge the engine of contaminants remaining
after the first burn, an automatic sequence initiated a helium purge, and
a gaseous hydrogen start tank was refilled by a tap line from the stage's
hydrogen tanks. Valves opened to permit liquid hydrogen and oxygen to
trickle through the engine and cool down its parts to the requisite
cryogenic temperatures. During an ullage maneuver to seat the propel-
lants for entry into the pumps, an automatic sequence ran a final check
on temperatures, pressure levels, and other engine conditions to verify
the readiness of the engine and propellant systems. When the IU
received positive indication on all the numerous readings required, it
triggered the final start sequence for reignition. Apollo 4 proved the
restart capability, and the second burn put the spacecraft into a very high
elliptical orbit, reaching more than 16 000 kilometers from Earth. With
its mission complete, the S-IVB separated from the spacecraft, which
performed its own programmed burns and maneuvers before CSM-CM
separation and CM reentry.28
Following the months of doubts and problems created by the rocky
research and development of the S-II second stage, the disastrous fire at
Cape Kennedy early in 1967, and the troublesome experiences with the
countdown demonstration tests of the AS-501 vehicle late in 1967, the
flawless mission of Apollo 4 elated the entire NASA organization; every-
one looked ahead with buoyant spirits. Returning to Huntsville, von
Braun received a call from Brainerd Holmes on 15 November. "Con-
gratulations! That was such a remarkable achievement with Saturn V. I
was very excited about it," Brainerd exclaimed. Von Braun warmly
responded that it showed the spacecraft to be in better shape than many
359
STAGES TO SATURN
people had thought following the fire and redesign and added that it
performed magnificently during reentry.29
NASA management shared its elation with the Apollo-Saturn con-
tractors as well. In a letter to Bill Allen, president of the Boeing
Company, George Mueller pointed with pleasure to the success of the
all-up concept, and continued in glowing terms about the success of the
industry-government team. The mission of Apollo 4, Mueller emphasized,
was a true landmark, "... a very large step forward. It is, in my view, the
most significant single milestone of the Apollo-Saturn program." Urging
continued dedication to the task ahead, Mueller closed with the remark
that it was possible to fulfill the national commitment of landing
Americans on the moon and returning them safely to Earth within the
decade.30
In the meantime, planning continued for the flight of the second
Saturn V mission, to be known as AS-502, or Apollo 6. In the aftermath
of the AS-501 flight, NASA planners were optimistic in planning for the
next two missions, both of which were to be unmanned. General Phillips
advised NASA center directors that if AS-502 was successful, AS-503
would become the first Saturn V manned mission. Thus, AS-502 served
as an all-important dress rehearsal for the first manned flight.31
THE TROUBLESOME BIRD: AS-502
The general euphoria was badly worn by the problem-prone mission
of AS-502. Nothing had indicated the impending series of trials ahead.
After a satisfactory countdown, AS-502 blasted off from Launch Com-
plex 39 on schedule, early in the morning of 4 April 1968. The first thing
to go awry was the S-IC first stage, which developed longitudinal
oscillations of five cycles per second during the last moments of the
first-stage burn. These oscillations, known as the "Pogo effect," had
occurred on the first Saturn V, but their magnitude on AS-502 became
alarming. "The second Saturn V's takeoff at the Cape was faultless," von
Braun recalled. "For two minutes everything looked like a repeat of the
first Saturn V's textbook performance. Then a feeling of apprehension
rolled through the launch control center when, around the 125th second,
telemetered signals from accelerometers indicated an apparently mild
Pogo vibration." The lengthwise oscillation lasted less than 10 seconds.
After the moments of concern about the first-stage Pogo readings,
launch personnel felt better about the stage separation and ignition of
the five J-2 engines on the S-II second stage. After burning 4.5 minutes,
however, the number two engine began to develop unwholesome prob-
lems. The engine began to falter; it lost thrust and then shut down. No
more than a second later, the number three engine suddenly shut off as
well. To compensate for the loss of 40 percent of its thrust, the IU steered
360
THE GIANT LEAP
the faltering second stage into a recomputed trajectory to reach the
programmed altitude for third-stage separation. After some overtime
firing, the S-II finally shut down its three remaining engines and fell back
from the S-IVB. The third stage fired up normally, and the S-IVB, IU,
and payload finally made it into an Earth parking orbit, although a
somewhat lopsided one. After two orbits, the bird received a command
for the third stage to reignite. Nothing happened. The J-2 engine just
would not restart, despite repeated efforts. Salvaging all that was
available from the flight, mission controllers succeeded in separating the
GSM from the malfunctioning third stage, got a couple of burns out of
the service module engine to get the command module into better
position for the reentry tests, and finally brought the CM through
reentry and splashdown to verify the heat shield.
"Had the flight been manned, the astronauts would have returned
safely," von Braun emphasized afterward, "but the flight clearly left a lot
to be desired. With three engines out, we just cannot go to the Moon."
In the aftermath of the marginal flight of AS-502, teams went to
work to find answers to the problems. Pogo had been encountered
previously in Titan-Gemini and other launch vehicles, and a fix was likely
in the future. However, the J-2 engine failures involved a problem of
unknown origins and causes, indicating the need for some intensive
sleuthing.
Armed with reams of reports and telemetry data from the AS-502
flight, the J-2 problem team assembled, including engineers from MSFC
and Rocketdyne. The record of temperature readings from thermocou-
ples in the S-II tail section provided the tipoff, beginning at the 70th
second of flight, when investigators discovered telltale indications of a
flow of cold gas. Such a phenomenon could only come from a leak of
liquid-hydrogen fuel, and the leak was located in the upper regions of the
number two engine. Even more conclusive was the coincidence of
increased cold flow from about the 110th second on, when ground
controllers first noticed the falter of thrust. Clinching the theory of a fuel
leak, the J-2 team found indication that a split second before the number
two engine shut down, hot gas had erupted in the area of the leak. The
only theory to explain a hot gas eruption, followed by engine shutdown,
was the failure of the J-2 igniter line in the upper part of the engine.
These data allowed the J-2 group to reconstruct the sequence of the
failure. The leaking fuel line, leading to the igniter, sprayed the upper
engine section with liquid hydrogen, even though some fuel continued
through the line and the engine kept burning. Finally, the line broke
completely, and fiery, high-pressure gas from the combustion chamber
backed up and spurted through the rupture. Combustion chamber
pressure began to fall off, so that the low-thrust sensing equipment
triggered a sequence to shut down the engine by closing the fuel and
oxidizer valves. The electrical sequence to close number two LOX valve
361
STAGES TO SATURN
went erroneously to number three. Closing the fuel valve for engine
number two and the LOX valve for engine number three shut down both
engines. Telemetry from the J-2 engine on the third stage told the same
story as engine number two of the second stage: a failed igniter line. The
S-IVB had arrived in orbit before the failure was complete, but could not
restart the engine.
The MSFC and Rocketdyne investigation team now knew how the
engines and igniter fuel lines failed, but no one could say why. Engineers
set up special test stands to wring out the fuel lines again. The tests began
by subjecting the igniter fuel lines to successively higher pressures, flow
rates, and vibration, surpassing the extremes that might reasonably be
encountered during a mission. The lines survived the punishment. Next,
the investigators checked into the possibility of resonance failures,
concentrating on the bellows sections in the lines. The accordionlike
sections, located near either end of the line, were intended to provide
flexibility for expansion and contraction, and engineers wondered if
some flow rates could induce "buzzing" in the bellows — a phenomenon
that, if sufficiently severe, could cause metal fatigue and failure. There
was buzzing, but the lines held. Finally, Rocketdyne technicians decided
to test the lines in a vacuum chamber, in close simulation of the
environment where failure occurred. Eight lines were set up for test in a
vacuum chamber, and engineers began to pump liquid hydrogen through
them at operational rates and pressures. Before 100 seconds elapsed,
each of the eight lines broke; each time, the failure occurred in one of the
bellows sections. By using motion picture coverage acquired during
repeated vacuum chamber tests, Rocketdyne finally could explain the
failures.
The igniter fuel lines were installed on the engine with protective
metal braid around the bellows section. When tested in a chamber that
was not in a vacuum condition, the surrounding air was liquefied by the
extremely cold liquid hydrogen flowing through the lines and was
trapped between the bellows and the protective metal braid. This
condition damped subsequent vibration in the fuel line. When tested in
the vacuum chamber, where the environment simulated the conditions of
space, there was no liquefied air to dampen the destructive resonance. A
redesigned igniter fuel line eliminated the bellows sections, replacing
them with bends in the line to allow for expansion and contraction
during the mission.
Concurrent with the J-2 failure investigation, a Pogo task force, with
representatives from MSFC and other NASA agencies, the contractors,
industry, and universities, analyzed the first-stage F-l engines and the
overall Saturn V vehicle. The Pogo phenomenon, they reported, origi-
nated from two sources. While F-l engines burned, the thrust chamber
and combustion chamber of each engine developed a natural vibration of
some 5.5 hertz. Further, the whole vehicle vibrated in flight with a
362
THE GIANT LEAP
varying frequency that peaked at 5.25 hertz around 125 seconds into the
flight. When the engine frequency closely matched the structural fre-
quency, Pogo vibrations appeared up and down the entire vehicle. The
vibration was not in itself destructive, but it did increase the stresses on
the vehicle and the astronaut crew, because the lighter spacecraft,
perched at the tip of the tall rocket, was buffeted more than the engines
at the bottom. The team investigating Pogo concluded that they should
"detune" the engine frequencies away from those of the structural
frequencies.
The group explored a number of possible fixes before settling on
pneumatic "shock absorbers" in the LOX lines leading to each of the five
F-l engines in the first stage. The so-called shock absorbers made use of
cavities in the LOX line prevalve assembly. The prevalve assembly
contained a bulging casting in the LOX line to accommodate the move-
ment of a big valve that opened or closed the LOX line. During engine
operation, with the valve in the open position, liquid oxygen filled the
casting's cavity to about half its volume. Engineers tapped the first stage's
ample helium supply (used to pressurize the fuel tank), and filled the
remainder of the valve cavity with helium gas. The helium gas in the
cavity acted as a shock absorber by damping the engine pulsations into
the LOX lines and into the vehicle structure.
At Mississippi Test Facility, engineers successfully demonstrated the
two fixes during August 1968, with test firing of the S-IC first stage
equipped with the Pogo suppression equipment on the F-l engines, and
the S-II second stage with the redesigned igniter fuel lines on the J-2
engines. The demonstration cleared the way for a manned launch of
AS-503, as Apollo 8. The AS-503 was planned to place the manned
GSM in a low Earth orbit. If the interim Apollo 7 mission, boosted by a
Saturn IB, verified the redesigned GSM and its new safety features, then
the Saturn V-Apollo 8 mission could be revised boldly. "There is even a
remote possibility of a spectacular swing around the Moon by the
manned spacecraft," von Braun said in the autumn, a little over a month
before the scheduled launch. "That a mission as bold as the last is even
considered, for the first Saturn V to be manned, bespeaks planners'
confidence that all about it has been set aright."32
REACHING THE PINNACLE: AS-503 THROUGH AS-506
In many respects, the momentous mission of Apollo 11 in 1969,
which put Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins on their way to the first
manned landing on the moon, has obscured the importance of the first
manned Apollo-Saturn mission, that of Apollo 8, or AS-503. The
decision to man AS-503 was a significant step forward, in some respects
363
STAGES TO SATURN
comparable to the decision to make AS-501 the first all-up configuration.
The decision to send it around the moon was even more significant.
Back in June 1967, a NASA memorandum was issued warning
against the tendency by NASA employees and others "to create overly
optimistic impressions of NASA's capability for early achievement of
such key milestones as Apollo long duration manned missions, manned
Saturn V missions, and the lunar landing mission." The memorandum
observed that AS-503 had a low probability of being the first Saturn V
manned mission and that even AS-504 had only a moderate probability
of being manned.33 If AS-504 were manned, it would be a low-Earth-
orbit flight. At the same time, some executives at NASA Headquarters
were suggesting the possibility of at least a lunar orbital manned mission
by the third manned Saturn V.34 By September 1967, Robert R. Gilruth
at Houston was advocating "four, or perhaps even five, basic manned
mission types . . . before lunar landing capability is achieved. One of these
mission types is a lunar orbit mission." At the same time, Gilruth strongly
advocated a third unmanned launch of the Saturn V vehicle to "help
assure launch vehicle maturity prior to manning." Gilruth noted that "the
probability of landing on the moon before 1970 is not high."35
The manning of AS-503 became an even more touchy question
following the difficulties of AS-502 in the spring of 1968. A prerequisite
to a manned mission for 503 was a design certification review, but as von
Braun pointed out to Mueller, too many people at Marshall were still
working on the data received from the troublesome AS-502 mission.
Mueller was anxious to get a commitment before he appeared before
Congress on 23 April to testify on NASA plans, but von Braun pleaded
for more time — two or three weeks. Mueller finally agreed.36 On 24
April, Phillips said that he was recommending preparation of AS-503 for
manned flight with an option to revert to the unmanned configuration if
necessary. However, difficulties uncovered by AS-502 continued to
plague the question of a manned or unmanned mission on AS-503. On
29 April, Arthur Rudolph, the manager of the Saturn V Program Office,
advised Phillips that the continuing problems with AS-502 anomalies still
did not allow him to make a firm recommendation for a Saturn V
payload of 45 000 kilograms or more, which Phillips had requested by 30
April 1968.37 Nevertheless, preparations for launching AS-503 either in
the manned or the unmanned configuration necessarily continued.38
NASA planners had wanted to use AS-503 to fly the complete
Apollo-Saturn configured for the lunar landing mission. This plan
presumed an Earth-orbital flight, testing both the command module and
the lunar module in the flight mode and using them both to perform
maneuvers that would simulate the operations in the lunar environment
as closely as possible. During late spring and early summer of 1968, work
on the lunar module fell behind. By August, General Phillips glumly
concluded that the original mission for AS-503 could not be flown until
364
.. - ,
early 1969. With only 18 months to get to the moon before the decade
ended, the schedule slippage of Apollo 8 was extremely serious.
But George Low, the spacecraft manager at Houston, came up with
what Phillips called a "daring idea." Low proposed to skip the Earth-
365
STAGES TO SATURN
orbital test phase and postpone lunar module trials until the next
Apollo-Saturn after AS-503. In the meantime, Low argued, go ahead and
send a crew in the command and service modules to the moon. After all,
the spacecraft hardware assigned to the launch had been built to
specifications for actual mission hardware. Use it. A hastily convened
session of the Apollo management team brought key people flying into
Marshall Space Flight Center, centrally located to the other major Apollo
operations at Headquarters, KSC, and Houston. The preliminary three-
hour session ended on a distinctly up-beat note. More study was
required, but a circumlunar flight for Apollo 8 looked quite feasible.
Back in Washington, Phillips explained the plan to Thomas O. Paine,
Acting Administrator while James Webb was attending a space confer-
ence in Vienna. Paine was not so sure. "We'll have a hell of a time selling
it to Mueller and Webb," he warned Phillips.39
Not until early fall were NASA planners ready to decide on manning
AS-503 or to confirm the prospects of a lunar orbital mission. On 19
September 1968, the Office of Manned Space Flight made an intensive
review of each problem uncovered by AS-502, examining the solutions
and scrutinizing test procedures and results. In a long memorandum
reviewing these aspects, George Mueller recommended to Acting Adminis-
trator Paine that AS-503 should be manned. On 11 November 1968,
Mueller further recommended to Paine that AS-503 also circumnavigate
the moon. Paine's reply to Mueller on 18 November 1968 made it official:
AS-503 would leave the lunar module behind, but go for a manned lunar
orbit.40
Nobody wanted a repeat of the worrisome AS-502 mission, and so
the Apollo 8 launch vehicle received an exceedingly thorough going over
before launch day. Several months before the scheduled launch, even
before the official decision to man AS-503, Dieter Grau, Chief of
Marshall's Quality and Reliability Operations, sat through a two-day
meeting when all the major contractors discussed the action items for
Apollo 8/AS-503. The participants seemed to be approaching a consen-
sus that the vehicle was ready to go. Having lived and worked closely with
the vehicle and its various components for months, however, Grau did
not have a good feeling in his bones that all was well. In the face of the
growing consensus, Grau took a position of caution. As Grau recalled,
von Braun sensed his reticence and asked what more should be done.
Grau wanted the opportunity to do one more complete check and von
Braun gave it to him. Personnel in Grau's laboratories went over the
AS-503 vehicle again, rechecking subsystems, interfaces, and drawings to
make sure everything was all right. Sure enough, numerous little
mistakes and potential problems were uncovered. "We went through the
vehicle from top to bottom;" Grau said. "I think that was kind of a life
saver. We found so many things which needed to be corrected and
improved." After these extra weeks of checking and rechecking, Grau
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THE GIANT LEAP
and his people in the Quality and Reliability Laboratory finally gave trie
green light for the launch of Apollo 8.41
"Wet" and "dry" countdown demonstration tests began for AS-503
on 5 December 1968, and concluded by 11 December, clearing the way
for the final countdown for launch, which began four days later. As the
launch countdown proceeded, the final Pogo suppression test took place
on the S-IC-8 stage at Mississippi Test Facility during a 125-second
static-firing test on 18 December. On the same day, MSFC engineers
finished a series of tests on the S-IVB battleship unit to verify the
redesigned fuel lines. The program included three hot tests, from 4
December to 14 December, ranging from about 122 seconds to 435
seconds. The last of the miscellaneous component tests was completed on
18 December, with Apollo 8 poised on its pad, only three days away from
launch.
For the premier launch of a manned Saturn V, NASA prepared a
special VIP list. The fortunate individuals on the list received an
invitation in attractively engraved and ornate script: "You are cordially
invited to attend the departure of the United States Spaceship Apollo
VIII on its voyage around the moon departing from Launch Complex
39A, Kennedy Space Center, with the launch window commencing at 7
A.M. on December 21, 1968." The formal card was signed "The Apollo
VIII Crew" and included the notation, "RSVP."
With the primary objectives to verify the manned spacecraft, sup-
port systems, and lunar orbit rendezvous procedures, Apollo 8 lifted off
from KSC at 7:51 a.m. EST, on 21 December, 1968, crewed by Frank
Borman, commander; James A. Lovell, Jr., command module pilot; and
William A. Anders, lunar module pilot. In contrast to its predecessor,
AS-503 performed without a hitch. The telemetry readings from the
S-IC indicated that the Pogo suppression system worked as planned, and
no longitudinal vibrations were reported. Staging of the first and second
stages went smoothly, followed by the staging of the S-II and S-IVB near
the top of the launch trajectory. The S-IVB, IU, and spacecraft went into
Earth parking orbit 11.5 minutes after launch. During the second orbit,
the S-IVB stage reignited, boosting the vehicle into translunar trajectory
at over 38 600 kilometers per hour. After separation of the spacecraft,
Apollo 8 S-IVB stage is left behind
at 50 000 kilometers venting its re-
maining fuel while the CSM is on
its way to man's first escape from
Earth's gravity and orbit of the
moon.
STAGES TO SATURN
the spent third stage was directed into a trajectory for solar orbit and
Saturn V's job was done. At 3:29 p.m. EST, on Monday, 23 December
1968, Apollo 8 crossed the dividing line that separates the Earth's
gravitational sphere of influence from that of the moon, propelling men
beyond control by Earth for the first time in history.
On Christmas Eve, Apollo 8 slipped behind the moon, and the three
crewmen became the first to see the far side. The last TV transmissions of
the day were verses from the first chapter of Genesis, read by the
astronauts. From earlier transmissions, the vivid image of the emerald,
brown, and cloud-wreathed Earth-rise above the barren gray surface of
the moon gave the broadcast unusual drama. Some 400 000 kilometers
away in space, the passengers in Apollo 8 beamed a special message:
"Good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas and God bless all of you — all
of you on the good Earth." On Christmas Day, the spacecraft's main
engine fired a three-minute burst to push Apollo 8 out of lunar orbit and
into trajectory for return to Earth. Swaying under its parachutes, the
command module carrying the three crewmen settled safely into the
Pacific late in the morning of 27 December.42
A preliminary review of AS-503 data confirmed the faultless per-
formance of the Saturn V launch vehicle. The fix for Pogo problems had
worked; the J-2 engines of the S-II and S-IVB stages had worked; the
modified igniter lines had worked. The Saturn V was in good shape for
the next two flights leading up to "the big one" — the moon landing, less
than seven months away.
As the next Saturn V in the series, the AS-504 vehicle for Apollo 9
comprised the first complete Apollo-Saturn configuration, with the lunar
module aboard. Manned by astronauts James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott,
and Russell L. Schweickart, Apollo 9 rose from KSC's Launch Complex
39A on 3 March 1969, for a low-Earth-orbit flight to check out docking of
the CSM and LM in space. After the launch had been postponed for
three days because of minor illness among the crew, the mission
proceeded smoothly. All launch vehicle stages performed normally, with
S-IVB reignition taking place after the CSM-LM docking maneuver and
removal of the LM from the spacecraft— lunar-module adapter (SLA).
With the S-IVB in an Earth-escape trajectory, mission control officials
were unable to perform third-stage propellant dumps. The remainder of
the mission proceeded with great success, including firing of the LM
engines for descent and ascent maneuvers, transfer of two of the crew
(McDivitt and Schweickart) to the LM and back again, a "space walk" by
Schweickart, and splashdown on 13 March.
Apollo 10, launched on 18 May 1969, again carried the full Apollo-
Saturn configuration with the Saturn V launch vehicle AS-505. After the
second burn of the S-IVB to place the S-IVB, IU, and spacecraft into
translunar trajectory, T. P. Stafford, J. W. Young, and E. A. Cernan com-
pleted the docking maneuver, shown live on commericial television for
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THE GIANT LEAP
the first time. The third-stage propellant dump came off normally, and
the S-IVB went into an Earth-escape trajectory. The spacecraft contin-
ued toward the moon and entered into a low, circular lunar orbit.
Stafford and Cernan undocked the LM and flew even closer to the lunar
surface, testing the descent stage, which was jettisoned before the ascent
stage rendezvoused with the GSM. The mission demonstrated the lunar
orbit rendezvous technique and verified LM operations in the lunar
environment, along with Apollo mission guidance, control, radar, TV
transmission, and other mission systems. The crew completed the eight-day
flight with splashdown in the mid-Pacific on 26 May 1969.43
Meanwhile, the Saturn V vehicle AS-506 neared its special date in
history, when Apollo 1 1 lifted off to carry three astronauts to a landing
on the moon.
By the time of Apollo 1 1 (AS-506), the Saturn V launch vehicle had
been considerably eclipsed in the public eye. Although television cover-
age and still photography inevitably portrayed the towering white rocket,
the attention of the press and public was primarily fastened on the crew
itself. Commander Neil A. Armstrong, command module pilot Michael
Collins, and lunar module pilot Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., spent the last few
days prior to the flight in the fish bowl of public attention. It was
symptomatic that the standard chronology of such aerospace events,
Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1969, in recapitulating the mission of Apolloll,
devoted only a few lines to the Saturn V launch vehicle. The stars of the
show were the crew, the spacecraft, and the spiderlike lunar module to
land Armstrong and Aldrin on the surface of the moon. Understandably,
the crew members themselves gave most of their thought and attention to
the details of the spacecraft and the details of the lunar mission, leaving
the care and feeding of the launch vehicle to the technicians from
Marshall and their contractors.
This is not to say that the astronauts had no thoughts whatsoever
about the vehicle. Early on the morning of 16 July 1969, riding in the van
on the way to the launch pad, Michael Collins was struck again by the
enormity of the vehicle that was to carry them aloft:
Last night the Saturn V looked very graceful, suspended by a cross fire of
search lights which made it sparkle like a delicate opal and silver necklace against
the black sky. Today it is a machine again solid and businesslike, and big. Over three
times as tall as a Gemini-Titan, taller than a football field set on end, as tall as the
tallest redwood, it is truly a monster.44
AS-506 lifted off at 9:32 a.m. EOT, 16 July 1969. The number of
observers around the launch site was conservatively estimated at a
million, including 200 congressmen, 60 ambassadors, 19 governors, 40
mayors, and other public figures. Vice-President Spiro T. Agnew and
former President and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson were there. Live televi-
sion coverage of the liftoff was beamed to 33 countries on six continents
369
STAGES TO SATURN
and watched by an estimated 25 million TV viewers in the United States
alone. Radio commentary was heard by additional millions around the
world.45
Inside the spacecraft, Collins was very much aware of the gimbaling
of the F-l engines below, separated from the command module by the
length of a football field. Watching prior Saturn launches, he had been
impressed by the rigid and stately progress of the rocket off the pad.
From the inside, the ride was jiggly and caused a kind of twittering
feeling because of the gimbaling engines. There was not as much noise as
Collins had expected, although it probably would have been difficult to
communicate without the intercom. The Saturn ride, he reported, was a
bit softer than the ride he had experienced in the Titan-Gemini launches.
During the boost phase, the crew watched the gimbaling rates of the F-l
engines to make sure that no dangerous deviations from the course
occurred, the flow rates of the propellants, and the thrust levels of the
rocket engines. The first 10 seconds of the liftoff concerned the astronauts
somewhat because the Saturn V rose so close to the umbilical tower. After
that point, the crew relaxed a bit, and the noise and motion of the rapidly
climbing rocket abated. Collins noted to himself that all the lights and
dials indicated no problems. "All three of us are very quiet — none of us
seems to feel any jubilation at having left the earth, only a heightened
awareness of what lies ahead."4
During the long months of astronaut training, the emphasis had
been on operations and control of the spacecraft. It had not been
necessary for the crew members to become experts on each of the booster
stages. Still, because the Saturn V was going to be the prime mover of the
mission, the crew picked up odds and ends of information and formed an
opinion about it.
As far as Collins was concerned, the Saturn V vehicle itself had been
the largest question mark in the Apollo-Saturn program. If there had
been trouble with the command module or with the lunar excursion
module, it would have been possible to have found a fix on it in a matter
of months. If one of the huge, complex, Saturn V's had blown up,
however, during one of the R&D launches, for example, then several
years would have been required to have made a fix. According to Collins,
"the Saturn V loomed in our minds as being the biggest single unknown
factor in the whole lunar landing program." Now, as the Apollo 11 vehicle
soared upward, consuming tons of propellants in the S-IC booster, the
next concern was the S-II boost phase. "Staging, it is called, and it's always
a bit of a shock, as one set of engines shuts down and another five spring
into action in their place," Collins explained. "We are jerked forward
against our straps, then lowered gently again as the second stage begins
its journey. This is the stage which whisperers have told us to distrust, the
stage of the brittle aluminum, but it seems to be holding together, and
besides, it's smooth as glass, as quiet and serene as any rocket ride can
370
THE GIANT LEAP
be." Although Collins and others had the feeling that the S-II was
probably going to be the weakest link in the chain of the three stages of
the Saturn V, Collins had been very much encouraged with the fervor of
workers at North American Rockwell. He was impressed by their hard
work and impressed by the way they caught up with the time lags in the
S-II program. Still, all that talk about brittle aluminum and cracks in the
S-II tankage left a few nagging thoughts. The S-II performed beautiful-
ly, however, leading up to the end of its boost phase and the staging of
the S-IVB.
Nine minutes into the mission, the second stage shut down, and the
crew waited, weightless, for the ignition and acceleration of the S-IVB
third stage. Although third-stage ignition occurred on schedule, the
momentary wait seemed interminable to the expectant astronauts. When
the S-IVB ignited, the acceleration softly pushed the crew back into their
contoured seats. The third stage, as Collins described it, had "a character
all its own," with more crispness and rattles than the second stage. After
1 1 minutes and 42 seconds, the S-IVB single J-2 engine completed its
first burn and switched itself off. The astronauts were in orbit, gently
restrained by the couch straps, with a stunning view of the world through
the spacecraft windows.47
Over Australia the crew received word that they were "go" for the
translunar injection (TLI) to boost the spacecraft out of Earth parking
orbit into the trajectory to take it to the moon. This procedure required a
second burn of the S-IVB. As the spacecraft swept out over the Pacific
Ocean, the Saturn prepared to pump hydrogen and oxygen to the J-2
engine and meticulously dictated the orientation of the spacecraft by
computers. The crew had no control over the vehicle at this point and
were merely observers of the flickering lights on the panel indicating that
the Saturn was counting itself down to ignition. When the J-2 finally
started up, Neil Armstrong emitted a heartfelt "whew." Collins felt both
relief and tension that they were on their way to the moon, one more
hurdle behind them, as long as the S-IVB continued to burn. "If it shuts
down prematurely," Collins speculated, "we will be in deep yogurt,"
ending up in a kind of odd-ball trajectory that would take some fancy
computations on the part of Houston and the crew members to get back
on track and set up for a reentry to Earth. Collins was amazed to see
flashes and sparks of light, evidence of the thrusting engine mounted on
the tail of the vehicle 33 meters below him. Abruptly a sudden lurch, like
the shifting of gears, indicated that the Saturn had gone into a pro-
grammed shift in the ratio of fuel to oxidizer flowing to the engine.
"Marvelous machine!" Collins thought to himself. "It's pushing us back
into our seats with almost the same force we are accustomed to on earth
(one G), although it feels like more than that. It's still not smooth, 'just a
little tiny bit rattly,' says Buzz, but it's getting the job done and our
computer is spewing out numbers which are very close to perfection."
577
STAGES TO SATURN
The shaking was more noticeable in the final moments of the ride, but
ended with a good shutdown of the engine. "Hey, Houston, Apollo 11.
That Saturn gave us a magnificent ride," Armstrong-exclaimed.48
On 20 July, as the spacecraft passed around the far side of the moon,
Armstrong and Aldrin separated the lunar module from the command
and service modules and began their descent for the lunar landing,
leaving Collins in a station-keeping orbit above. During the final ap-
proach, the crew realized that the lunar module was headed toward a
large, inhospitable crater filled with boulders. Taking over manual
control of the descent rate and horizontal velocity, Armstrong steered
toward a landing site several kilometers away from the original target
area. At 4:18 p.m. EDT, the lunar module touched down. Armstrong
reported to Earth: "Houston, Tranquility Base here — the Eagle has
landed." With obvious relief, Mission Control in Houston called
back: "Roger, Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch
of guys about to turn blue. We are breathing again. Thanks a lot."
Television cameras attached to the lunar. module were oriented to catch
Armstrong as he crawled out of the spacecraft. At 10:56 p.m. EDT,
Armstrong stood on the lunar surface. "That's one small step for
man — one giant leap for mankind."
Armstrong was joined by Aldrin several minutes later, and the two
men carried out a brief ceremony, unveiling a plaque fixed on one of the
LM struts ("Here men from the planet earth first set foot on the moon
July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind."), and set up a small
U.S. flag. During their stay on the moon, Armstrong and Aldrin
deployed a series of scientific experiments and picked up assorted
surface material and chunks of rock, along with two core samples, all
totalling about 24 kilograms. Their tasks accomplished, the pair of
astronauts took off in the LM early in the afternoon of 21 July. Following
the rendezvous in lunar orbit, Armstrong and Aldrin joined Collins in
the CSM. The LM ascent stage was jettisoned, and a CSM engine burn on
22 July put them on a trajectory back to Earth. The command module
made its programmed separation from the service module on the
morning of 24 July 1969, and Apollo 11 splashed down in the middle of
the Pacific, only 24 kilometers from the recovery ship U.S.S. Hornet, at
12:51 p.m. EDT. The first moon mission was over.49
LAUNCHES ON SCHEDULE: AS-507 THROUGH AS-512
Although other major launch vehicles, including the Saturn I,
required a number of development flights, no major redesign efforts
were required for the Saturn V. Even Apollo 6, the troublesome AS-502
vehicle, had required only moderate design changes to eliminate the
Pogo difficulties and the problem with the J-2 engine igniter lines. This
372
Apollo 1 1 reaches the thin air on the edge of
space (above, left); in the control room, NASA
leaders (above, right to left) Charles W. Mathews,
Wernher von Braun, George E. Mueller, and
Samuel C. Phillips celebrate the orbiting of
Apollo 11; left, Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin,Jr.,
is photographed by fellow astronaut Neil A.
Armstrong as he prepares to take his first step
onto the lunar surface; below, left to right,
George M. Low, Samuel C. Phillips, Thomas O.
Paine, and Robert R. Gilruth admire the first box
of lunar samples to be returned to Earth.
STAGES TO SATURN
observation is not to say that there were no variations among vehicles or
changes from one vehicle to the next. Adjustments were made in timing,
sequences, propellant flow rates, mission parameters, trajectories. There
was continued modification and refinement in the course of the pro-
gram. Each mission also produced a list of malfunctions, anomalies, and
significant deviations that required certain configuration or operational
changes. Engines and other equipment were constantly submitted to fine
tuning to ensure and enhance their proper operation in flight. It is
interesting to note, for example, that the thrust of individual engines
varied even within a vehicle and from one mission to another, as
technicians continued to adjust and change their operational characteris-
tics.50
The remaining six vehicles in the Apollo-Saturn program reflected
this low-profile improvement and modification program. There were no
major vehicle changes, and no catastrophic perturbations in the opera-
tional history of the Saturn V launch vehicles, although there were still
dramatic moments and small problems that continued to crop up from
time to time. The flight of Apollo 12 was electrifying, to say the least.
Before it got away on 14 November 1969, the vehicle had been delayed
by a liquid-hydrogen fuel tank leak, threatening to scrub the mission.
When that problem was finally whipped, stormy weather on the morning
of the launch portended additional delays. With a long string of
successful flights behind them, however, NASA officials decided to go
ahead and commit Apollo 12 in the midst of a heavy downpour. As it
climbed away from the launch pad, AS-507 was lost to sight almost
immediately as it vanished into the low-hanging cloud layer. Within
seconds, spectators on the ground were startled to see parallel streaks of
lightning flash out of the cloud back to the launch pad. Inside the
spacecraft, Conrad exclaimed, "I don't know what happened here. We
had everything in the world drop out." Astronauts Pete Conrad, Richard
Gordon, and Alan Bean, inside the spacecraft, had seen a brilliant flash
of light inside the spacecraft, and instantaneously, red and yellow
warning lights all over the command module panels lit up like an
electronic Christmas tree. Fuel cells stopped working, circuits went dead,
and the electrically operated gyroscopic platform went tumbling out of
control. The spacecraft and rocket had experienced a massive power
failure. Fortunately, the emergency lasted only seconds, as backup power
systems took over and the instrument unit of the Saturn V launch vehicle
kept the rocket operating. As the huge Saturn continued to climb,
technicians on the ground helped the astronauts weed out their prob-
lems, resetting circuits and making sure that operating systems had not
been harmed by the sudden, unexplained electrical phenomenon. Apollo
12 went on to complete a successful mission, and NASA scientists
explained later that Apollo had created its own lightning. During the
rocket's passage through the rain clouds, static electricity built up during
374
THE GIANT LEAP
its ascent through the cloud cover had suddenly discharged and knocked
out the spacecraft's electrical systems in the process.51
The Apollo 12 mission survived the lightning charge for a number of
reasons, but one significant factor was related to the ingrained conserva-
tism at Huntsville in designing the rocket booster engines. During one
early phase in planning the Apollo-Saturn vehicle, there had been
considerable debate about designing spacecraft guidance and control
systems to take charge of the entire launch vehicle, including the booster
stages. Marshall had opposed the idea, arguing that the requirements of
translunar guidance and control, lunar orbit control, lunar module
rendezvous, and other jobs would be plenty for the spacecraft computer
to handle. The peculiarities of the booster stages predicated quite
dissimilar computer functions and schemes for guidance and control.
Marshall finally won its case: the booster stages got their own guidance
and control equipment, represented by the instrument unit. Besides, this
approach provided redundancy, because the spacecraft got a separate
system. An external umbilical connection between the command and
service modules made the spacecraft guidance and control system
vulnerable to the lighting charge. When the spacecraft gear was knocked
out on Apollo 12, the booster guidance and control system, a separate
piece of hardware, kept the vehicle operating and on course while the
spacecraft electronics were reset and put back in operation. This vignette
of Apollo-Saturn operational lore was a favorite of several MSFC
managers.52
Apollo 13 got off successfully on 11 April 1970. Because Thomas K.
Mattingly II had failed to develop immunity after exposure to German
measles, there was a last-minute substitution in the three-man crew, with
John L. Swigert replacing him as command module pilot, joining Fred
W. Haise, Jr., as lunar module pilot, and James A Lovell, Jr., as
commander. The launch vehicle created some consternation among the
mission officials monitoring AS-508 in flight, because the center engine
of the S-II stage cut off 132 seconds too early, and the remaining four J-2
engines burned 34 seconds longer than predicted. This left the space
vehicle with a lower velocity than planned. Therefore, the S-IVB had to
burn nine seconds longer than predicted to achieve proper orbital
insertion. This hiatus in the boost phase of the mission led to questions
about adequate propellants remaining in the S-IVB for the translunar
injection burn. Double-checked calculations indicated that there were
adequate propellants, and the second S-IVB burn put Apollo 13 into
trajectory toward the lunar surface. The remainder of the flight was
normal until about 56 hours after liftoff, when Swigert tensely called
back to Mission Control, "Hey, we've got a problem here." With sudden
concern, ground controllers responded, "This is Houston, say again
please." This time Lovell replied. "Houston, we've had a problem."
An explosion had occurred in the No. 2 oxygen tank of the service
575
STAGES TO SATURN
module. As a result, all fuel-cell power was lost, as well as other CSM
failures, including dangerously low oxygen supplies. Astronauts and
mission controllers quickly agreed to abort the mission and concentrate
on getting the three-man crew safely back home. Apollo 13 went into a
"lifeboat mode" with emergency measures to stabilize the spacecraft
environment and stretch the consummable items for life support as far as
possible. Using the descent engine of the lunar module after completing
a lunar flyby, Apollo 13 went into a return trajectory at a faster rate.
Happily, the tense six-day mission ended successfully on 17 April, with
splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. In the aftermath of the near disastrous
flight of Apollo 13, NASA convened a special Apollo 13 review board.
Working in high gear, the board's painstaking research pinpointed the
problem as a pair of defective thermostatic switches that permitted
dangerously high heat levels in a heater tube assembly associated with the
oxygen tank equipment. The board stated that combustion probably
occurred as the result of a short circuit from faulty wiring, resulting in a
combustion in the oxygen tank. Following release of the board's report,
there was extensive redesign of the oxygen tank, wiring, and related
materials with a high combustion probability. There was an impact on the
launch of Apollo 14, which was slipped to 31 January 197 1.53
An interesting sidelight of the flight of Apollo 14 involved the
three-man crew, which included astronaut Alan B. Shepard, who had
flown on the first U.S. suborbital launch in the Mercury program back in
1961. A decade later, Shepard was going to the moon. The countdown
and launch of AS-509 proceeded according to the book, with the only
delay caused by high overcast clouds and rain that postponed the ignition
by 40 minutes and 3 seconds. Failure of a multiplexer in the instrument
unit meant that some information on the condition of the vehicle during
flight was lost, and there were some minor problems during the docking
maneuver in orbit. Aside from that, Apollo 14 was a perfect mission.54
The last three vehicles, AS-510 through AS-512, performed without
a hitch. The payload, however, was continuously climbing. These last
three launches included the lunar rover vehicle, which added almost 225
kilograms to the payload of the Saturn V. The rover turned out to be
extremely significant, permitting astronauts to extend greatly the range
of surface explorations and increasing their stay time.55 The uprated
engines of the Saturn V, which permitted it to boost this additional
weight into orbit, turned out to be a function of thoughtful long-range
planning by NASA engineers. In the evolution of rocket vehicles, the
actual payload requirements almost always turned out to be greater than
originally planned. As a result of bitter experience, engine designers kept
in mind the likelihood that their creations would have to be uprated from
time to time. In addition to this consideration, engine designers normally
incorporated a certain degree of margin in setting up the specifications
for engine development. If the specifications called for an engine of 4.5
376
THE GIANT LEAP
million newtons (1 million pounds) thrust, it might be designed for 5.3
million newtons (1.2 million pounds) thrust to be sure tnat' the original
specification line was met. With operational experience, it was then
possible to uprate the engine by relatively minor changes — improving the
turbopump and the tubing (to improve flow rates), adjusting the injector
for better mixing (to get a higher percentage of the fuel burned and
increase the specific impulse) — these all were contributing factors to the
success of uprating the engines of the Saturn V vehicle. In this way, the
Saturn V was able to absorb not only the increasing weight of the
command and service modules early in the program, but the added
weight of scientific equipment and other paraphernalia such as the rover
in the later stages of the Apollo-Saturn program.56
SUMMARY
Saturn I and Saturn IB missions had been intended to clear the way
for Saturn V launch vehicles. Normally, the worst difficulties would have
shown up in the R&D flights of the former. Instead, one of the most
baffling periods came early in the Saturn V flight series.
Saturn V development began auspiciously, with the calculated
gamble on AS-501's "all-up" launch. The mission garnered precious time
and raised confidence in the reliability of Saturn stages. The time and
reliability factors seemed to slip away, however, with the perplexing flight
of AS-502 and slipping schedules for the lunar module to be flown on
AS-503. Recovering quickly, NASA and contractor personnel kept the
momentum of Apollo-Saturn through diligent sleuthing to resolve the
problems uncovered in AS-502 and responded flexibly to revise the
By the time the Apollo program
ended with Apollo 17, the uprating
of Saturn V engines was allowing
heavier payloads on the lunar sur-
face, including the lunar roving
vehicle, which so dramatically in-
creased the mobility of exploring
astronauts.
STAGES TO SATURN
probable mission of AS-503. In light of its uncertain background, the
circumlunar flight of Apollo 8 was a triumph.
There were two more Saturn V launches, wringing out the last
details of mission hardware, before AS-506 took a crew to the lunar
surface and back. Apollo 11 was a textbook flight, carried out in an
unprecedented public exposure of worldwide dimensions. From begin-
ning to end, it was a spectacularly successful mission, a historic odyssey in
the annals of human exploration. The remaining six missions in the
Apollo program were completed with no major difficulties stemming
from the launch vehicles. In retrospect, the conservative design inherent
in the Saturn launch vehicles paid off. Saturn V not only carried a
spacecraft and lunar module whose weight had spiraled upward from
original guidelines, but accommodated additional equipment such as the
lunar rover. The added payload capability of the Saturn V also permitted
delivery of more scientific gear to the moon, enhancing the scientific
results of the Apollo-Saturn missions.57
378
Epilogue
Both the Soviets and the Americans used their man-rated space
rockets for a variety of missions. NASA used basic Saturn hardware
for launching the Skylab space station; Skylab itself evolved from the
Saturn V third stage. The last Saturn rocket to be launched culminated
in the linkup of a manned American spacecraft with its manned Soviet
counterpart — the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
Thus, one of the legacies of what started as a race in space ended in a
new arena of international cooperation. The Saturn program left other
legacies. The city of Huntsville, Alabama, entered a new era of social and
economic vigor, since Marshall Space Flight Center's activities attracted
nonspace commercial enterprises to a booming locale and injected vitality
into health care, education, municipal services, and the arts. Finally,
execution of the Saturn program stimulated significant research and
improved technique across a wide range of fabrication and manufactur-
ing processes.
379
COMMONALITY OF
SATURN HARDWARE
Legacies
The Apollo-Saturn program began in an atmosphere of international
competition, the object of which was to beat the Russians to a
manned landing on the moon. In terms of heavy payloads and successful
manned flights, Soviet boosters and aeronautical sophistication seemed
to set the pace for the exploration of space for several years after
Sputnik. The Gemini program of the mid-1960s considerably enhanced
American skills in manned space flight, and development of the Saturn I,
Saturn IB, and Saturn V gave the United States a booster capability that
surpassed the Soviet boosters. With the three-man Apollo spacecraft, the
Apollo-Saturn combination carried not one, but seven manned missions
to the lunar surface. In big boosters, where the United States had always
lagged, Saturn finally retired the cup.
The Soviet space program conducted an impressive series of un-
manned research missions, including remote reconnaissance and sam-
pling of the lunar surface by robots, and the return of small samples to
Earth. Yet the Russians had not landed a cosmonaut on the moon by the
mid-1970s despite some spectacular manned missions, involving orbital
rendezvous, docking, and crew transfer, using Soyuz spacecraft. Al-
though the Russians successfully orbited their Salyut space station in
combination with manned Soyuz launches in 1971, Soyuz 10 did not
complete the transfer of the three cosmonauts and the crew of Soyuz 11
died during reentry.
In the meantime, the American space program was also moving
ahead with a variety of unmanned satellites and probes, and the
momentum of Saturn resulted in a genuine space station, the Skylab. The
last launch of a Saturn vehicle was a singular event, achieving orbital
381
STAGES TO SATURN
linkup of manned spacecraft — one from the U.S. and the other from the
U.S.S.R.
SATURN, SKYLAB, AND APOLLO-SOYUZ
Skylab was the final version of several plans to modify the Saturn
S-IVB stage so that it could be occupied by astronauts in space. The
Skylab assembly consisted of several modules, including the orbital
workshop (a modified S-IVB stage), airlock module, multiple docking
adapter, and Apollo telescope mount. This modular payload was launched
to low Earth orbit aboard a two-stage Saturn V, with the Skylab in the
upper position normally occupied by the S-IVB third stage.
The idea of using a Saturn stage as a space station apparently
developed while planning Saturn I and Saturn IB mission profiles. In the
normal sequence of events, S-IV and S-IVB upper stages of these
vehicles became space-age "orphans." Their propellants expended, the
empty stages remained uselessly in orbit. With such large tanks circling
the Earth, it was not long before some thoughtful engineers wondered
why it would not be possible to use an empty stage as a habitat for
astronauts. In November 1962, Douglas Aircraft, the S-IVB contractor,
published a short study suggesting the use of the S-IVB as a laboratory in
space. A group of engineers at MSFC evidently had a parallel concept in
mind, although they had not yet committed anything to paper.
During the next few years, the increasing tempo of the Apollo-
Saturn program absorbed the thoughts and energies of planners at both
Douglas and Marshall Space Flight Center, and nothing was accom-
plished in terms of turning a spent stage into a space laboratory. Early in
1965, however, program analysts at MSFC who were thinking ahead
began to use the terms "spent stage" and "wet workshop" in talking about
refurbishing the S-IVB in orbit and using it as a laboratory. The idea
lacked programmatic approval or support until early August, when
George Mueller announced the organization within Headquarters of an
Apollo Applications Program Office to extend use of the hardware
developed for Apollo-Saturn. Late in August, as part of Marshall's
contributions to the Apollo Applications Program (AAP), a full-fledged
design study was initiated to examine the concept of the spent stage
laboratory and to come to some conclusions about its potential. On 1
December 1965, George Mueller gave the go-ahead for what was now
called the orbital workshop, with MSFC as the lead center in the project.
The overall AAP, including the orbital workshop concept, originally
contemplated a large number of both Saturn IB and Saturn V vehicles.
In 1966, one early planning schedule called for 26 IB launches (primarily
to carry three-man crews), and 19 Saturn V launches. Three S-IVB spent
stages, three Saturn V workshops, and four Apollo telescope mounts
382
LEGACIES
were to be orbited. Included in this ambitious schedule were five more
lunar missions and two synchronous-orbit missions. The S-IVB spent
stage would be converted to a lab by use of the spent-stage experiment
support modules. Mounted on the forward end of the S-IVB, this
module was a docking facility and airlock for the Apollo command and
service modules. Because the S-IVB lacked crew quarters, the crew would
live and conduct biomedical experiments in the command module, while
the empty S-IVB would provide a suitable environment for familiariza-
tion with zero-g conditions in a comparatively large enclosed environ-
ment in space.1
By December 1966, plans called for a "wet" workshop, created by
purging and then pressurizing the hydrogen tank in orbit to create a
working environment inside. A significant addition to the scheme was an
Apollo telescope mount, to be carried into orbit by another Saturn IB
and connected to the orbiting workshop. Between 1967 and 1969, the
plans for the workshop concept shifted with budgetary constraints and
available hardware. Finally, in July 1969, Administrator Paine announced
that the "wet" workshop was being dropped in favor of a "dry" workshop.
Under this new approach, the workshop and the Apollo telescope mount
were to be launched together by using the first two stages of the Saturn V
(instead of an uprated Saturn I). All equipment, expendables, and
experiments would be installed ahead of time in the workshop, ready for
use when the astronaut crews made their rendezvous and docked. In
August 1969, McDonnell Douglas became the contractor for two Saturn
V workshops. The first workshop was scheduled for launch into a low
Earth orbit sometime in 1972, with the second version serving as a
backup.2
Early in 1970, NASA Headquarters announced that the AAP would
henceforth be called the Skylab Program. In addition MSFC announced
that the Saturn IB, carrying the three Skylab astronauts, would be
launched from the modified Launch Complex 39B at Cape Kennedy.
The Skylab Program at this time called for launch of the Skylab from LC
39A, followed the next day by a Saturn IB launch carrying the astronauts.
The first crew was programmed to spend 28 days in orbit, and within the
next six months, two more manned missions would put three-man crews
into the Skylab for approximately 56 days apiece. Following these mis-
sions, Skylab would then be put into a storage mode, remaining in orbit.3
Developmental and technical problems created a delay in the antici-
pated launch date, which was finally rescheduled for the spring of 1973.
Meanwhile the Saturn IB first stage for the first manned Skylab launch
vehicle was taken out of an environmentally controlled enclosure at the
Michoud Assembly Facility, where the stage had been in hibernation for
three years. This particular booster was one of nine such Saturn IB stages
stored at Michoud in December 1968. Altogether, four Saturn IB stages
were designated for the Skylab project: AS-206, AS-207, AS-208, and
383
STAGES TO SATURN
AS-209. Refurbishment of each vehicle was estimated at approximately
10 months. The AS-209 vehicle served as the backup stage, in case a
possible rescue mission needed to be dispatched to the Skylab in orbit,
using a modified GSM to return five astronauts.4
On 14 May 1973, the Skylab went into orbit aboard the AS-513
booster. Skylab was a fairly roomy space station, about as large as a
medium-sized two-bedroom house, and provided a true "shirt-sleeve"
environment for the astronaut crew, permitting them to live and work
inside the Skylab without cumbersome space suits. NASA technicians
soon realized, however, that something had gone very wrong. During the
launch, a protective micrometeoroid and heat shield was torn loose, and
one of the two solar power arrays, to provide electrical power to the
Skylab, was also ripped away. The remaining solar wing was only partly
deployed, and lack of power allowed the temperatures inside the Skylab
to soar. A crash program by NASA and contractor technicians came up
with a possible solution in the form of a large parasol device to deflect the
sun's rays and reduce interior heat. With special equipment to set up the
parasol and cut away the debris to free the solar wing, the first Skylab
crew took off much later than originally planned, on 25 May 1973.
After docking, deployment of the sunshade cut the high tempera-
tures inside Skylab, allowing the crew to move in. Still, because of the
jammed solar panel, problems of temperature control and inadequate
power persisted. Working outside the Skylab and using the tools brought
along for this specific task, astronauts Charles Conrad, Jr., and Joseph
Kerwin finally freed the power panel. The makeshift shade, plus partially
restored power, reduced interior temperatures to comfortable levels, and
the mission proceeded. The three-man crew spent a month in space,
after adjusting to early discomfort from extended weightlessness. On
their return, physicians endorsed ambitious plans for the two succeeding
crews to stay up from two to three months. The second Skylab crew,
launched on 18 July 1973, spent 59 days in orbit; the third crew,
launched 16 November 1973, spent a record-breaking 84 consecutive
days in space before splashdown on 8 February 1974. One of the major
contributions of the Skylab program was convincing proof that crews
could indeed spend extended period in weightlessness, perform effectively,
and suffer no harmful effects on return.
In addition to these invaluable biomedical records and results, the
Skylab crews conducted a wide variety of sophisticated experiments on
the characteristics of the Earth's environment and resources, collected
data on the sun and the solar system, and experimented with possible
types of esoteric industrial processes that could be enhanced by performing
them in the environment of space, avoiding the perturbing factors of the
Earth's rotation and effect of gravity. Some of the more significant
astronautical work during the Skylab missions involved extended obser-
vations of an unusual period of solar flare activity in 1973. Late in the
384
Left, a Saturn IB lifts from Launch Complex 39 to send Skylab 4 on the final
orbital mission with the Skylab orbital workshop (right), which had been previously
orbited on the last Saturn V flight. The three Saturn IB launches in Skylab
employed the foreshortening tower (seen here) as a base so that they could use the
Saturn V umbilical tower.
year, the astronauts took advantage of a target of opportunity and
studied the newly discovered comet Kohoutek from their unparalleled
point of view in space. In total, the Skylab missions accumulated
extensive new knowledge of the oceans, weather formation and climate,
pollution, and natural resources.5
The last Saturn vehicle to be launched was AS-210, on 15 July 1975.
Although the Saturns were originally developed in response to what was
seen as intense Soviet competition for domination in space, the last flight
of a Saturn launch vehkle featured a cooperative mission with the Soviets
in space. This was the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP). The mission
involved the joining, in Earth orbit, of spacecraft of the United States and
the Soviet Union. Following many months of preliminary talks and
agreements, in May 1972 the Russians and Americans agreed to work out
a common docking system for future generations of spacecraft, leading
to the ASTP mission. The mission marked the first time that manned
spacecraft of different nations met in space for cooperative engineering
and scientific activities.
The ASTP launch vehicle's first stage had been built by the Chrysler
Corporation at Michoud Assembly Facility in January 1967. Following
static-firing tests in the spring of 1967, the stage was put in storage at
Michoud, where it remained until October 1972. After the first stage was
385
STAGES TO SATURN
modified, refurbished, and checked out, it was shipped to KSC in April
1974. After more months of storage, the first and second stages were
stacked, and the vehicle was placed on the mobile launcher in January
1975. The S-IVB second stage was of the same vintage, completed in
1967 by McDonnell Douglas at Huntington Beach, California, and was
stored there until the fall of 1972, when it was shipped to the Kennedy
Space Center. The instrument unit, built by IBM, shared a similar
manufacturing and storage history. It was shipped to KSC by barge in
May 1974. After stacking, the entire vehicle was rolled out to the launch
pad late in March 1975; continuous preflight checkouts and monitoring
of the launch vehicle were made until launch that summer.6
The Russians were also preparing their launch vehicle and space-
craft. Considerable exchange of technical information was required
between Soviet and American mission personnel. Most of these contacts
concerned spacecraft, docking, telemetry, and crewmen. Even with the
insights gained into Russian astronautical technology acquired as a result
of the ASTP collaboration, public knowledge of Soviet launch vehicles is
still sketchy in many details. As far as the engines are concerned, the
Russians apparently based their propulsion systems on technology garnered
from the V-2s wrested from Germany after World War II. Like the
Americans, Russians technicians got their early experience in launching
captured German weapons and then produced a series of modified V-2s
as they began to develop their own ballistic missile technology. Early in
the 1950s, the Russians evidently began work on a very large propulsion
system planned for their first ICBM and considered using this propul-
sion system in space programs as well.
Although extrapolated from V-2 engine technology, this new Soviet
engine incorporated a somewhat novel arrangement, featuring multiple
combustion chambers. The physical appearance of the engine, with its
quartet of combustion chambers, normally creates some confusion in the
mind of an observer who associates American-style engines with a single
turbopump, combustion chamber, and exhaust nozzle. In the Russian
version, a single turbopump fed the oxidizer and fuel to a combination of
combustion chambers. Thus, while appearing to be a cluster of engines, it
is actually a cluster of four combustion chambers and exhaust nozzles.
The Russians designated this propulsion system the RD-107. The RD-107
burned kerosene-type fuel and liquid oxygen, and the cluster of four
combustion chambers and exit nozzles produced a total thrust of 1 000 400
newtons (224 910 pounds). The turbopump was fueled by hydrogen
peroxide. This engine system did not have a gimbaling capacity, but
included two small steering rockets. The Soviets produced a variant of
this engine system known as the RD-108, which differed from its cousin
only in the fact that it had four small steering rockets instead of two.
The combination of these engine systems as a single booster pow-
ered the series of large Soviet launch vehicles, including the Sputnik, and
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LEGACIES
with further variations in the upper stages, the Vostok, the Soyuz, and
the Salyut space station. The basic launch vehicle was known in the
United States as the type "A" booster, and,it was also used by the Russians
for some unmanned payloads.
The booster design situated the RD-108 as the central core engine,
also acting as a sustainer engine. Then four RD-107 engines, with long
streamlined fairings, were clustered about this central core. Integration
of the parts of the launch vehicle and attaching the payload took place in
the horizontal position. Still horizontal, the entire vehicle was rolled out
on a conveyor that resembled a railroad flatcar and positioned in the
upright launch position at the launch pad. The Sputnik booster was a
single-stage vehicle, although the Vostok, Soyuz, and Salyut vehicles
incorporated upper stages that apparently used similar liquid oxygen
and kerosene propellants. In the launch sequence, all the first-stage
engines were ignited on the pad. The ignition meant a striking liftoff,
with 20 main engine nozzles spouting flame, accompanied by the exhaust
plumes of the 12 steering rockets. All 20 main engines continued to
function during the boost phase. As propellants were depleted in the
four outboard RD-107 engines, these fell away, leaving the RD-108 (the
central sustainer unit), which continued to fire. Depending upon the
nature of the mission programmed for the upper stages, the central core
then separated from the upper-stage combination late in the boost phase,
and a combination of upper stages put the payload into orbit or a space
trajectory. The Russian launch vehicle, with its four elongated RD-107
streamlined units, looked rather graceful, more like a Buck-Rogers-type
rocket than some of the American boosters.7
In retrospect, these Russian launch vehicles of the A series appear to
be somewhat less sophisticated than their American counterparts, but no
less effective in getting heavy payloads into orbit. As ex-Soviet engineer
and editor Leonid Vladimirov pointed out, the RD-107 system took up
more space than a comparable single-chamber engine of the same power.
This meant that the diameter of the first stage of the launch vehicle was
also larger, resulting in a considerably greater launch weight. For this
reason, the jettison of the four outboard engine systems, leaving the
sustainer to carry the vehicle into orbit, was an important design feature
of the Russian launch vehicles. "It was, of course, a very complicated,
costly and clumsy solution of the problem," Vladimirov admitted. "But it
was a solution nonetheless; all launchings of Soviet manned spacecraft
and all the space-shots to Venus and Mars have been carried out with the
aid of this monstrous twenty-engined cluster."
There were other interesting variations in U.S. and Soviet booster
technology. The tank skins and structural elements of American vehicles
were kept at minimum thicknesses, shaving the weight of the structure as
much as possible to enhance the payload capability. The first Western
insight into the style of Soviet vehicle structure occurred in 1967, when
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STAGES TO SATURN
the Vostok spacecraft and booster system were put on display in Paris.
The Russians series of A-type vehicles appear to have been exceedingly
heavy. The Vostok launch vehicle arrived via Rouen, France, by sea,
prior to shipment to Paris. To move the tank sections of the launch
vehicle, workers hooked up cables to the opposite ends of the tank
sections and picked them up empty, surprising many Western onlookers
who expected them to buckle in the middle. Their amazement was
compounded when the Soviet technicians proceeded to walk the length
of these tank sections, still suspended in mid-air, without damaging them
in the least. The Russian vehicles were, if anything, extremely rugged.
The launching weight of the Vostok and spacecraft is still a matter of
conjecture because the Soviets have not released specific numbers.
Vladimirov estimated around 400 metric tons on the ground, with the
greater part of the weight accounted for by the heavy engines. He drew
an interesting comparison between the Soviet type A vehicle and the
American launch vehicle known as the Titan:
[The Russian vehicle] had a total thrust from the engines of its first stage of 500
tons which put into orbit a load weighing only 40-45% more than the weight of
Gemini. You simply have to compare the Titan's 195-ton thrust for a three and a half
ton useful load with the Soviets rockets 500-ton thrust lifting a five ton load.8
Although the Russians never really developed a launch vehicle with
the capability of the Saturn V, they apparently attempted to do so.
Rumors of this new vehicle, known as type G, gained currency following
a space conference in Spain in 1966. Rather than develop new, exotic
high-energy propellants and propulsion systems, Soviet designers re-
portedly used engines from advanced ICBMs and clustered a large
number of chambers to achieve high thrust. The type G booster was
rolled out during the summer of 1969, but during a static test, a leak
evidently began in one of the upper stages, developed into a fire, and
destroyed the entire vehicle. The disastrous fire also wiped out the
launch facility, including underground equipment complexes as well as
service towers and other support equipment at the launch site. Reports
indicate that a type G vehicle was launched in midsummer of 1971, but
the rocket broke up and disintegrated before reaching orbit. In Novem-
ber 1972, the Russians made one more attempt to launch the big type G
rocket. Bad luck continued to plague the effort, and the 1972 mission
also ended in disaster, apparently because of a failure in the first stage.
As 1975 came to a close, development of the type G seemed to be in a
state of limbo.9
Thus, the Soyuz spacecraft for ASTP relied on the time-tested type
A booster. According to plan, the Russians launched first, early in the
morning of 15 July, when cosmonauts Aleksey Leonov and Valery
Kubasov lifted off from the Soviet Cosmodrome at Baykonur in Central
Asia. Seven and a half hours later, the Saturn IB lifted off from Cape
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LEGACIES
Kennedy, Florida, carrying American astronauts Thomas P. Stafford,
Vance Brand, and Donald K. Slayton.
The ASTP mission was a perfect finale for the Saturn program. The
countdown for the launch vehicle and performance during the boost
phase proceeded without a hitch. MSFC press releases noted that the
Saturn IB carried the oldest engine yet flown, a nine-year-old veteran.10
After ASTP, the inventory of Saturns in storage consisted of two Saturn
IB vehicles, SA-209 (backup for both the Skylab and the ASTP missions)
and SA-21 1, and two unassigned Saturn V vehicles, SA-514 and SA-515.
The Apollo-Soyuz Test Mission began with the launch of the
Soyuz spacecraft (left) from the Soviet Union, followed by the
S-IB launch of the Apollo spacecraft from KSC. Below is
an artist's concept of Apollo and Soyuz as the Apollo
spacecraft edges in for the first international docking in
space.
STAGES TO SATURN
Behind these retired symbols of space exploration, the proficiency
of MSFC persisted. With its competence in propulsion systems, Marshall
was given responsibility for development and management of engines for
the shuttle program, conducted R&D programs in space tracking and
communications, and studied various space payloads for the future. In
short, MSFC carried on a continuing influence in Huntsville and
northern Alabama and in the nation's space program.
ASTRONAUTICS IN HUNTSVILLE
The elaboration of the nation's space program in the 1960s and
early 1970s had an obvious impact in the south and southeast, anchored
by major NASA centers. NASA's geographic influence in the region
stretched along a great arc, from the Manned Spacecraft Center in
Texas, to Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, to Kennedy Space
Center in Florida. In between were MSFC's "satellites" near New
Orleans: the Michoud Assembly Facility, the Slidell computer complex,
and the Mississippi Test Facility. This concentration of space-related
expertise and activities has been described as "a fertile crescent" of
astronautical skills. Development of these centers of major NASA activi-
ties created extensive local and regional changes, and the story of the
impact of NASA in Huntsville is paralleled in many respects by the events
that occurred south of Houston and near the Kennedy Space Center.11
Before the von Braun team came to Huntsville, Alabama, the town
was known as "Water Cress Capital of the World." Its population was
16 000. Even so, this period of Huntsville's "salad days" continued strong
ties with the cotton textile industry, and Huntsville once boasted 13
cotton mills in the area. Throughout the 1940s, the other major source of
employment in the area had been the Redstone Arsenal. Established in
1941, the 1620-square-kilometer arsenal was used by the U.S. Army in
the production and testing of chemical warfare weapons. After the war, it
was shut down, declared surplus property, and put up for sale in 1949.
Huntsville city fathers and local politicians, including Senator John
Sparkman and Representative Bob Jones, were soon sounding out their
contacts in the Department of Defense to see what could be done to keep
the Arsenal alive. Jones and Sparkman were hot on the trail of a new
location for wind tunnel test facilities for the Air Force, but lost out to the
state of Tennessee. The wind tunnel was located at the recently closed
Camp Forest at Tullahoma, and was eventually named the Arnold
Engineering Development Center. Nevertheless, Sparkman and Jones
had made an impression. Secretary of the Air Force Stuart Symington
told Sparkman that Alabama would get something better in the long run.
A few weeks later, the Alabama congressmen found out exactly what they
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LEGACIES
were acquiring — the Army's Rocket Research and Development Suboffice,
to be relocated from Fort Bliss, Texas.12
Huntsville had been one of the several sites under consideration.
The site selection committee included von Braun, and he was enthusiastic
about Huntsville from the beginning. "For me, it was love at first sight,"
he said. Among other things, the advantages of Huntsville included the
existing Arsenal facilities, abundant low-cost electric power from the
TVA, the Tennessee River (both for water supply and transportation),
and the open space. "In selecting this site, of course," von Braun recalled,
"in our field we had to consider that these rockets would be making a lot
of noise."13 After the arrival of the Army's missile agency in April 1950,
Huntsville started its meteoric growth, from 16 000 in 1950 to 48 000
enumerated in a special census held in 1956. The 1960 census put the
population of the city at 72 000; another special census in 1964 gave the
population as 123 000; in 1970 it was 136 102: Construction boomed
during the first half of the 1960s: the city of Huntsville was 195th in
population in the United States, but ranked 25th in building construc-
tion.
In 1950, the city limits extended about one and a half kilometers
from each side of the courthouse, encompassing 11.1 square kilometers,
with roughly 125 kilometers of sewer lines but no sewage treatment plant
at all. Huntsville's effluent was piped to a creek outside the city limits,
where it was carried directly into the Tennessee River. Tax considera-
tions and other agreements made earlier with the textile mills provided a
stumbling block to city plans for enlarging the city limits, along with
improving sewage facilities — which the Army was now insisting on. After
numerous sessions lasting into the early hours of the morning, repre-
sentatives from the city, the Army, and the mills came to an agreement,
and in 1956 the city of Huntsville suddenly enlarged itself to over 181
square kilometers. Eventually, over 1300 kilometers of sanitary lines and
a first-rate sanitation system served the area.14
The influx of Army personnel, NASA civil servants, and contrac-
tors, with their families, raised enrollments in the city schools from 3000
in 1950 to over 33 000 by 1974. The numbers barely suggest the
problems involved in establishing classrooms, finding teachers, and
creating appropriate curricula. Fortunately, among the families of the
scientists, engineers, and technicians pouring into the city were spouses
with teaching backgrounds to help staff the expanding school system.
The schools developed a definite scientific-technological bent, probably
encouraged by the frequent appearance of many of Marshall's top
personnel as guests and speakers in school classrooms and assemblies.
Huntsville's new population also gave the public schools a strong orienta-
tion to higher education, with 80-95 percent of Huntsville's high school
students going on to college, in comparison to a state average of only 20
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STAGES TO SATURN
percent. Rapid population growth also brought new challenges to
Huntsville's medical facilities. The Huntsville Hospital had been built in
the 1920s. By the early 1950s, patients were being placed in the hallways
of the hospital, and an emergency expansion finally brought the hospi-
tal's capacity to 150 beds. Severe pressures for medical services persisted,
and by 1970, Huntsville had four hospitals in operation with a total of
almost 1000 beds.15
There was a parallel impact on higher education in the city. Since
1949, the Chamber of Commerce had been advocating a branch of the
University of Alabama in Huntsville. A center was authorized, and 139
part-time students began classes in January 1950. The arrival of von
Braun and the elaboration of Army research immediately stimulated a
graduate program. In 1960, construction of a permanent campus began
at the northern edge of the city, and von Braun appeared before the
Alabama legislature in support of an appeal for a $3-million bond issue to
establish a research institute geared to graduate research at the new
campus. The bond request was passed easily by the legislature and
approved quickly by the voters, a success marking a sustained period of
growth by the University of Alabama in Huntsville, with a student body
of over 4000 and a replacement value of about $30 million by 1974.16
The citizens of Huntsville always maintained a strong interest in
cultural activities, with literary and music societies dating back several
generations. The arrival of the culturally minded German rocketeers
enhanced this tradition and left an imprint on the history of the arts in
Huntsville. According to local legend, the Germans arriving in Huntsville
equipped themselves with library cards even before the water in their
homes had been turned on. The newcomers from Fort Bliss not only
appeared in public school classrooms, giving informal lectures and talks,
but were regular attendees at local PTA meetings. Acculturation was
remarkably rapid. Three years after arriving in Huntsville, the DAR
medal for the best American history student in the city went to a young
German girl.
Wanting to avoid a German enclave in the middle of the city, von
Braun encouraged his associates to settle all over Huntsville. The rocket
engineers and the Huntsville natives soon established strong bonds of
common interests and activities. A local chamber music group learned of
the musical inclinations of many of the newcomers. The day he arrived,
Werner Kuers, an accomplished violinist, was startled to receive a call to
join one of the local music groups in need of a new violin. "I was very
astonished," Kuers recalled. "Mr. Dreger soon started to arrange playing
sessions for us in homes and churches. We were introduced into quite a
number of very friendly families interested in cultural activities and
education. I experienced a welcome in this city that I had never
experienced before anywhere."
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LEGACIES
Thus, veterans of Peenemuende and of Fort Bliss were quickly
absorbed into the life of Huntsville and into American culture. In April
1955, only five years after they had arrived in Alabama, the first group of
109 Germans became American citizens. Their naturalization took place
at a public ceremony in the Huntsville High School auditorium, part of
the officially proclaimed events of a "New Citizens' Day" declared by the
city. Many of the newly naturalized American citizens had already taken
an active role in civic affairs. A sergeant in the Luftwaffe when he was
assigned to Peenemuende, Walter Wiesman joined the Junior Chamber
of Commerce in Huntsville soon after the von Braun team's arrival in
1950. Two years later — before Wiesman became a naturalized citizen — the
JCs elected him their president.17
In Marshall Space Flight Center's heyday, wags sometimes referred
to Huntsville as "Peenemuende South." For years, the city proudly called
itself Rocket City, U.S.A. Nevertheless, the city fathers, as well as von
Braun himself, realized that federal budgets, like NASA's, had valleys as
well as crests. It was widely agreed that Huntsville should expend
considerable time and energy attracting other industries into the area. In
later years, von Braun took a considerable measure of satisfaction in
remembering his role as an advocate of diversification. "I can say in
retrospect that I have never regretted using my powers of persuasion ... in
talks with the city fathers and our community advisory committee, when I
always reminded people: 'Don't get too used to this NASA money that's
flowing into this area.' " He warned against becoming a single-business
town and advocated the attraction of other industries during a period of
good stability, with attention to nonaerospace companies in particular.
The development of the industrial character of Huntsville fre-
quently reflected the high-level technology represented by NASA and
the U.S. Army Missile Command, on the site of the old Redstone Arsenal.
The continuing development of the Cummings Research Park character-
ized this high-level technology. Located near the University of Alabama
campus, the Research Park comprised over 30 companies that offered
unique management services and research facilities and employed over
6000 people with an annual payroll of over $93 million by 1974. In the
1960s, the emphasis was on space, but the farsightedness of von Braun
and other Huntsville industrial executives maintained a healthy diversity
in the city's manufacturing companies in the 1970s. At the Research Park
and elsewhere, including an industrial center located near the new
Jetport, Huntsville's products included automobile radios, digital clocks,
electronic parts, computers, TV cameras, ax handles, flags, aircraft
specialty glass, tools and dies, telephones, rubber tires, and a host of
other goods and services.18
One of the most visible results of the von Braun team's sojourn in
Huntsville was the new Von Braun Civic Center located downtown near a
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STAGES TO SATURN
renewal area known as Big Spring Park. A $14-million complex that
opened in 1975, the center included a large arena, as well as a spacious
exhibit hall. A concert hall and playhouse provided exceptionally fine
facilities for both performers and audience. Finally, the performing arts
in Huntsville were no longer dependent upon the good will of various
churches and high school auditoriums. The homeless graphic arts of the
city at last found, in the Von Braun Center, a handsome new creative arts
museum, with arrangements for both permanent and visiting art exhib-
its. The city also acquired a major tourist attraction, the Alabama Space
and Rocket Center. The Center not only coordinated tours at MSFC, but
also mounted some innovative displays. Skillfully planned and automated
dioramas and indoor exhibits explained the theory of the solar system,
fundamentals of rocket propulsion, future space exploration, and numerous
other aspects of astronautics. The indoor displays also featured an
eye-catching array of aerospace hardware, including full-sized mockups
of spacecraft and genuine artifacts such as Saturn engines. The most
impressive section was outdoors, where a rocket display area included
several Army missiles, a V-2, and several early NASA launch vehicles.
Towering above them all, a Saturn I stood erect, and a complete Saturn V
rocket, stretched out on its side, loomed as a backdrop.19
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SATURN
Spinoff
The impact of the Saturn program in Huntsville was to be expected,
but there were also much broader influences. Many Americans believed
that the national space program would be the source of significant
products for use in everyday life. Although many products found their
way into ordinary life as a result of space research, the expectations for
immediate impact were probably too optimistic. In his thoughtful and
provocative book, Second Order Consequences, Raymond Bauer noted that
the design and development of space hardware, systems, and subsystems
were specialized from the beginning. It has not always been easy,
therefore, to transfer technology into the market place.20
This is certainly not to say that space technology has had no impact
on American lives. In a larger sense, the operation of communications
satellites, weather satellites, and environmental and resources satellites are
only some examples. Biomedical research, including techniques for
monitoring and analyzing an astronaut's life signs during a mission, has
had a significant effect on medicine and hospital care. It has been
frequently noted that the space program in general has had a tremen-
dous influence on the electronics and computer industries in stimulating
394
Part of the legacy of the space program and Marshall Space Flight Center to
Huntsville, Alabama: top left, the Research Institute of the University of Alabama
in Huntsville; top right, Cummings Research Park; lower left, the Von Braun
Civic Center; lower right, the Alabama Space and Rocket Center.
considerable research and providing job opportunities for thousands of
workers and technicians.21
Nevertheless, the technology represented by the electronics and
computer industries has benefited from the space program essentially in
terms of second order consequences. Much of that technology and many
of the techniques were developed for highly sophisticated and complex
space programs, and only with some changing and adaptation were the
technology and techniques found to be suitable for other civilian applica-
tions. This factor is an example of what Bauer and others have called the
"intangible spinoff." Further, advances in this respect are important to
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STAGES TO SATURN
technology for a couple of reasons. Taken individually, these incremental
improvements contribute to overall efficiency and often to higher quality
in day-to-day industrial operations in the production of goods and
services. As Bauer emphasized, "Although the gain from application of a
new welding technique may be small, the aggregate benefits of many
such advances, applied in many industries and firms, can be quite large."
In addition, Bauer emphasized it was possible for new methods, new
advances, and new ideas to come together in some combination that
would also result in a striking or significant new advance. "The conver-
gence of a number of such improvements, along with technical advances
arising in other fields, may make possible new fundamental inventions of
substantial individual significance."22
In the development of the Saturn vehicle, many spinoffs consisted of
myriad improvements in the prosaic areas of shop work, although such
improvements were usually the result of new fabrication technologies
and use of advanced materials. William R. Lucas, a senior engineer at
MSFC and later Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center, empha-
sized that the almost immediate usage of new aluminum alloys at MSFC
undoubtedly encouraged further research and development in the field,
including the development of additional alloys, thermal treatment, and
fabrication processes. By the same token, new research and development
work in the welding of aluminum alloys also took place.23 Consistent with
Bauer's comments about the significance of the accretion of technological
expertise as well as the potential impact of convergence, one welding
engineer at Marshall Space Flight Center posed this rhetorical question:
"What has the space program contributed to welding technology?" The
engineer admitted that the question was at once blunt as well as
disconcerting — disconcerting, "because many of the contributions are
quite subtle, beyond the reach of symbolism, and often never recog-
nized."24
Marshall's successful approach to welding problems was not so much
a function of breathtaking or striking breakthroughs as it was a process of
accretion and convergence: the application of improved techniques,
thoughtful readjustment and realignment of certain modes of the
operation as well as the equipment, taking a slightly different approach
in the operational techniques for welding different alloys, and an
increasing concern for absolute cleanliness. At Marshall Space Flight
Center, a familiar statement was that "the weld may be defined as a
continuous defect surrounded by parent metal." The high incidence of
weld defects and high repair rates, even as late as 1967, was a continuing
problem. One of the most frequent defects involved porosity. R. B.
Hoppes described the situation in 1967: "In 144,000 inches [366 000
centimeters] of weld made on four Saturn V first stages, porosity
accounted for 79% of the total number of defects. Cracks ranked second
at 9%." The nagging problems were solved basically by the application of
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LEGACIES
some of the techniques and procedures outlined above, particularly
cleanliness. Contaminants created most of the porosity problems, and
Marshall engineers went back almost step by step through the welding
process, rethinking their approach, and taking special care to eliminate
any instance where contaminants might come into contact with the
surfaces to be welded. It was only by this careful and conservative
approach, rather than through some marvelous breakthrough, that the
welding problems were finally surmounted.25
Marshall's experience in solving welding problems, along with
similar information from other NASA programs, was disseminated
through a series of special publications by the NASA Technology
Utilization program. Fourteen published studies, for example, were
sponsored by MSFC through the Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus,
Ohio. The studies described the problems of weld porosity and defects
and the various steps in welding the large-scale components that were
part of the Saturn V development program.26 Other NASA pamphlets
resulting from the Apollo-Saturn program dealt with brazing and
brazing alloys, piping and tubing, seals and sealing, insulation tools and
techniques, a technique for joining and sealing dissimilar metals, and the
application of magnesium lithium alloys. The electromagnetic hammer
developed in the S-IC manufacturing program was used by a number of
aircraft and other metal-working firms, and the contributions of the
Saturn program to general technology included a publication on ad-
vanced bearing designs. The commonplace, but highly useful, parade of
developments and contributions ran the gamut from better adhesives for
bonding auto trim to several different kinds of computer programming,
to spray foam, to new types of pipe, and better ways of doing things in a
wide variety of fields.27
Saturn in Retrospect
There were numerous instances of new technological developments,
some among the Saturn contractors, others involving both government
and industry. The difficulties of Douglas in trying to find a good
substitute for balsa wood in the S-IV and S-IVB stages is an example.
North American took the lead in perfecting spray-foam insulation for the
S-II second stage, including the special phenolic cutters to trim the stuff
once it had cured. On the other hand, it is virtually impossible to pinpoint
all the major technological innovations in Saturn, then ascribe them to
personnel at Marshall or at some contractor's plant. Marshall set the
specifications and guidelines, and the contractor produced the product.
MSFC followed its contractors very closely, not only in paperwork, but
also in hardware. Laboratories and test stands at Huntsville were not just
backup facilities, they provided depth and additional manpower for
problems encountered in a joint program. Thus the F-l combustion
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STAGES TO SATURN
instability problem was simultaneously tackled from several angles by
both NASA and Rocketdyne. The Saturn program succeeded because
complications were faced and resolved; the mutual goal was to make the
vehicles work, and they did.
The whole field of cryogenics changed as a result of the Saturn
program, with government and industry cooperating on a number of
problems. For one thing, there was the sheer volume of production of
cryogenic materials, storage, transportation, and many technical prob-
lems of piping it from one point to another at test sites and at the launch
pad. Computer operations and related software were affected by the
influence of Saturn requirements for test, checkout, and launch, which
led, among other things, to the new computer language called ATOLL
(Acceptance Test or Launch Language). Demands for unparalleled
compactness and reliability in Saturn guidance and control resulted in
instrument unit innovations such as unit logic devices and triple modular
redundancy. As a part of the effort to keep weight at the minimum,
guidance and control components in the instrument unit were fabricated
from beryllium and magnesium-lithium alloys, the first application of
these materials, which are difficult to work with, in the space program.
The unusually large dimensions of Saturn components posed recur-
rent complications. In developing the S-IC stage, production of the large
skin panels depended on refinement of existing techniques of metals
fabrication and forming, but even more in the manner and utilization of
oversized tooling never accomplished before. In fact, in dealing with the
technology of the Saturns in general, the most consistent factor seemed
to be the enormous size of the vehicles. Time after time, when engineers
and technicians were pressed to define what was "new" about the Saturn,
what fantastic new technological techniques were applied in its develop-
ment, personnel would shake their heads and invariably comment on
size.28 Size was a factor in tooling as well as in welding exotic space-age
alloys, especially in the case of the S-II stage. Even though every attempt
was made to use off-the-shelf hardware and existing technology, Saturn's
size implied new requirements and new complications. It just was not
possible, for example, to take an H-l engine and easily uprate it to the
thrust of an F-l engine. The extrapolation of existing technology simply
did not work when the engines got into the operational regimes of higher
flow rates, pressures, and the associated wear and tear on the engine
machinery.
Saturn logistics generated unexpected difficulties. Prior to the
Saturn program, rockets could be moved from factory to test site to
launch pad by conventional means, such as available highway, water, or
air transport. Saturn used these transport modes as well, but required
oversized equipment, custom-built or modified for the job.
In terms of management, NASA seems to have borrowed, albeit with
permutations, bits and pieces of managerial techniques from industry,
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LEGACIES
business, and the military. What NASA (and particularly Marshall Space
Flight Center) apparently added was "visibility," in terms of progress and
problems, as well as of the individual responsible for handling these
aspects. Visibility, both for the product and for personnel, was the prime
concern of the Program Control Center of Arthur Rudolph's Saturn V
Program Office. Its success in tracking the myriad bits and pieces of
Saturn vehicles impressed even NASA Administrator Webb, who prided
himself on managerial techniques and skills. Claiming that MSFC was
unusually thorough in its management may seem like a simplification.
Given the diversity of the prime contractors and their armies of subcon-
tractors and vendors, however, the clockwork efficiency and the reliabil-
ity of the Saturn vehicles were remarkable. Meticulous attention to
details, and keeping track of them, was a hallmark of MSFC.
It is worth noting that even after the Saturn V program was over,
MSFC still received many requests from businesses and managers asking
"how did you do it?" Here again it is probably wise to remember Bauer's
admonition that space management, just like space hardware, has been
frequently developed to meet particular and complex problems, not
always compatible with the outside, or commercial, world.
In retrospect it seems that the impact of the Saturn program, in
terms of spinoff, was best observed in improved industrial technique, in
basic shop practices, and in the frequently prosaic but necessary areas of
how to run machine tools, how to bend tubes, how to make and apply
fasteners, and simply how to get around in a machine shop. This was part
of Marshall's heritage anyhow. It must be remembered that the von
Braun team came directly out of the Army tradition of the in-house
arsenal philosophy, and that Marshall not only built the first of the
Saturn I vehicles, but the first few S-IC first stages as well. Even though
they did not get into the construction of S-II, S-IV, and S-IVB stages and
their engines, Marshall consistently retained the in-house capability of
duplicating test programs and even major parts of such hardware. As Lee
James noted, it was difficult to make this kind of concept acceptable, and
work effectively with the contractor. Marshall somehow carried it off.
The Apollo-Saturn program frequently used the overworked phrase,
"government-industry team" in explaining how the Saturn program was
carried out successfully. It would be easy to underestimate this phrase as
a bit of public relations flak put out by the space centers as well as the
manufacturers themselves. Such does not seem to be the case. It was not
unusual, in the course of interviews with contractor and NASA person-
nel, to name someone who had been interviewed previously on a related
topic. The mention would bring about a quick smile and a brightening of
the eyes and a response like "Oh, do you know so and so? Yes, we worked
on ... ," followed by one or two anecdotes indicating a feeling of exceed-
ingly strong partnership. Government and contractor personnel actually
did relate to each other, especially at the technical levels. This ingredient
399
STAGES TO SATURN
had to be important to the success of the program. It meant that
individuals could easily call each other on the phone, discuss a problem,
agree on a solution, and continue the work without major interruption.
The overall success of the Saturn program depended on a signifi-
cant number of key decisions. One of these would have to be the decision
in 1957 to start consideration of the clustered engine concept as a means
to get heavy payloads into orbit. As natural as this concept seems today, it
has to be remembered that the tricky nature and recalcitrant operating
characteristics of rocket engines at that time suggested clustering of two
or more engines would be courting absolute disaster. Next was the
decision to use liquid hydrogen as one of the propellants. The application
of this high-energy fuel made all the difference in the performance of
the Saturn I, Saturn IB, and Saturn V vehicles. The use of the fuel
allowed optimum sizing of the stages while keeping the weight to a
minimum, so that a three-astronaut payload could be carried successfully
into orbit and boosted into lunar trajectory. The controversy of EOR-LOR
also stands out as a major period of decision early in the program. The
choice of LOR led to the successful Saturn IB interim vehicle and
stabilized the design configuration of the Saturn V. Finally, the decision
to adopt the all-up concept stands out as one of the steps that permitted
the United States to achieve the manned lunar landing on the moon
before the end of the 1960s.
It is interesting to note that the von Braun team argued about the
acceptance of three of these four major program milestones. On the
other hand, the argument seems to have been one of degree rather than
one of substance. Despite the strong recollections of individuals who say
that von Braun opposed liquid hydrogen from the beginning, one must
remember that LH2 had been included very early by MFSC — in terms of
the Centaur upper stage — in some of the early Saturn system studies.
The collective technological experience of the Saturn program was
effectively applied in planning the Shuttle program, most notably in the
Shuttle's propellant and propulsion systems. Marshall's experience in the
handling and pumping of cryogenics, construction of fuel tanks, and
development of the LH2 engines were directly applied to the Shuttle
concept.29
In one respect, the technology of the Saturn vehicle represented the
closing of a circle in international space partnership and cooperation.
Allies in World War II, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. both borrowed heavily
from the technological storehouse of their defeated foe, Germany. In the
early postwar years, both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. learned from firing
their respective stocks of captured V-2 rockets and perfected significant
sectors of their own new rocket technology out of the V-2 experience
common to both. This propulsion technology was further elaborated
during the Cold War era along an escalating front of improved ICBM
weaponry. When landing on the moon became an acknowledged race,
400
LEGACIES
both borrowed liberally from the extant technology of ICBM propulsion
systems to build large rocket boosters. Tempered in wars both hot and
cold, the technological heritage of the launch vehicles that put the
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project into orbit could be traced back to the German
technicians of World War II. The former wartime allies were now closing
a technological circle that had ranged from partners, to protagonists, to
partners again, with German expertise in rocketry as a catalyst.
Partnership in space, by itself, will be no automatic guarantee of
international amity. Partnership in space exploration may be an exhila-
rating prospect, however, offering an additional incentive for interna-
tional cooperation and peace. If so, then the Saturn program may count
this factor as its most important legacy.
401
Appendixes
Appendix A— Schematic of Saturn V
379 LITERS MONOMETHYLHYDRAZINE (REACTION CONTROL SYSTEM) .
227 LITERS NITROGEN TETROXIDE (REACTION CONTROL SYSTEM) .
9500 LITERS NITROGEN TETROXIDE •
8000 LITERS HYDRAZINE/UNSYMMETRICAL <
DIMETHYL HYDRAZINE
LUNAR MODULE.
3800 LITERS NITROGEN TETROXIDE
(LUNAR MODULE ASCENT/DESCENT STAGE)
253 200 LITERS LIQUID HYDROGEN'
92 350 LITERS LIQUID OXYGEN
95 LITERS NITROGEN TETROXIDE
(AUXILIARY PROPULSION SYSTEM)
114 LITERS MONOMETHYLHYDRAZINE
(AUXILIARY PROPULSION SYSTEM)
1 000000 LITERS LIQUID HYDROGEN •
101.6 METERS
331 000 LITERS LIQUID OXYGEN
1311 100 LITERS LIQUID OXYGEN
810 700 LITERS RP-1 (KEROSENE)
e
1 PITCH MOTOR (SOLID) 13300 NEWTONS THRUST
1 TOWER JETTISON MOTOR (SOLID) 178 000 NEWTONS THRUST
LAUNCH ESCAPE SYSTEM
1 LAUNCH ESCAPE MOTOR (SOLID) 667 000 NEWTONS THRUST
APOLLO COMMAND MODULE
» 12 CONTROL ENGINES (LIQUID) 390 NEWTONS THRUST EACH
* 16 CONTROL ENGINES (LIQUID) 445 NEWTONS THRUST EACH
""^SERVICE MODULE
ENGINE P-22K S (LIQUID) 97 400 NEWTONS THRUST
* 11
--A^ 16 ATTITUDE CONTROL ENGINES (LIQUID) 445 NEWTONS THRUST EACH
XI;T**\I ASCENT ENGINE (LIQUID) 15700 NEWTONS THRUST
1 DESCENT ENGINE (LIQUID) 4670 TO 46 700 NEWTONS THRUST
"*• INSTRUMENT UNIT
' THIRD STAGE
. 6 ATTITUDE CONTROL ENGINES (LIQUID) 654 NEWTONS THRUST EACH
, 2 ULLAGE MOTORS (SOLID) 15 100 NEWTONS THRUST EACH
• 2 ULLAGE ENGINES (LIQUID) 320 NEWTONS THRUST EACH
. 4 RETROMOTORS (SOLID) 158 800 NEWTONS THRUST EACH
J-2 ENGINE (LIQUID) 889600 NEWTONS THRUST
SECOND STAGE
8 ULLAGE MOTORS (SOLID) 101 000 NEWTONS THRUST EACH
' 5 J-2 ENGINES (LIQUID) 889 600 NEWTONS THRUST EACH
(LATER UPRATED TO 1 023 000 NEWTONS)
FIRST STAGE
8 RETRO MOTORS (SOLID) 391 000 NEWTONS THRUST
5 F-1 ENGINES (LIQUID) 6 672 000 NEWTONS THRUST EACH
(LATER UPRATED TO 6 805 000 NEWTONS)
405
APPENDIX A
Average R&D Costs for One Saturn I, IB, and V Launch Vehicle
Saturn I The initial development and production of the Saturn I was accomplished in-
house; only the latter stages were placed on contract. Army projects assumed
the initial FY 1958 and 1959 costs; NASA's total costs were not accumulated,
during the development phase, to provide a true average unit cost (i.e., the
original plan for S-I stages was to procure 21 each). At the conclusion of the
program shown on the funding history, the total cost to NASA of the 10 Saturn
Is actually launched was $753 million.
Saturn IB and Saturn V
Costs for development and production of the Saturn IBs and Saturn Vs were
not collected by specific vehicle because of the magnitude of the modifications
based on mission requirements and because of the sustaining engineering and
launch support required to support lengthened schedule restraints. The follow-
ing unit costs include production of basic hardware plus modifications, spares,
and associated ground support equipment for MSFC-responsible hardware
only (first stage through instrument unit). Costs exclude all development,
sustaining engineering, transportation, propellants, storage, etc., required to
launch.
Stage
Basic
Hardware
Production
Modification
Costs
Spares
Stage & Vehicle
Ground Support
Equipment (GSE)
GSE
Systems
Development
Total
Stage
Saturn IB Total Production Cost — $46.7 M
S-IB
S-IVB
IU
GSE
Engines
Total
7.9
13.0
8.3
3.6
32.8
0.3
1.9
0.4
0.5
3.1
1.1
0.9
0.6
0.5
1.0
4.1
0.1
0.2
0.4
3.1
3.8
2.6
2.6
9.4
16.0
9.7
6.7
4.6
46.4
Saturn V Total Production Costs — $1 13.1M
S-IC
19.4
0.2
1.4
0.3
21.3
S-II
21.0
1.0
3.6
0.6
26.2
S-IVB
15.6
0.2
1.2
0.3
17.3
IU
10.9
0.9
1.0
0.9
13.7
GSE
0.9
7.5
3.1 11.5
Engines
20.3
2.3
0.5
23.1
Total
87.2
2.3
10.4
10.1
3.1 113.1
406
Appendix B — Saturn V
Prelaunch — Launch Sequence
AS-509 Prelaunch Operations
Event Completed
LM Operations 30 Oct 70
Combined System Test 4 Dec 70
Unmanned Altitude Run 5 May 70
Manned Altitude Run 18 Sep 70
LM/SLA Mate 22 Oct 70
CSM Operations 3 Nov 70
Combined System Test 4 Dec 70
Unmanned Altitude Run 27 Aug 70
Manned Altitude Run 3 Sep 70
GSM/SLA Mate 31 Oct 70
Ordnance Installation 7 Nov 70
LV VAB Low Bay Operations 12 May 70
IU Low Bay Checkout 12 May 70
S-IVB Low Bay Checkout 12 May 70
S-II Low Bay Checkout 11 May 70
LV VAB High Bay Operations 29 Oct 70
S-IC Erection 14 Jan 70
LV Erection 13 May 70
LV Electrical System Test 6 Oct 70
LV Malfunction Overall Test 21 Oct 70
LV Service Arm Overall Test 29 Oct 70
Spacecraft Erection 4 Nov 70
Space Vehicle VAB Operations 8 Nov 70
Transfer to Pad 9 Nov 70
Pad Operations 3 1 Jan 70
LV Power ON 11 Nov 70
Space Vehicle Overall Test 7 Dec 70
LV Flight Systems Test 1 1 Dec 70
SV Flight Electrical Mating 11 Dec 70
SV Back-up Guidance Test 14 Dec 70
SV Flight Readiness Test 15 Dec 70
SV Hypergolic Loading 8 Jan 7 1
S-IC RP-1 Loading 9 Jan 71
CDDT-Wet/Dry 18 Jan 71
SV Countdown Prep 25 Jan 72
Countdown 31 Jan 71
407
APPENDIX B
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Appendix C — Saturn Flight History
APPENDIX C
Saturn Family/Mission Data
Launch Mission Launch
Program Vehicle Desig Date
Payload
Description
Remarks
SA-1 10-27-61
Dummy
R&D, test S-l stage
propulsion, verify
structure &
Objectives achieved
aerodynamics
SA-2 4-25-62
Water (95 tons)
R&D, observe water
dispersion at high
altitude
"Project Highwater"
(release 22 900 gal
water)
SA-3 11-16-62
Water (95 tons)
R&D, observe water
dispersion at high
altitude
"Project Highwater"
(release 22 900 gal
water)
SA-4 3-28-63
Dummy
R&D, demo engine-out
capability (in-fit eng
cutoff)
Objectives achieved
Saturn I SA-5 1-29-64
Dummy
R&D, 1st fit operation
of S-IV second stage
First fit operations
of S-IV second stage
SA-6 5-28-64
BP-13
R&D, verify struct &
aerodynamic design of
Sat-I with Apollo
boilerplate
Successful insertion
into orbit following
premature cutoff of
one 1st stage engine
SA-7 9-18-64
BP-15
R&D, demo of LES
Active ST-124
jettison
guidance
SA-8 5-25-65
Pegasus 1 1
BP-26
Operational, meteoroid
experiment near Earth
Successful 1st
CCSD-built S-l stage
environment
SA-9 2-16-65
Pegasus I
BP-16
Operational, meteoroid
experiment near Earth
Successful
environment
SA-10 7-30-65
Pegasus III
BP-9
Operational, meteoroid
experiment near Earth
environment
Completed Saturn I
program 2nd CCSD
S-l stage
SA-201 AS-201 2-26-66
CSM-009
R&D, CSM subsys &
struct integrity & veh
compatibility
Reentry adequacy
was demonstrated
under Earth orbital
conditions
SA-202 AS-202 8-25-66
CSM-011
R&D, propulsion &
entry control by G&N
Demonstration of
entry at 28 500 FPS
system
Saturn IB SA-203 AS-203 7-5-66
LH2 in S-IVB
R&D, control of LH2 by
Successful (4 orbits)
continuous venting in
orbit
SA-204 Apollo 5 1-22-68
LM-1
LM dev, verify ascent &
descent prop sys eval
LM staging
Successful (4 orbits)
SA-205 Apollo? 10-11-68
CSM-101
Operational, first
manned CSM
operation
163 orbits, off Earth
duration 10 days &
20hrs
414
SATURN FLIGHT HISTORY
Crew
Lunar
Landing
Site
Stages on Dock KSC
S-I S-IV S-IB S-IU S-IC S-II S-1VB
Unmanned
N/A
8-15-61 Dummy — 8-15-61 —
8-15-61
Unmanned
Unmanned
Unmanned
N/A 2-27-62 Dummy — 2-27-62 —
2-27-62
N/A 9-19-62 Dummy — 9-19-62 —
9-19-62
N/A
2-2-63 2-2-63 — 2-2-63 — — —
Unmanned
Unmanned
N/A 8-21-63 9-21-63 — 8-21-63 — — —
N/A 2-18-64 2-22-64 — 2-18-64 — — —
Unmanned
Unmanned
N/A 6-7-64 6-12-64 — 6-7-64
N/A 2-28-65 2-25-65 — 3-8-65
Unmanned
N/A 10-30-6410-22-64 — 10-30-64 — — —
Unmanned
N/A
6-1-65 5-8-65 — 6-1-65 — — —
Unmanned
N/A 8-14-65 — 8-14-65 10-22-65 — — 9-18-65
Unmanned
N/A 2-7-66 — 2-7-66 2-21-66 — — 1-29-66
Unmanned
N/A 4-12-66 — 4-12-66 4-14-66 — — 4-6-66
Unmanned
N/A 8-15-66 — 8-15-66 8-16-66 — — 8-6-66
Commander Schirra
CM Pilot Eisele
LM Pilot Cunningham
N/A
3-28-68 — 3-28-68 4-11-68 — — 4-7-68
415
APPENDIX C
Saturn Family Mission Data — Continued
Launch Mission Launch
Program Vehicle Desig Date
Payload
Description
Remarks
SA-206 SL-2 5-25-73
SA-207 SL-3 7-23-73 CSM-117
Saturn IB SA-208 SL-4 11-16-73 CSM-118
SA-209 ASTP
backup
CSM-116 First manned launch to Duration 28 days
the Earth orbiting
space station. Repaired
damaged solar array wing
& deployed parasol
Second manned launch Duration 59 days
to the Earth orbiting
space station. Solar
data, EREP, &
biomedical experiments
Third manned launch Duration 60 days
to the Earth orbiting Open-ended to 85
space station. Solar days
data, EREP, &
biomedical experiments
CSM-119 Provided SL crew SL mission
rescue capability until successfully
2/8/74 (splashdown of completed 2/8/74
SA-208)
SA-210 ASTP 7-15-75 CSM-111
Conduct manned
—
rendezvous and
docking mission with
U.S.S.R. (Soyuz)
SA-2 1 1 Mission not assigned
—
SA-501 Apollo 4 11-9-67 CSM-017
LTA-10R
R&D, launch veh & SC
dev Sat veh
performance
CM entry at lunar
return velocity
(three orbits)
SA-502 Apollo 6 4-4-68 CSM-020
LTA-2R
R&D, demo of S-IC/
S-II & S-IVB
separation
Eval of EDS closed-
loop configuration
(three orbits)
SA-503 Apollo 8 12-21-68 CSM-103
LTA-B
Operational, first
manned lunar orbital
mission
20 hrs in lunar orbit
(10 orbits). Off
Earth duration 6
days & 3 hrs
Saturn V SA-504 Apollo 9 3-3-69 CSM-104
LM-3
First manned CSM/LM
oper demo lunar orbit
rendezvous in Earth
orbit
Off Earth duration
10 days & 1 hr(152
orbits)
SA-505 Apollo 10 5-18-69
CSM-106
LM-4
SA-506 Apollo 11 7-16-69 CSM-107 LM-5
EASEP
First manned CSM/LM
oper in cislunar & lunar
environment
First manned lunar
landing mission
development EASEP
Simul lunar landing
mission 61.6 hrs in
lunar orbit (31
orbits). Off Earth
duration 8 days
One EVA 2.5 hrs,
lunar stay 21.6 hrs.
Off Earth duration
8 days & 3.3 hrs
416
SATURN FLIGHT HISTORY
Crew
Lunar
Landing
Site
Stages on Dock KSC
S-I S-IV S-IB S-IU S-IC S-II S-IVB
Commander Conrad
Science Pilot Kervvin
Pilot Weitz
N/A
— 8-22-72 8-24-72 — 6-24-71
Commander Bean
Science Pilot Garriot
Pilot Lousma
N/A
— 3-30-73 6-12-73 — — 8-26-71
Commander Carr
Science Pilot Gibson
Pilot Pogue
N/A
— 6-20-73 5-9-73 — — 11-4-71
—
N/A
8-20-73 6-14-73 — — 1-12-72
Commander Stafford
CM Pilot Brand
DM Pilot Slayton
N/A
— 4-22-74 5-14-74 — — 11-6-72
—
N/A
Unmanned
N/A
8-25-66 9-12-66 1-27-67 8-14-66
Unmanned
N/A
— 3-20-67 3-13-67 5-24-67 2-21-67
Commander Borman
CM Pilot Lovell
N/A
— 1-4-68 12-27-67 12-24-67 12-30-67
LM Pilot Anders
Commander McDivitt
CM Pilot Scott
N/A
— 9-30-68 9-30-68 5-15-68 9-12-68
LM Pilot Schweickart
Commander Stafford
CM Pilot Young
LM Pilot Cernon
N/A
— 12-15-6811-27-6812-10-68 12-3-68
Commander Armstrong Sea of Tranquility
CM Pilot Collins ret 21 kg
LM Pilot Aldrin lunar samples
— — — 2-27-69 2-20-69 2-6-69 1-18-69
417
APPENDIX C
Saturn Family Mission Data — Continued
Launch Mission Launch
Program Vehicle Desig Date Payload
Description
Remarks
SA-507 Apollo 12 11-14-69 CSM-108 LM-6
Second manned lunar
Two dual E V As 4 hrs
ALSEP
landing mission deploy
& 3.75 hrs. Off Earth
ALSEP. Surveyor III
duration 10 days &
investigation
4.6 hrs
SA-508 Apollo 13 4-11-70 CSM-109 LM-7
Mission aborted due to
LM lifeboat mode
ALSEP
failure of SM oxygen
for lunar flyby &
storage sys. S-IVB
return to Earth. Off
impact on moon
Earth duration 5
days & 22.9 hrs
SA-509 Apollo 14 1-31-71 CSM-110LM-8
Third manned lunar
Two dual EVAs 4.8
ALSEP
landing, deploy ALSEP
hrs & 4.3 hrs. Off
lunar surface stay 33.5
Earth duration 9
hrs
days
Saturn V SA-510 Apollo 15 7-26-71 CSM-112 LM-10
Fourth manned lunar
LRV traverses 27.9
ALSEP LRV-1
landing, deploy ALSEP
km. Off Earth
3 traverses with LRV-1
duration 12 days &
6.5 hrs - 7.2 hrs - 4.8
7.2 hrs
hrs
SA-511 Apollo 16 4-16-72 CSM-113LM-11
LRV-2 UV-photo
SA-512 Apollo 17 12-6-72 CSM-114, LM-12
LRV-3, ALSEP &
surface expr.
SA-513 SL-1 5-14-73 Multidocking Adpt.
ATM, Workshop
Module Airlock
SA-514 Mission not assigned
SA-515 Mission not assigned
Fifth manned lunar LRV traverses 26.9
landing deploy ALSEP- km. Off Earth
UV camera 3 traverses duration 1 1 days &
with LRV-2 7.2 hrs - 7.4 2 hrs
hrs - 5.6 hrs
Sixth manned lunar LRV traverses
landing 3 traverses with distance 35.7 km
LRV-3 7.2 hrs - 7.6 hrs -
7.3 hrs
Unmanned launch Manned logistics:
placed space station in launches SL-2, SL-3,
a circular Earth orbit & SL-4
433km
418
SATURN FLIGHT HISTORY
Crew
Lunar
Stages on Dock KSC
Landing
Site S-I
S-IV S-IB S-IU S-IC S-II S-IVB
Commander Conrad
Ocean of Storms
CM Pilot Gordon
LM Pilot Bean
ret 34 kg
lunar samples
— 5-8-69 5-3-69 4-21-69 3-9-69
Commander Lovell
CM Pilot Swigert
LM Pilot Haise
Lunar landing
aborted
— 7-7-69 6-16-69 6-29-69 6-13-69
Commander Shepard
CM Pilot Roosa
LM Pilot Mitchell
Fra Mauro
ret 43 kg
lunar samples
— 5-6-70 1-12-70 1-21-70 1-21-70
Commander Scott
CM Pilot Worden
LM Pilot Irwin
Hadley Appennines
ret 77 kg
lunar samples
— 6-25-70 7-6-70 5-18-70 6-12-70
Commander Young
CM Pilot Mattingly
LM Pilot Duke
Descartes
ret 97 kg
lunar samples
— 9-29-70 9-17-71 9-30-70 7-1-70
Commander German
Taurus Littrow
CM Pilot Evans
LM Pilot Schmitt
ret 117kg
lunar samples
— 6-20-72 5-11-72 10-27-7012-21-70
For crews refer to
N/A
— 10-26-72 7-26-72 1-6-71 —
SA-206, 207, & 208
— 10-6-70 3-28-73
—
— —
— — — — 12-22-70 5-25-72
419
Appendix D — Saturn R&D Funding History
APPENDIX D
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Wyle Laboratories
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APPENDIX E
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Wyman-Gordon Compan
Appendix F — Location of Remaining
Saturn Hardware
Location of Remaining Saturn Hardware
(As of 5 June 1975)
Saturn V
Vehicle
Number S-IC Stage
S-II Stage S-IVB Stage
IU
SA513
(Skylab I)
KSC
SA 514 MAP
KSC KSC
MSFC
SA 515 MAP
KSC MSFC
MSFC
(used for
Skylab
backup
workshop)
Saturn IB
Vehicle
Number S-IB Stage S-IVB Stage
IU
SA209
(ASTP backup) KSC
KSC
KSC
SA211 MAP
KSC
MSFC
SA 212 KSC
(used on
SA 513)
MSFC
for disposal
SA 213 MAP -I
declared
SA 214 MAP
I
surplus,
• stripped
and placed on
lot
439
Appendix G — NASA Organization During
Apollo-Saturn
APPENDIX G
!
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ORGANIZATION
Ul
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APPENDIX G
UJ u.
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444
ORGANIZATION
o
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FIELD SUPPORT
RESEARCH PROJECT
SYSTEMS SUPPORT
EQUIPMENT
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ASSEMBLY ENGR.
SYS. ANAL. &
RELIABILITY
<
INDUSTR
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CRUCTURES &
MECHANICS
O
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LLISTICS
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APPENDIX G
OFFICE OF DIRECTOR
DIRECTOR WVonBRAUN
ASSISTANT TO DIRECTOR JC McCALL
PUBLIC INFORMAT ON OFFICE
C
C
hief
eputy Chief
BJSIattery.Jr.
FA Haley
DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR R&D
DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR ADM.
RELIABILITY OFFICE
C
E
|
hief
led. & Electronic Br.
ech. Br.
HA Schul/e
JW Moody
RH Rivers
Assoc. Dep. Director EW Neubert
A»oc. Dep. Director HH Gormi
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT SERVICES
PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTS
Chief
Accounting Br
Adm. Br.
Budget 8r
Int. Review &
Sys. & Procedures Br
CE Stockton
RH F rater
LT Dees
L Snyder
SGoans
Cruet
Adm.Ser.Br.
Graphic Eng. & Model
Studies Br.
Space Sys. Info. Br.
Security Br.
Traffic Mgt. Br.
VC Sorensen
HT Williams
GW DeBeek
AE Sanderson
Chief WS Davis
Dep. Chief CM Nestor
Contracts Br. MS Hardee
Industrial Br BF Robinson
Planning Br. MC Bacon
KMWibe
MB Bobo
1
[
STEMS OFFICE AGENA AND CENTAUR SYSTEMS OFFICE
WEAPONS SYSTEMS COORDINATION OFFICE
OH Unge Director H Hueter
Chief WG Tiller
KKOannenberg Dep. Director, Agena F Duerr
Dep. Chief ES Henning
Dep. Director. Centaur 10 Seaburg
Coord. Adm. BP Cartwright
|
|
BALL STICS DIVISION
COMPUTATION DIVISION
ED Geissler
Director
H Hoelzer
RF Hoelker
Oep. Director
CL Bradshaw
Off. RO Butler
Program Coord. & Adm
Off RW Stafford
WK Dahm
Automatic Data Proc. Sys. Br. WH Fortenberry
s Br. WW Vaughn
Data Reduction Br.
WE Moore
MH Horn
Flight Simulation Br.
FT Shaver
n.cs Br. TG Reed
Special Protects Br.
CP Hubbard
FASpeer
r. RFHoelktr
RESEARCH PROJECTS DIVISION
STRUCTURES AND MECHANICS DIVISION
QUALITY DIVISION
Director E Stuh linger
Dep Director GB Heller
Program Coord. & Adm. OH. JH Graham
Research Survey & Repair Oft. CG Miles, Jr.
Nuclear Ion Physics Br. RO Shelton
Physics & Astrophysics Br. CA Undqtmt
Space Thermodynamics Br. GB Heller
Sys & Instrumentation Br. AW Thompson
Director WA Mrazek
Dep Director H Weidner
Adm. Off. AT Flynn
Program Coord. Off. CJ Rieger
Eng. Materials Br. WR Lucas
Future Promts Design Br. WB Schramm
Propulsion & Mech. Br. HG Paul
Structures Br GA Kroll
Vehicle Sys. Eng. Br. HR Ptiaoro
Director 0 Griu
Operations OH. TG Bedell
Adm. Officer GM Pettus
Elect. Sys. Analy. Br. AE Whittmann
Mech. Sys. Analy. Br. A Urbanski
Performance Test Br. CO Brooks
Quality Eng. Br. SE Smith
446
ORGANIZATION
GEORGE C. MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
(November 1960)
LEGAL OFFICE
Chief Counsel WE Guilian Patent Counsel JH Warden
TECHNICAL SERVICES
OPERATIONS ANALYSIS
NASA RESIDENT AUDITORS
Chiet
DH Newby
Chief CW Huth
Supervisory Auditor GW Noel
Eng. Br
HC Aden
Mgt. Eng Br. HA SlayrJen
Maintenance Br.
DE Foxworthy
Mgt. Analy. Br. PW McClung
Operations Br.
HF McMillian
Photo Br.
SH Hobbs
Program Br.
JRUda
Tech. Materials Br.
WE Beck
FUTURE PROJECTS OFFICE
TECHNICAL PROGRAM COORDINATION OFF
Director
Dep. Director
HH Koelle
FL Williams
Chief
Dep. Chief
Plans & Programs Br
Special Studies. Schedules
GN Const an
TH Smith
TU Hardeman
|
Director
HH Maus
Dep. Director
WR Kuers
Adm.Otf.
DT Walters
Tech. Liaison Off.
J Troll
Tech. Program Coord. Off.
SHeim
Assembly Eng. Br.
ME Nowak
Elect Mech. Eng. Br.
nPten
Fab. Eng. Br
OK Eiscnhardt
Methods R&O Br.
WA Wilson
Plant Eng. & Operation! Br.
WR Potter
GUIDANCE AND CONTROL DIVISION
Director
W Haeussermann
Dep. Director
H Kroeger
Adm. Off.
ML Jensen
Program Coord. Off.
GF Dausiman
Advanced Studies Br.
FE Digesu
Applied Research Br.
JC Taylor
Elect. Sys. Integration Br.
HJO Fichtner
Elect Mech Eng. Br.
J Boehm
Flight Dynamics Br.
HH Hosenthien
Gyro. & Stabilizer Br.
CH Mandel
Instrumentation Dev. Br.
0 Hoberg
Navigation Br.
FB Moore
Pilot Manufacturing Oev. Br.
W Angtle
TEST DIVISION
LAUNCH OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE
Dirtctor
KL Heimburg
Director
KH Debus
Dep. Director
BR less man
Dep. Director
HF Gruene
Adm. Off.
WH Oodd
Adm. Off.
JB Cobb
Program Coord. Off.
TE Edwards
MSFC Liaison OH.
EG House
Component Test Facility Br.
BR Tessman
Operations Off.
CCPwktf
Measuring Con. &
Instrumentation Br.
WH Sieber
Missile Test Facility Br.
OH Dhscoll
Tat Facilities Design & Str 6
F Kramer
447
Appendix H — MSFC Personnel During
Apollo-Saturn
APPENDIX H
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Labor Relations Office
Public Affairs Office
NASA Audit Office
Facilities & Design Offi
Financial Management
Office
Management Services
Office
Personnel Office
Purchasing Office
Technical Services Offi
Unallocated
Subtotal
Director, R&D Operatii
Future Projects Office
Resources Managemeni
Office
451
APPENDIX H
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Notes
CHAPTER 1
1. The name of the locale, Cape Canaveral, was officially changed on 28 Nov. 1963 to honor the
late President John F. Kennedy, and the NASA facility was henceforth called John F. Kennedy
Space Center (KSC).
2. The official NASA history of Kennedy Space Center and the launch facilities and concepts is by
Charles D. Benson and William B. Faherty, Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and
Operations, NASA SP-4204 (Washington, 1978). Material for this section was compiled from the
following sources: KSC, The Kennedy Space Center Story (Kennedy Space Center, Fla., 1969);
NASA, Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1969: Chronology on Science, Technology, and Policy, NASA
SP-4014 (Washington, 1970); MSFC, "Chronology of MSFC— 1969" (draft copy), (1972); NASA,
Saturn V News Reference (1968); MSFC, Saturn V Flight Manual, SA-506 (1969).
3. MSFC, Saturn V Flight Manual, SA-506, passim; MSFC, Chronology of MSFC— 1969, passim;
NASA, Saturn V News Reference, passim.
4. There are many books covering this period. For a readable and authoritative summary, see the
well-illustrated historical survey by Wernher von Braun and Frederick I. Ordway, History of
Rocketry and Space Travel (New York, 1969), pp. 22—40, which also includes an excellent
bibliography. See also Eugene M. Emme, A History of Space Flight (New York, 1965), passim.,
which includes a bibliography. For the lifesaving rocket, see Mitchell R. Sharpe, Development of the
Lifesaving Rocket, Marshall Space Flight Center, Historical Note no. 4, 10 June 1969. The
bibliographical study by Katherine Murphy Dickson, History of Aeronautics and Astronautics: A
Preliminary Bibliography, NASA HHR-29 (Washington, 1968), features annotated entries, and
lists many government documents, as well as articles from scholarly journals and periodicals of
both European and American origin.
5. For an overview of this era and its leading personalities, see the histories by Loyd S. Swenson, Jr.,
James M. Grimwood, and Charles C. Alexander, This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury,
NASA SP-4201 (Washington, 1966); von Braun and Ordway, History; and Emme, History.
Tsiolkovsky's collected papers are available in translation as NASA Technical Translations
F-243, 326, 327 and 328 (1965). For an authorized biography of Goddard see Milton Lehman,
This High Man: The Life of Robert H. Goddard (New York, 1963); but see also Esther Goddard and
G. Edward Pendray, eds., The Papers of Robert H. Goddard (New York, 1970), 3 vols. Willy Ley,
Rockets, Missiles, and Men in Space (New York, 1968) includes considerable historical information.
Ley not only knew Oberth and other pioneering figures of the twenties and thirties, he also
participated in many experimental projects. Frederick C. Durant, III, and George S.James, eds.,
First Steps Toward Space, Smithsonian Annals of Flight, no. 10 (Washington, 1974), includes a
memoir by Oberth, as well as contributions concerning Goddard and the Smithsonian, and
essays on rocket research in Europe and the U.S. in the twenties and thirties. Eugene M. Emme,
457
NOTES TO PAGES 11-19
ed., The History of Rocket Technology: Essays on Research Development and Utility (Detroit, 1964),
includes summary essays on U.S. rocket technology in the pre-World War II years.
6. See, for example, von Braun and Ordway, History; Emme, History of Space Travel; and Swenson,
Grimwood, and Alexander, This New Ocean. Wartime Russian rocketry is analyzed in Coleman
Goldberg, An Introduction to Russian Rocketry: History, Development, and Prospects, Off. of the Asst.
Chief of Staff, Intelligence. U.S. Army Field Detachment R, 1 June 1959. Copy in JSC files.
7. Ernst Stuhlinger, et al., eds., Astronautical Engineering and Science: From Peenemuende to Planetary
Space (New York, 1963), pp. 366-367; von Braun and Ordway, History, pp. 63-74.
8. Dornberger summarizes the V-2 work in Emme, Rocket Technology, pp. 29—45, and has published
his own memoir, entitled V-2 (New York, 1954). This book is one of the most authoritative works
on the V-2 and Peenemuende generally available, in addition to Dieter K. Huzel, Peenemuende to
Canaveral (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1962); and Krafft A. Ehricke, "The Peenemuende Rocket
Center, Part 2," Rocketscience, 4 (June 1950):35. See also, Mitchell Sharpe, "Evolution of Rocket
Technology: Historical Note, Saturn History Project," Jan. 1974, pp. 15-20 (copy in SHP files);
von Braun and Ordway, History, 104—117. Practically every aspect of the V-2, from basic
research to its early design and testing to its deployment, can be found in a large collection of
technical reports from Peenemuende, located in the Redstone Scientific Information Center,
U.S. Army Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala.
9. Von Braun and Ordway, History, pp. 1 14—1 17; Dornberger, V-2, passim. Plans for rounding up
German scientific and technical personnel were in progress by early 1945. During the spring, the
idea was known as Operation Overcast. In 1946, the program was renamed Operation Paperclip,
the designation which became the most familiar. See Clarence Lasby, Operation Paperclip (New
York, 1971).
10. Von Braun and Ordway, History, p. 18; Sharpe, "Evolution," pp. 42-48. Between May 1945 and
Dec. 1952, the U.S. recruited 642 foreign technicians and specialists under Paperclip. Lasby,
Operation Paperclip, gives the absorbing details of their utilization by the Air Force, Army, and
Navy. Generally, most of the specialists served individually or in very small, close-knit groups.
The von Braun team of 132 was by far the largest single group.
11. For an overview of the early postwar era, see von Braun and Ordway, History, pp. 120-139;
Swenson, Grimwood, and Alexander, This New Ocean, pp. 18-31. More specific studies include
J. L. Chapman, Atlas: The Story of a Missile (New York, 1960); James Baar and William Howard,
Polaris (New York, 1960); and Julian Hartt, Mighty Thor (New York, 1961). See also Ernest G.
Schwiebert, ed., A History of the U.S. Air Force Ballistic Missiles (New York, 1965), and Michael
Armacost, Politics of Weapons Innovation: The Thor-Jupiter Controversy (New York, 1969).
12. Von Braun and Ordway, History, 120 ff.
13. On the origins of the Redstone Arsenal, see David S. Akens, Historical Origins of the George C.
Marshall Space Flight Center, MSFC Historical Monograph no. 1 (December, 1960). For accounts
of the struggle between the Army and Air Force about the IRBM, see Armacost, Politics of
Weapons Innovation, and John B. Medaris's memoir, Countdown for Decision (New York, 1960). On
the role of ABM A, Jupiter, and Polaris, see von Braun and Ordway, History, pp. 130-132; Baar
and Howard, Polaris; Wyndham D. Miles, "The Polaris," in Emme, ed., Rocket Technology.
14. Von Braun and Ordway, History, 132-136; Schwiebert, History, passim; Chapman, Atlas; Hartt,
Mighty Thor. See also, Robert G. Perry, "The Atlas, Thor, and Minuteman," in Emme, ed., Rocket
Technology.
15. The most detailed and objective description of the events leading to the selection of Vanguard
over other competitors is found in Constance M. Green and Milton Lomask, Vanguard— A History
(Washington, 1971). See also von Braun and Ordway, History, pp. 150 et seq.; Emme, History of
Space/light; R. Cargill Hall, "Early U.S. Satellite Proposals," Wernher von Braun, "The Redstone,
Jupiter, and Juno," and John P. Hagen, "The Viking and the Vanguard," in Emme, ed., Rocket
Technology.
16. Walter Haeussermann to Robert G. Sheppard, "Comment Edition of History of Saturn Launch
Vehicles," 22 June 1976. For the story of the Jupiter launch vehicle and the Explorer satellite,
see, Medaris, Countdown, passim.; von Braun, "Redstone, Jupiter, and Juno," in Emme, ed.,
Rocket Technology; Stuhlinger et al., Astronautical Engineering, pp. 203-239.
17. See, for example, the essay by John P. Hagen, "Viking and Vanguard," cited above; Milton W.
Rosen, Viking Rocket Story (New York, 1955); Green and Lomask, Vanguard. On IGY, Sputnik,
and the NASA story, see Emme, History of Spaceflight, pp. 120-130; Swenson, Grimwood, and
458
NOTES TO PAGES 21-32
Alexander, This New Ocean, pp. 18 et seq.; and Robert L. Rosholt, An Administrative History of
NASA, 1958-1963, NASA SP-4101 (Washington, 1966).
18. For summaries of the era, see, von Braun and Ordway, History, pp. 163 passim; Emme, History of
Space Flight, 153 passim. The official history of the Mercury program is Swenson, Grimwood,
and Alexander, This New Ocean. For the NASA history of Gemini, see James M. Grimwood and
Barton C. Hacker, On the Shoulders of Titans, NASA SP-4203 (Washington, 1977). On the Apollo
spacecraft and lunar lander, see Courtney G. Brooks, James M. Grimwood, and Loyd S.
Swenson, Jr., Chariots for Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft, NASA SP-4205 (Washing-
ton, 1979).
CHAPTER 2
1. Eugene M. Emme, ed., Aeronautics and Astronautics: An American Chronology of Science and
Technology in the Exploration of Space, 1915-1960 (Washington, 1961), pp. 81-92; Eugene M.
Emme, "Historical Perspectives on Apollo,"/ourna/ of Spacecraft and Rockets (Apr. 1968), p. 371;
Armacost, Thor-Jupiter.
2. H. H. Koelle et al., Juno V Space Vehicle Development Program, Phase I: Booster Feasibility
Demonstration, ABMA, Redstone Arsenal, Rept. DSP-TM- 10-58, 13 Oct. 1958, p. 1. Cited
hereafter as Juno V Feasibility. Oswald H. Lange, "Development of the Saturn Space Carrier
Vehicle," in Stuhlinger et al., Astronautical Engineering, pp. 2—23.
3. Koelle, Juno V Feasibility, p. 1; Lange, "Development," p. 3. The ABMA proposal is cited in
David S. Akens, Historical Origins of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, MSFC Historical
Monograph no. 1 (Dec. 1960), p. 58.
4. Robert D. Sampson, "Informal Working Papers: Technical History of Saturn," Saturn Systems
Office (1961), pp. 3-4; Swenson, Grimwood, and Alexander, This New Ocean, p. 79; Senate
Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Subcommittee on Governmental Organization
for Space Activities, Investigation of Governmental Organization for Space Activities, 86th Cong., 1st
sess., pp. 108-111, 121, 125-128, 628-629.
5. Koelle, Juno V Feasibility, pp. 1—2; William A. Mrazek, "The Saturn Project," Astronautics, 5 (July
1960): 26-27; von Braun, "The Redstone, Jupiter, and Juno," in Emme, ed., History of Rocket
Technology, pp. 107—119.
6. Von Braun, "Redstone, Jupiter, and Juno," p. 120. Copy of ARPA Order no. 14-59 in SHP
files, and recopied in NASA, Documents in the History of NASA: An Anthology, NASA History Off.,
HHR-43, Aug. 1975, pp. 238-239.
7. Koelle, Juno V Feasibility, p. 4.
8. A. A. McCool and G. H. McKay, Jr., "Propulsion Development Problems Associated with Large
Liquid Rockets," MSFC, TMX-53075, 12 Aug. 1963, p. 5.
9. David S. Akens, Saturn Illustrated Chronology: Saturn's First Eleven Years, April 1957 Through April
1968, MSFC, MHR-5, 5th ed. (1971), pp. 2-3. William A. Mrazek, "The Saturn Launch Vehicle
Family," lecture at Univ. of Hawaii, June 1966, p. 2.
10. Quotations from Mrazek, "Saturn Family." William A. Mrazek interviews, MSFC, 3 Sept. 1971,
and 30 July 1975; Koelle, Juno V Feasibility, p. 10.
1 1. John B. Medaris and Roy Johnson, "Memorandum of Agreement: ARPA and AOMC. Subject:
High Thrust Booster Program Using Clustered Engines," 23 Sept. 1958; Akens, Saturn
Chronology, p. 3; Mrazek interview, 3 Sept. 1971; Mrazek, "Saturn Family," pp. 2-3. Quotation
from the latter. Interviews with Konrad Dannenberg, MSFC, 30 July 1975, and with William A.
Mrazek, 30 July 1975, were extremely useful in clarifying many details of Saturn I's origins and
development. See also, interviews with D. D. Wyatt, NASA, 2 Dec. 1971, and Homer E. Newell,
NASA, 2 Dec. 1971.
12. For brief summaries of this period, see Frank W. Anderson, Jr., Orders of Magnitude: History of
NACA and NASA, 1915-1976, NASA SP-4403 (Washington, 1976), pp. 14-17; Swenson,
Grimwood, and Alexander, This New Ocean, pp. 53, 82-83. A more detailed review is in Rosholt,
Administrative History, especially Chaps. 1 and 3. Overtones of national security and a space race
with the Russians are obvious in contemporary memoranda. See, for example, Arthur A.
Kimball to Nelson A. Rockefeller, Chmn., President's Advisory Comm. on Government Organi-
zation, "Organization for Civil Space Programs," 25 Feb. 1958, JSC files.
459
NOTES TO PAGES 33-42
13. Anderson, Orders of Magnitude, pp. 14-18; Swenson, Grimwood, and Alexander, This New
Ocean, pp. 75-106; Rosholt, Administrative History, pp. 40-47; Emme, "Perspectives," p. 371.
14. NACA, Aerodynamics Committee, "Minutes of Meeting: Committee on Aircraft, Missile and
Spacecraft Aerodynamics," 21 Mar. 1958, JSC files; NACA, memo, "Suggestions for Space
Program (For Internal Use Only)," 28 Mar. 1958, JSC files. Ea: ly NASA moves towards ABMA
and JPL are discussed in Rosholt, Administrative History, pp. 45-47.
15. Emme, "Perspectives," p. 372.
16. Working Group on Vehicular Program, "Report to the NACA, Special Committee on Space
Technology: A National Integrated Missile and Space Vehicle Development Program," 18 July
1958, pp. 1-7, 11-23, copy in JSC files.
17. Ibid., pp. 26-30, 34-35.
18. H. Guyford Stever interview, NASA, 7 Feb. 1974, copy in JSC files.
19. Koelle, yuno V Feasibility, p. 4.
20. Wernher von Braun, "Saturn the Giant," in Edgar M. Cortright, ed., Apollo Expeditions to the
Moon, NASA SP-350 (Washington, 1975), p. 41; Wernher von Braun, "Saturn: Our Best Hope,"
Space World, 1 (June 1961):13; Swenson, Grimwood, and Alexander, This New Ocean, p. 71;
William A. Mrazek, "The Saturn Project," Astronautics, 5 (July 1960): 27, 74: Koelle, et al.Juno V
Space Vehicle Development Program (Status Report — 15 November 1958), ABMA, Redstone Arsenal,
Ala., Rept. no. DSP-TM-11-58 (15 Nov. 1958), pp. 20 ff. (cited hereafter as Koelle, Juno V
Status).
21. Wesley L. Hjornevik to the NASA Administrator, "Next Steps in the Development of a National
Booster Program," 2 Jan. 1959, JSC files.
22. NASA, Propulsion Staff, "A National Space Vehicle Program: A Report to the President," 27
Jan. 1959, JSC files. Rosen was always a staunch advocate of big booster, a feeling that stands out
in this document. In a note attached 29 Sept. 1967, when the report was declassified, Rosen was
acknowledged as the author.
23. U.S. Army Ordnance Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., news release, "Project Saturn,"
12 Feb. 1959; Advanced Research Projects Agency, "Saturn Chronology," ARPA retired files,
1959, copy in SHP files; von Braun, "Saturn the Giant," p. 41.
24. Akens, Saturn Chronology, p. 4; Emme, "Perspectives," p. 372; T. Keith Glennan to Roy W.
Johnson, 20 Mar. 1959, JSC files.
25. Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, "Investigation of Space Activities,"
Johnson testimony, pp. 111-113, 140.
26. ARPA, "Saturn Chronology," pp. 12-14.
27. Akens, Saturn Chronology, p. 5.
28. Milton W. Rosen interview, NASA, 14 Nov. 1969.
29. ARPA, "Saturn Chronology," pp. 14-15.
30. Herbert F. York to Eugene Emme, 10 June 1974.
31. Herbert F. York to Eugene Emme, 2 May 1973; ARPA, "Saturn Chronology," pp. 5-6.
32. Wesley L. Hjornevik to the Administrator, "Utilization of ABMA," 20 Jan. 1959, JSC files.
33. Senate Comm. on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, "Investigation of Space Activities," Johnson
testimony, pp. 164-165.
34. NASA Hq., "Notes on Meeting on Vehicle Program Status, Friday, April 17, 1959," 17 Apr.
1959, JSC files.
35. York to Emme, 2 May 1973.
36. Emme, "Perspectives," p. 373.
37. T. Keith Glennan to the President, "Responsibility and Organization for Certain Space
Activities," 2 Nov. 1959 (copies of 21 Oct. and 30 Oct. memos attached), JSC files.
38. McKinsey and Co., Inc., "Providing Supporting Services for the Development Operation
Division," 14 Jan. I960; Akens, Saturn Chronology, p. 6; Emme, "Perspectives," p. 373.
39. Akens, Historical Origins, pp. 81, 89-91. The full text of Eisenhower's remarks appears as
Appendix "F" in Historical Origins.
460
NOTES TO PAGES 43-55
40. Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 4—6.
41. Mrazek, "Saturn Family," p. 3.
42. Mrazek, "Saturn Project," pp. 17, 74. Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 5—6.
43. John L. Sloop interview, NASA, 14 Nov. 1969; Rosen interview, 1969; Walter T. Olson to John
Sloop, 21 Jan. 1972.
44. Senate Comm. on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, "Investigation of Space Activities," Johnson
testimony, p. 123.
45. Abraham Hyatt to Abe Silverstein, 24 Aug., 1959.
46. Saturn Vehicle Team, "Report to the Administrator, NASA, on Saturn Development Plan," 15
Dec. 1959.
47. Abraham Hyatt to Thomas O. Paine, 25 Nov. 1969; Hyatt to Eugene Emme, 21 Mar. 1973; von
Braun, "Saturn the Giant," p. 41.
48. Von Braun, "Saturn: Our Best Hope," p. 13; Mrazek, "Saturn Family," pp. 3, 4.
49. Eldon W. Hall and Francis C. Schwenk, "Current Trends in Large Booster Developments,"
Aerospace Engineering, May 1960, p. 21.
50. Saturn Vehicle Team, "Report," pp. 1—8.
51. Quoted in Emme, "Perspectives," p. 373.
52. House Committee on Science and Astronautics, Review of the Space Program, 86th Cong., 2d sess.,
Jan.-Feb. 1960, pp. 167-190.
53. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to T. Keith Glennan, 14 Jan. 1960; Akens, Saturn Chronology, p.
8.
54. Robert O. Piland to Chief, Flight Systems Div., "Advanced Propulsion Requirements Meeting at
Headquarters, June 8-9, 1960 (Information)," 17 June 1960, JSC files.
55. Homer J. Stewart to the Administrator, "Vehicle Requirements for the Space Program," 18 July
1960.
56. NASA, Off. of Program Planning and Evaluation, "A Proposed Long Range Plan," 4 Nov. 1960,
pp. 4, 12, copy in JSC files.
57. Ibid., pp. 18-21.
58. Ibid., pp. 22-25.
59. Ibid., pp. 38-39.
60. President's Science Advisory Comm., "Report of Ad Hoc Panel on Man-in-Space," 14 Nov. 1960,
pp. 1,6.
61. Ibid., pp. 2-3.
62. Emme, "Perspectives," pp. 375-376; Rosholt, Administrative History, pp. 117, 187-188.
63. Jerome B. Wiesner, "Report to the President-Elect of the Ad Hoc Committee on Space," 10 Jan.
1961, passim.
64. Rosholt, Administrative History, pp. 183-192; Hugh L. Dryden interviews, NASA, 26 Mar. 1964;
Robert C. Seamans, Jr. interview, NASA, 27 Mar. 1964. Interviews taped for archives of John
Fitzgerald Kennedy Library, copies in JSC files.
65. Public Papers of the Presidents, John F. Kennedy, 1961 (Washington, 1962), p. 95.
66. John M. Logsdon, The Decision to Go To The Moon: Project Apollo and the National Interest
(Cambridge, Mass., 1970), p. 106; Hugh Sidey, "Soviet Spacemen," Life, 21 Apr. 1961, pp.
26-27.
67. Cited in Emme, "Perspectives," p. 378.
68. House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 1962 NASA Authorization Hearings, 87 Cong., 1st
sess., Mar.-Apr. 1961, pp. 1-5, 31, 374-378.
69. Public Papers . . . Kennedy, 1962 (Washington, 1963), pp. 688-674. For additional background,
see Courtney Brooks, James Grimwood, and Loyd S. Swenson, Jr., Chariots for Apollo: A History of
Manned Lunar Spacecraft, NASA SP-4205 (Washington, 1979), Chapter 1. For a thorough review
and assessment of this era and Kennedy's historic decision, see the fine study by Logsdon, The
Decision to Go to the Moon.
461
NOTES TO PAGES 57-65
CHAPTER 3
1 . Akens, Saturn Chronology, p. 12; Donald H. Heaton, "Miniites of the Executive Meeting at AFBMD
on October 28, 1960," memo for record, 2 Nov. 1960, JSC files.
2. MSFC, Saturn Systems Off., Saturn Quarterly Progress Report January-March 1961, p. 42, cited
hereafter as MSFC, SSO, Saturn QPR. These documents are housed in the files of the Historical
Off., Marshall Space Flight Center, cited hereafter as MSFC files.
3. NASA, "Minutes: Space Exploration Program Council," pp. 5-6 Jan. 1961, JSC files.
4. See, for example, various Quarterly Progress Reports issued during 1961 by MSFC, Saturn
Systems Off., MSFC files.
5. The Dyna-Soar persisted within the Air Force for two more years until the program was canceled
in 1963 for lack of funds, and, more conclusively, because it was overtaken by newer technology
in the form of Gemini two-man missions. See, for example, Swenson, Grimwood, and
Alexander, This New Ocean, pp. 532-533, fn. 61.
6. Hugh Dryden to Hugh Odishaw, 6 Mar. 1961.
7. "Discussion Notes, Lunar Landing Steering Group," memo, 31 July 1961. Among the dozen
attendees, including Rosen, were Seamans, Silverstein, Gilruth, and Eberhard Rees, von Braun's
top deputy from MSFC.
8. Akens, Saturn Chronology, p. 31; MSFC, SSO, Saturn QPR,Jan.-Mar. 1962, p. 23; Oswald Lange,
"Development of the Saturn Space Carrier Vehicle," in Stuhlinger, et al., Astronautical Engineer-
ing, p. 18.
9. Ernst D. Geissler, "Project Apollo Vehicular Plans," text of Geissler's presentation to a NASA
management meeting at Langley Research Center, Apr. 1962, pp. 1-2.
10. Ibid., pp. 1, 11-13.
11. Ibid., pp. 2, 10-12.
12. Akens, Saturn Chronology, p. 50; NASA News Release, 1 1 July 1962; MSFC Press Release, 8 Feb.
1963.
13. NASA, "News Release: Space Task Group Becomes Separate NASA Field Element," 3 Jan. 1961,
JSC files. See also Rosholt, Administrative History, pp. 83 ff.; Swenson, Grimwood, and Alexander,
This New Ocean, pp. 114—116.
14. Robert R. Gilruth to Staff, "Advanced Vehicle Team," 25 May 1960, JSC files.
15. J. T. Markley, "Trip Report: Project Apollo," 30 Oct. 1960, JSC files.
16. NASA, "News Release: STG," 3 Jan. 1961; T. Keith Glennan, "Instructions, Management
Manual: Functions and Authority — Space Task Group," 1 Jan. 1961; Paul E. Purser, "An-
nouncement to NASA Employees: Designation of STG as Manned Spaceflight Center," 1 Nov.
1961, copies in JSC files.
17. "Discussion Notes, Lunar Landing Steering Group," memo, 31 July 1961.
18. Emme, "Perspectives," p. 376.
19. Robert R. Gilruth to Nicholas E. Golovin, 12 Sept. 1961. The Earth parking orbit did, in fact,
become established Apollo-Saturn mission procedure. Gilruth's additional recommendation for
a "single-burn" stage for translunar injection (TLI) was not followed, however, since the S-IVB
third stage of the Saturn V placed the Apollo spacecraft into parking orbit, then refired for the
TLI phase.
20. John M. Logsdon, "Selecting the Way to the Moon: The Choice of the Lunar Orbital
Rendezvous Mode," Aerospace Historian, 18 (June 1971): 66-68. For full details, see Brooks,
Grimwood, and Swenson, Chariots for Apollo.
21. John C. Houbolt to Robert C. Seamans, 15 Nov. 1961, JSC files.
22. Milton W. Rosen to D. Brainerd Holmes, "Large Launch Vehicle Program," 6 Nov. 1961, JSC
files. For details and membership of these various groups, see Logsdon, "Selecting," and Brooks,
Grimwood, and Swenson, Chariots for Apollo.
23. Combined Working Group on Vehicles for Manned Space Flight, "Report," 20 Nov. 1961,
attached to Rosen-Holmes memo, cited above.
24. Logsdon, "Selecting," p. 68.
25. Milton Rosen, interview, NASA, 14 Nov. 1969.
462
NOTES TO PAGES 66-74
26. Quoted in Logsdon, "Selecting," p. 68.
27. A. T. Mattson to Charles J. Donlen, "Report on Activities 16 Apr. to 19 Apr. 1962, Regarding
Manned Spacecraft Projects," 20 Apr. 1962, JSC files.
28. D. Brainerd Holmes to von Braim, 4 June 1962, JSC files.
29. Von Braun, "Concluding Remarks by Dr. Wernher von Braun About Mode Selection for the
Lunar Landing Program Given to Dr. Joseph F. Shea, Deputy Dir. (Systems) Off. of Manned
Space Flight," memo for the record, June 1962, pp. 1-5.
30. Logsdon, "Selecting," pp. 69-70; interview, Robert C. Seamans, Jr., NASA, 27 Mar. 1964.
According to von Braun, Wiesner said later that he felt all three modes (direct, EOR, LOR) were
feasible, but that more study and more effort might have been given to a Saturn V direct mode
mission. Von Braun, "Saturn the Giant" in Cortright, ed., Apollo Expeditions (1974), p. 5. (draft
copy).
3 1 . Ivan D. Ertel and Mary Louise Morse, The Apollo Spacecraft: A Chronology, vol. 1 , NASA SP-4009,
(Washington, 1969), pp. 165-166, 201-202. See also Brooks, Grimwood, and Swenson,
Chariots for Apollo.
32. For dates of initiation and completion of new installations, and costs, see MSFC, "MSFC
Technical Facilities History and Description," 30 June 1968. For photos and illustrations of
installations, including brief technical descriptions, see MSFC, Technical Facilities and Equipment
Digest, January 1967. For details of the transfer, including figures, see David S. Akens, Historical
Origins of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, MSFC Historical Monograph no. 1
(Huntsville, Ala., 1960), especially Appendix C. Additional data are noted in David S. Akens, An
Illustrated Chronology of the NASA Marshall Center and MSFC Program, 1960-1973 (Huntsville,
Ala., 1974), MHR-10, pp. 404, 406-407.
33. Kurt H. Debus, "The Evolution of Launch Concepts and Space Flight Operations," in Stuhlinger
et al., Astronautical Engineering, pp. 25-41 ; MSFC, Historical Off., History of the George C. Marshall
Space Flight Center, January 1-June 30, 1962, Vol. 1, MHM-5 (1962), pp. xii, 2; KSC, The Kennedy
Space Center Story, pp. 3, 49-52. For full details, see Benson and Faherty, Moonport.
34. For a summary of the historical origins of Michoud, see William Ziglar, "History of NASA, MTF
and Michoud," NASA HHN-127, Sept. 1972 (a preliminary draft copy in JSC files). See also,
Boeing, Thrust, 4 Oct. 1958; and Milton Alberstadt, "Muskrats, Moonships, and Michoud," 1968.
The Boeing Thrust was a company paper published at Michoud. Alberstadt's article is a reprint
from an uncited source. (Copies in SHP files.) General information is contained in publicity
pamphlets, issued by MSFC/Michoud, "Michoud Operations," 1964, and "From Michoud to the
Moon," 1966. For detailed analysis of production and facility operations, see, MAF, Historical
Report, Michoud Operations (1 Jan. 1967-31 Dec. 1967); ibid. (1 July 1963-31 Dec. 1963).
Detailed pictorial coverage is the basis of the format for MSFC, Michoud and Mississippi Test
Operations: Management Information, vol. 2, 3rd ed., May 1965; ibid., vol. 2, 4th ed., Dec. 1965.
Scheduling details are charted in NASA, Off. of Manned Space Flight, Construction of Facilities,
MSFC-Bk. 3-Michoud, Oct., 1965.
35. MSFC, Michoud and Mississippi Test Operations: Management Information, vol. 2, 3rd ed., May 1965,
pp. 60—66; Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 41—42.
36. "Mississippi Test Facility," news release, in MTF folder, 1969; "Way Station to the Moon,"
Business Week, 2 Apr. 1966, p. 62; "A Roar for Pearl River," Boeing Magazine, December 1965, p.
9; General Electric, "General Electric/Mississippi Test Support Department's First Five Years as
Prime NASA Support Contractor at Mississippi Test Facility," 1967, (unpaged draft, apparently
a preliminary copy, in typescript).
37. "Report from Mississippi," GE Challenge, Spring 1967, pp. 10—12; "Way Station," Business Week,
2 Apr. 1966, p. 63; John F. Judge, "GE Details," Aerospace Technology, 9 Oct. 1967, pp. 48-51;
"Mississippi Test Facility," news release, in MTF folder, 1969; background briefs, "Static
Test. . .S-IC," and "Static Test. . .S-II," background briefs, in MTF folder, 1969; miscellaneous
PAO brochures in MTF folder, 1969; NAR, "Mississippi Test Operations," 15 Jan. 1971; MSFC,
Michoud and Mississippi Test Operations: Management Information, May and Dec. 1965, cited above;
General Electric, "General Electric/MTSD," cited above. On 14 June 1974, MTF was renamed
National Space Technology Laboratories (NSTL), a permanent NASA field installation reporting
directly to NASA Hq. Activities included engine tests, as well as a variety of research and
technical activities, especially those related to Earth resources and environment.
38. Stuhlinger presentation in Army Ballistic Missile Agency, "ABMA Presentation to the NASA,"
ABMA, Rept. no. D-TN-1-59, 15 Dec. 1958, pp. 129-149.
463
NOTES TO PAGES 76-91
39. H. H. Koelle, F. L. Williams, W. G. Huber, and R. C. Callaway, Jr., Juno V Space Vehicle
Development Program, Phase I: Booster Feasibility Demonstration, ABMA, Redstone Arsenal, Rept.
no. DSP-TM-10-58, 13 Oct. 1958; H. H. Koelle, et al., "Juno V Space Vehicle Development
Program (Status Report — 15 November 1958)," ABMA, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., Rept. no.
DSP-TM-11-58, 15 Nov. 1958; von Braun presentation in ABMA, "ABMA Presentation," pp.
63-125; Myron Uherka, "System Description for Saturn Vehicle (SA-1 Through SA-4),"
ABMA, Rept. no. DSL-TM- 10-59, 2 Apr. 1959.
40. The basic technical document for the Saturn I is MSFC, Saturn Systems Off., "Saturn C-l,
Project Development Plan," 10 Aug. 1961, a comprehensive and hefty overview. A useful
companion study is MSFC, Saturn . . . 1962, basically a photographic history, with excellent
technical photo coverage of design details and fabrication. See also Lange, "Development," in
Stuhlinger et al., Astronautical Engineering; Frederick E. Vreuls, "The S-I Stage," Astronautics, 7
(Feb. 1962): 33, 70, 71; Chrysler Corp., "This is Your Chrysler Saturn Story," 1964.
41. Homer B. Wilson, "Saturn Base Heating Review," 1967; J. S. Butz, "Safety, Simplicity Stressed in
Saturn Design Approach," Aviation Week, 9 May, 1960, pp. 52-55, et seq.
42. Karl L. Heimburg, "Saturn Developmental Testing," Astronautics, 7, (Feb. 1962): 54, 56, 58;
Konrad L. Dannenberg, "The Saturn System Develops," Astronautics, 7, (Feb. 1962): 106; Akens,
Historical Origins, p. 63; Akens et al., History of MSFC, July 1-December 31, 1960, MHM-2, May
1961, pp. 44-45; MSFC, "MSFC Technical Facilities History and Descriptions," 30 June 1968;
MSFC, Technical Facilities and Equipment Digest (Jan. 1967); von Braun interview, NASA, 17 Nov.
1971.
43. Heimburg, "Saturn Testing," pp. 49, 54, 58; B. J. Funderburk, Automation in Saturn I First Stage
Checkout, MSFC, NASA TN D-4328, Jan. 1968, passim; Akens, Historical Origins, p. 8; Akens,
Saturn Chronology, p. 8; MSFC, Technical Digest, p. 8.
44. MSFC, Saturn I Summary, TMX 57401, 15 Feb. 1966, unpaged; Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp.
28—31; Lange, "Development," Astronautical Engineering, pp. 15—16.
45. Chrysler Corp., Space Div., "Saturn IB Orientation: Systems Training Manual," no. 851-0, 15
Feb. 1965, pp. 2-3; Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 39, 42; MSFC, Saturn IB News Reference, Sept.
1968, pp. 1.2-1.3; MSFC, Historical Off., History of MSFC, July 1 -December 3 1 , 1962, MHM-6,
May 1963, pp. 169-181.
46. For an explanation of the Saturn IB weight saving program, see H. D. Lowrey, "The Saturn IB
Launch Vehicle System," speech to Soc. of Automotive Engineers, Detroit, Mich., 9 Nov. 1964.
For overall system description, manufacturing, and operations, see Chrysler, "Saturn IB
Orientation"; MSFC, Saturn IB News Reference; MSFC, Saturn IB Launch Vehicle Project Develop-
ment Plan, NASA-TM-X-60121, 1 Jan. 1967; MSFC, Technical Digest, pp. 76-77, 81-82. For
detailed description, and cut-away drawings of major systems and components, see MSFC,
Saturn IB Vehicle Handbook, vol. 1, "Vehicle Description," vol. 2, "S-IB Stage," CR-81077, 25 luly
1966.
CHAPTER 4
1. Michael T. Davis, Robert K. Allgeier, Jr., Thomas G. Rogers, and Gordon Rysavy, The
Development of Cryogenic Storage Systems for Space Flight (Washington, 1970), p. 1.
2. Davis et al., Cryogenic Storage, p. 12. For a highly technical review of cryogenic research, see the
contribution of John A. Clark, "Cryogenic Heat Transfer," in Thomas F. Irvin, Jr., and James P.
Harnett, eds., Advances in Heat Transfer (New York, 1968), 5: 325-517. For description of
cryogenic production techniques and applications, see the articles "Cryogenics" and "Cryogenic
Engineering" in the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (New York, 1960), pp.
569-75.
3. There were significant milestones in the development of other missiles and launch vehicles
which used either solid propellant motors or other kinds of liquid propellants. The first
upper-stage liquid rocket engine, for example, originated in the Vanguard program, using nitric
acid and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine as propellants.
4. Leland F. Belew, W. H. Patterson, and J. W. Thomas, Jr., "Apollo Vehicle Propulsion Systems,"
AIAA Paper 65-303, July 1965, pp. 1-2.
5. Edward E. Straub, "The H-l Engine," Astronautics, 7 (Feb. 1962): 39; A. A. McCool and Keith B.
464
NOTES TO PAGES 92-102
Chandler, "Development Trends of Liquid Propellant Engines," in Ernst Stuhlinger et al., eds.,
From Peenemuende to Outer Space (Huntsville, Ala., 1962), pp. 294-96.
6. William J. Brennan, "Milestones in Cryogenic Liquid Propellant Rocket Engines," AIAA Paper
67-978, Oct. 1967, passim.
7. For an overview of these and related topics, see Brennan, "Milestones," pp. 10—13. For a
technical discussion of early thrust chamber designs, consult Heinz H. Koelle, ed., Handbook of
Astronautical Engineering (New York, 1961), pp. 20.69—20.75. Theories on thrust chambers
prevalent in the late sixties are discussed in Dieter K. Huzel and David H. Huang, Design of Liquid
Propellant Rocket Engines, 2d ed. (Washington, 1971), pp. 81-120. See especially the illustration
on p. 113, depicting variations in tube cross sections. Koelle, Handbook, pp. 20.90-20.99,
includes analysis of turbopump design parameters. For a more extended treatment, see Huzel
and Huang, Design, pp. 176-261. Gas generators are also described in Koelle, Handbook, pp.
20.102-20.105, and in Huzel and Huang, Design, pp. 131-36.
For clarification of many details of propulsion system design and operation covered in
Chapters 4 and 5, the author wishes to acknowledge interviews with Leonard Bostwick and
Milan Burns, MSFC, 31 July 1975, and with Joseph Attinello, Robert Fontaine, and Paul Fuller,
Rocketdyne, 4 Mar. and 10 Mar., 1971.
8. A. J. Burks, "Development of LOX-Hydrogen Engines for the Saturn Apollo Launch Vehicles,"
MSFC, Engine Program Off., 10 June 1968, p. 1. At the time, Burks was the assistant manager of
the office. Although this report applied specifically to LOX-LH2 systems, his comment on
engines as the pacing item applied to propulsion systems in general.
9. Leonard C. Bostwick, "Development of LOX/RP-1 Engines for Saturn/Apollo Launch Vehicles,"
AIAA Paper for Propulsion, Joint Specialist Conf., June 1968, p. 1.
10. Bostwick, "Development of LOX/RP-1 Engines"; Belew, Patterson and Thomas, "Apollo
Propulsion Systems."
11. Akens, Saturn Chronology, p. 3; MSFC, Launch Vehicle Engines: Project Development Plan (MA
001-A50-2H), 1 July 1965, p. 2.5. The direct antecedents of the H-l included not only the Thor
and Jupiter engine system designs, but also designs from three other engine development
programs, known as the MA-3, the X-l and the S-4.
12. "Saturn H-l Engine Design Features and Proposed Changes," ORDAB-DSDE, 21 Sept. 1959,
DSDDE memo no. 2017; MSFC, Launch Vehicle Engines, pp. 2.1, 2.6; Rocketdyne, "News from
Rocketdyne: Data Sheet, H-l Rocket Engine," 15 July 1968.
13. Emme, Aeronautics and Astronautics, p. 109; Rocketdyne, "News/Data Sheet, H-l"; Straub, "The
H-l Engine," pp. 39, 96. Straub was a Rocketdyne engineer involved with the H-l engine from
its inception. Engine production continued under NASA cognizance after the formal transfer of
specified ARPA and ABMA projects on 16 Mar. 1960.
14. MSFC Saturn Off., Saturn Monthly Progress Report, 16 Nov.- 12 Dec. 1963, pp. 5-6; MSFC
Engine Project Off., H-l Engine Project Development Plan, 1 Dec. 1963, pp. 33-38; MSFC Engine
Project Off., Engine Quarterly Report, Apr.-June, 1964, p. 21; MSFC, Michoud Assembly Facility
Historical Report, 1 Jan. -30 June 1965, pp. 5, 23; MSFC Industrial Operations, Engine Program
Off., Quarterly Progress Report: F-l, H-l, J-2 and RL-10 Engines, January-March, 1965, 15 Mar.
1965, pp. 15-16; Paul Anderson, Contracts Off., MSFC, "Contract NAS8-18741," 30 June
1967.
15. MSFC, Launch Vehicle Engines, p. 9.5; Bostwick and Burns interview; Attinello, Fontaine, and
Fuller interviews.
16. MSFC, Launch Vehicle Engines, pp. 2.6, 3.23; Rocketdyne, H-l Rocket Engine Technical Manual
R-3 620-1: Engine Data, 1968, pp. 1.1, 1.8, 1.28; Belew, Patterson, and Thomas, "Apollo Vehicle
Propulsion Systems," p. 2; MSFC, Saturn IB News Reference, Sept. 1968, pp. 4.1-4.2, 4.6; Straub,
"H-l Engine," pp. 39, 36.
17. Belew, Patterson, and Thomas, "Apollo Propulsion Systems," p. 3; Bostwick, "Development of
LOX/RP-1 Engines," pp. 3-4.
18. Charles E. Cataldo, H-l Engine LOX Dome Failure, NASA TM X-53220, July 1964, pp. 1-4; KSC
to Apollo Program Dir., Hq., teletype, "SA-7 Launch Schedule," 17 July 1964; Apollo Spacecraft
Program Off., Hq. to KSC, teletype, "SA-7 Launch Schedule," 22 July 1964; Belew, Patterson,
and Thomas, "Apollo Propulsion Systems," p. 3; Bostwick, "Development of LOX/RP-1
Engines," p. 4.
19. Belew, Patterson, and Thomas, "Apollo Propulsion Systems," p. 3; Bostwick, "Development of
LOX/RP-1 Engines," p. 5.
465
NOTES TO PAGES 103-115
20. Arthur W. Thomson, "Meeting Held December 1, 1966 to Review Problems with the H-l Engine
on S-IB-7 and S-IB-8," 1 Dec. 1966 memo for record.
21. Ibid; Bostwick, "Development of LOX/RP-1 Engines," pp. 5-6.
22. Belew, Patterson, and Thomas, "Apollo Propulsion Systems," p. 3; Bostwick, "Development of
LOX/RP-1 Engines," pp. 6-7.
23. Akens, Saturn Chronology, p. 4; David E. Aldrich, "The F-l Engine," Astronautics, 7 (Feb. 1962):
40; David E. Aldrich and DominickJ. Sanchini, "F-l Engine Development," Astronautics, 7 (Mar.
1961):24. Aldrich at the time was Rocketdyne's manager and chief engineer on the F-l engine
project; Sanchini was the assistant engineer.
24. Belew, Patterson, and Thomas, "Apollo Propulsion Systems," p. 5; MSFC, Launch Vehicle Engines,
p. 2.3; Emme, Aeronautics and Astronautics, p. 77.
25. Belew, Patterson, and Thomas, "Apollo Propulsion Systems," p. 4; Bostwick and Burns
interview; MSFC, Launch Vehicle Engines, p. 2.3.
26. Aldrich and Sanchini, "F-l Development," p. 25; MSFC, Launch Vehicle Engines, p. 2.3; Brennan,
"Milestones," p. 9.
27. Franklin L. Thistle, "Rocketdyne: The First 25 Years," North American Rockwell Corp., 1970,
pp. 22, 25, 28; Aldrich, "F-l," p. 96; Belew, Patterson, and Thomas, "Apollo Propulsion
Systems," p. 5; Rocketdyne, "Data Sheet: F-l Rocket Engine," 12 Dec. 1967; Aldrich and
Sanchini, "F-l Development," p. 47; MSFC, Launch Vehicle Engines, pp. 9.4-5.
28. Joseph P. McNamara interview, North American Rockwell, 5 Mar. 1971; Brennan, "Milestones,"
p. 8; MSFC, Launch Vehicle Engines, p. 2.4.
29. Aldrich, "F-l," p. 40; Belew, Patterson, and Thomas, "Apollo Propulsion Systems," pp. 4—5;
Brennan, "Milestones," p. 8; MSFC. Launch Vehicle Engines, p. 2.4.
30. MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, Dec. 1968, 3.1 and following.
31. Aldrich and Sanchini, "F-l Development," pp. 46-47; Aldrich, "F-l," p. 69; MSFC, Saturn V
News Reference, 3.1-2; Aldrich and Sanchini, "Design and Development of a 1 500 000-Pound-
Thrust Space Booster Engine," Rocketdyne Report, July 1963, pp. 2 — 3.
32. Bostwick, "Development of LOX/RP-1 Engines," p. 9.
33. Hugh Dryden to Hugh Odishaw, 6 Mar. 1961.
34. Bostwick, "Development," p. 9; Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 49, 88; MSFC Historical Off.,
History of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center From July 1 Through December 31, 1962, MHM-6
(1963), p. 131; von Braun to Seamans, draft of memo, 1962. Although the memo itself is
undated, internal evidence indicates it was prepared late in Nov. 1962, following a meeting of
the Off. of Manned Space Flight on 17 Nov. Copy in the personal files of Jerry Thomson, MSFC,
examined by the author on 27 July 1972. Cited hereafter as MSFC, Thomson files.
35. Jerry Thomson to multiple addressees, "Activities CSAHC from Inception to September 1,
1962," 21 Sept. 1962; Jerry Thomson to multiple addressees, "Minutes 2nd Meeting CSAHC
2-3 October at Rocketdyne," 17 Oct. 1962. MSFC, Thomson files.
36. Von Braun to Seamans, draft of memo, 1962; Jerry Thomson to multiple addressees,
"Minutes . . . Meeting on F-l Engine Combustion Instability . . . December 4, 1962." MSFC,
Thomson files.
37. Jerry Thomson to Rocketdyne, letter draft, Dec. 1962; S.F. Morea, "Presentation to Mr. D.
Brainerd Holmes on F-l Combustion Stability Effort— January 31, 1963," memo for record, 18
Feb. 1963; A. O. Tischler, "Meeting on F-l Combustion Stability Effort— January 31, 1963,"
memo for record, 18 Feb. 1963; A. O. Tischler, "Meeting on F-l Combustion Instability at
NASA HQ, 31 January 1963," memo for record (all in MSFC, Thomson files); Holmes to
Seamans, 4 Feb. 1963, copy in SHP files.
38. Holmes to von Braun, 25 Mar. 1963. MSFC, Thomson files.
39. Bostwick, "Development," p. 9; Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 49, 88.
40. Crocco to von Braun, 13 May 1963; Jerry Thomson, memo for record, autumn 1963; Hugh
Dryden to von Braun, 4 Feb. 1964. MSFC, Thomson files.
41. Jerry Thomson, "Minutes of 6th Combustion Ad Hoc Committee . . . 4-5 December 1963,"
memo for record; Crocco and Harrje to Thomson, 29 July 1964; Crocco to P. D. Castenholz, 16
Aug. 1964. MSFC, Thomson files.
466
NOTES TO PAGES 115-130
42. Brennan, "Milestones," p. 9; Bostwick, "Development," p. 9; McNamara interview; Robert
Fontaine interview, 4 Mar. 1971, and 10 Mar. 1971; Bostwick and Burns interview, 3 1 July 1975.
43. Brennan, "Milestones," p. 9; contractor briefing session, Rocketdyne, 4 Mar. and 10 Mar. 1971.
44. NASA/MSFC Resident Off., Rocket Test Site, Edwards, Calif, to S. F. Morea, MSFC, "Weekly
Report Ending 15 April 1965," teletype; NASA/MSFC F-l Project Off., Rocketdyne/Canoga
Park, Calif., to S.F. Morea, MSFC, "Weekly Report Ending 15 January 1965," teletype.
45. NASA/MSFC F-l Project Off., Rocketdyne/Canoga Park, Calif, to S. F. Morea, MSFC, "Weekly
Report Ending 25 June 1965," teletype; Leland Belew to General S. C. Phillips, "Apollo Flash
Report," telegram, 1 July 1965 and 9 July 1965; NASA/MSFC F-l Project Off., Rocketdyne/Canoga
Park, Calif., to S. F. Morea, MSFC, "Weekly Report Ending 20 August 1965," teletype; Bostwick,
"Development," p. 10.
46. Aldrich, "F-l," p. 69.
47. MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, pp. 3.4-5.
48. Bostwick, "Development," pp. 9—10; McNamara interview; contractor briefing sessions,
Rocketdyne, 4 Mar. and 10 Mar. 1971.
49. Belew et al., "Apollo Propulsion Systems," pp. 5-6; Aldrich, "F-l" p. 40; Aldrich and Sanchini,
"Design and Development," pp. 8- 10; David E. Aldrich, "Saturn V Booster — The F-l Err^.ne,"
Rocketdyne Report, Mar. 1965, p. 18.
50. Aldrich, "Saturn V Booster," p. 4; Aldrich and Sanchini, "Design and Development," p. 2;
Belew et al., "Apollo Propulsion Systems," p. 6; MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, pp. 3.1—2.
51. Aldrich, "Saturn V Booster," p. 13; Francis X. de Carlo, "Furnace Brazing," Rocketdyne Report,
undated, pp. 1, 5, 7, 10.
52. De Carlo, "Furnace Brazing," pp. 1 1, 14, 17, 32, 33; Ernst G. Huschke, Jr., "Furnace Brazing of
Liquid Rocket Engines," Rocketdyne Report, 1963, passim.
53. Aldrich, "Saturn V Booster," pp. 4, 18; Aldrich and Sanchini, "Design and Development," pp. 5,
6; Bostwick, "Development"; MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, pp. 3.2-3, 3.6-7, 3.10.
54. Aldrich and Sanchini, "F-l Development"; MSFC, "Launch Vehicle Engines," pp. 9.4-5.
55. Akens, Saturn Chronology, passim; Thistle, "25 Years," pp. 35, 40, 44; Rocketdyne, "Data Sheet:
F-l," p. 1.
56. Marshall Star, "Engine Storage Lifetime Extended by Tests Here," 2 June 1971; Marshall Star,
"F-l Engine Is Static Fired After Storage," 12 July 1972. Apparently, selected J-2 engines were
also fired about the same time.
57. Straub, "H-l Engine," p. 39.
CHAPTER 5
1. Rocketdyne, "Propulsion: The Key to Moon Travel," 1964. For a richly detailed history of LH2
development by an engineer who participated in many of the key research programs and knew
virtually all the participants, see John L. Sloop, Liquid Hydrogen as a Propulsion Fuel, 1945—1959,
SP-4404, (Washington, 1978).
2. There are numerous books on dirigible technology and the use of hydrogen gas. See, for
example, Douglas H. Robinson, Giants in the Sky (Seattle, WA, 1973). A translation of
Tsiolkovsky's 1903 treatise, discussing liquid hydrogen fuels, is included in NASA, Collected
Works ofK. E. Tsiolkovsky, vol. 2, NASA TTF-237, pp. 72-117. For a brief discussion of LH2
research, see John D. Clark, Ignition: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants (New
Brunswick, N.J., 1972), pp. 103-114.
3. George H. Osburn, Robert Gordon, and Herman L. Coplen, "Liquid Hydrogen Rocket Engine
Development, 1944— 1950" (a paper presented at the 21st International Astronautical Congress,
Constance, West Germany, 1970), p. 1; R. Cargill Hall, "Early U.S. Satellite Proposals" in Emme,
The History of Rocket Technology, p. 75 passim; Richard S. Lewis, Appointment on the Moon (New
York, 1968), p. 28. The story of von Karman's achievements is recounted in his autobiography,
The Wind and Beyond (Boston, i967).
467
NOTES TO PAGES 131-142
4. General Dynamics/Astronautics, A Primer of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's
Centaur (San Diego, 1964), p. 3. Osburn, Gordon, and Coplen, "Liquid Hydrogen Develop-
ment," pp. 3-4, 9; Sloop, Liquid Hydrogen, pp. 64 ff.
5. Osburn, Gordon, and Coplen, "Liquid Hydrogen Development," pp. 3, 9-10, 12. The Osburn
paper also includes detailed explanations of the production and handling of liquid hydrogen in
the pioneer facility.
6. The quotation is from Lewis, Appointment, p. 34. Sources for this portion of the narrative include
Lewis, Appointment, pp. 29-34; and Hall, "Early Proposals." See also Constance M. Green and
Milton Lomask, Vanguard: A History (Washington, 1971), pp. 1-24.
7. John Sloop, "NACA High Energy Rocket Propellant Research in the Fifties" (a paper presented
at the AIAA 8th Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., 1971), unpaged. See also, Sloop, Liquid
Hydrogen, pp. 71 ff., for early Lewis work and for Krafft Ehricke's work at GD/A.
8. Sloop, "NACA Rocket Research," John L. Sloop interview, NASA Hq., 2 Dec. 1971.
9. Sloop, "NACA Rocket Research"; Sloop, Liquid Hydrogen, pp. 187 ff.
10. General Dynamics/Astronautics, Centaur Primer: An Introduction to Hydrogen-Powered Space Flight
(San Diego, 1962), pp. x— xl.
11. General Dynamics, Centaur Primer, p. 1. For an account of the Atlas program, consult J. L.
Chapman, Atlas: The Story of a Missile (New York, 1960).
12. General Dynamics, Centaur Primer, pp. 12—13. For early LH2 work in jets, see Sloop, Liquid
Hydrogen, pp. 113 ff. For Pratt and Whitney's effort, see ibid., pp. 149 ff.
13. Lewis, Appointment, pp. 261—62; General Dynamics, Centaur Primer, p. 1; General Dynamics,
NASA Centaur, p. 3; MSFC, "Launch Vehicle Engines: Project Development Plan," 1 July 1965,
pp. 9, 11.
14. Oswald H. Lange, "Development of the Saturn Space Carrier Vehicle," in Stuhlinger et al.,
Astronautical Engineering and Science (New York, 1963), pp. 4—5.
15. General Dynamics, Centaur Primer, pp. 1-2; Lewis, Appointment, pp. 261-62. Col. Donald
Heaton to Hyatt, NASA Hq., "RL-10 Engine Management Arrangements," 14 Jan. 1960.
16. David S. Akens, Saturn Illustrated Chronology: Saturn's First Eleven Years, April 1957 through April
1968, MSFC, MHR-5, 1971, pp. 10, 14, 16-17, 30, 39.
17. Emme, Aeronautics and Astronatics, pp. 93, 103; Sloop, Liquid Hydrogen.
18. Douglas Aircraft Corp., "Saturn Data Summary Handbook," Douglas Rept. no. N66-28064, 1
Oct. 1965, pp. 10-11; Frank Ginsti, "Engineering's Prized New Ally," United Aircraft Quarterly
Bee-Hive, 37 (Jan. 1962): 34-36.
19. Jerry Thomson interview, MSFC, 21 July 1972; David L. Christensen interview, Univ. of
Alabama, Huntsville, 25 Mar. 1971. Thomson was a key engineer in the engine program at
MSFC. Christensen, also an engineer, had worked at ABMA, then as a technical liaison for the
Pall Corp.
20. General Dynamics, Centaur Primer, pp. 11-12; Leland F. Belew, Floyd Drummond, and
Rodney D. Stewart, "Recent NASA Experience with Hydrogen Engines," AIAA Paper 64-270,
1964, pp. 2-3. Leland F. Belew, W. H. Patterson, and J. W. Thomas, Jr., "Apollo Vehicle
Propulsion Systems," AIAA Paper 65-303, July 1965, p. 7.
21. William J. Brennan, "Milestones in Cryogenic Liquid Propellant Rocket Engines"; Belew,
Patterson, and Thomas, "Apollo Vehicle," p. 9; Pratt & Whitney, "News Release," 1965. For
additional details, see, A. A. McCool and G. H. McKay, Jr., "Propulsion Development Problems
Associated with Large Liquid Rockets," MSFC, TM X-53075, 12 Aug. 1963, pp. 16-19.
22. Belew, Patterson, and Thomas, "Apollo Vehicle," p. 7, passim; Belew, Drummond, and Stewart,
"Recent NASA Experience," pp. 1-2.
23. Rocketdyne, "J-2 Rocket Engine: Background Information, press release; Saturn Vehicle
Team," Report to the Administrator, NASA, on Saturn Development Plan," 15 Dec. 1959.
24. Floyd M. Drummond interview, MSFC, 1 Sept. 1971; Rocketdyne, "J-2 Rocket Engine," pp.
2-3; W. R. Studhalter, "The J-2 Liquid Hydrogen Rocket Engine," Society of Automotive
Engineers, SAE Paper no. 687 B, 1963, p. 20.
25. Rocketdyne, "J-2 Rocket Engine," p. 3.
26. Contractor facility tour and briefing, 4 Mar. 1971; Jack Monaghan interview, Rocketdyne, 4
Mar. 1971.
468
NOTES TO PAGES 143-158
27. Rocketdyne, "J-2 Rocket Engine," pp. 3—5; Belew, Patterson, and Thomas, "Apollo Vehicle," p.
10; MSFC, Saturn Systems Off., Saturn Monthly Progress Report, 12 Apr.- 12 May 1962, pp.
12-13; ibid., 14 May- 12 June 1962, p. 11; MSFC, Saturn Off., Saturn MPR, 15 Sept.- 15 Oct.
1962, pp. 5-6.
28. Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 39, 50; NASA News Release, July 11, 1962.
29. Rocketdyne, 'J-2 Rocket Engine," pp. 4-5.
30. Ibid.; Paul Fuller, "Liquid Hydrogen Technology, J-2 Engine" (a paper presented to a meeting
of the AIAA, July 1965), pp. 4-5.
31. Thomson interview; Christensen interview; Drummond interview; Robert Pease interview,
MSFC, 3 Sept. 1971; Richard N. Rodgers interview, MSFC, 24 Aug. 1971.
32. Rocketdyne, "Existing Technology," p. 2; Rocketdyne, "J-2 Engine," p. 4. MSFC, Saturn V News
Reference, pp. 6.1—6.2; Fuller, "Liquid Hydrogen Technology," p. 2.
33. Studhalter, "J-2 Rocket Engine," pp. 5-8; MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, p. 6.1.
34. Studhalter, "J-2 Rocket Engine," p. 3; Brennan, "Milestones," p. 6; Rocketdyne, "Existing
Technology Utilized in J-2 Engine System Design," 10 Mar. 1971, p. 5.
35. Studhalter, "J-2 Rocket Engine," pp. 3,5. Tank pressures in the vehicle were kept low to save the
weight of heavier test tank construction. Each pump had a very efficient inducer stage to operate
at low pressures. The NPSH for LH2 at 4 psia was 40 meters, and NPSH for LOX at 12.5 psia
was 7.6 meters.
36. Fuller, "Liquid Hydrogen Technology," pp. 3—4; Rocketdyne, "J-2 Engine . . . Change Points,"
9 March 1971, p. 1; MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, pp. 6.6-6.7.
37. Brennan, "Milestones," p. 8; Studhalter, "J-2 Rocket Engine," p. 9; Rocketdyne, "Existing
Technology," pp. 1—2; MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, pp. 6.2—6.4.
38. Belew, Drummond, and Stewart, "Recent NASA Experience," pp. 3—4; Studhalter, "J-2 Rocket
Engine," pp. 9, 13; Brennan, "Milestones," p. 8; Rocketdyne, "Existing Technology," p. 4;
Fuller, "Liquid Hydrogen Technology," p. 2; John L. Sloop to Monte Wright, NASA, 8 July
1976.
39. Rocketdyne, "J-2 Rocket Engine," pp. 5-6; Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 71, 78-79, 98; Fuller,
"Liquid Hydrogen Technology," p. 5; Belew, Patterson, and Thomas, "Apollo Vehicle," p. 12.
40. DAC, Saturn S-IVB Monthly TRP, July 1965, p. 48; MSFC Engine Program Off., Semiannual
Progress Report, July-Dec., 1965, pp. 21-23; MSFC files. MSFC press releases, nos. 66-4 and
66—8, 7 Jan. 1966; Rocketdyne, "J-2 Engine," p. 6; Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 115—16,
130-31; MSFC Test Lab, Historical Report, Jan.-Dec. 1965, pp. 7-8. For details of flight
missions, see Chapters 11 and 12.
41. Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 110, 145, 175; MSFC Press Release no. 67-39, 28 Feb. 1967;
MSFC, Saturn V Program Off., Saturn V Semiannual Progress Report, Jan. -June 1967, pp.
68-72; MSFC files; Saturn V Semiannual Progress Report, July-Dec. 1967, pp. 76-79; MSFC
files.
42. Studhalter, "J-2 Rocket Engine," pp. 5, 7; Belew, Drummond, and Stewart, "Recent NASA
Experience," p. 3.
43. Studhalter, "J-2 Rocket Engine," p. 17.
44. Drummond interview; Pease interview; Rodgers interview.
45. Belew, Patterson, and Thomas, "Apollo Vehicle," p. 1; Pease interview.
46. Rocketdyne, "J-2 Rocket Engine," p. 4; Studhalter, "J-2 Rocket Engine," pp. 20, 26. The
composition of Invar included Fe 63%; Ni 36%; other 1%.
CHAPTER 6
1. William A. Mrazek, "Launch Vehicle Systems," in NASA, "Science and Technology Committee
for Manned Space Flight," (MSC, Houston, Tex., 29 June 1964), I: 1-2, cited hereafter as
STAC Conference; Akens, Saturn Illustrated Chronology, p. 50.
2. Abraham Hyatt to the Associate Administrator, "Meeting with Director, Development Opera-
tions Division, ABMA, Huntsville," 11 Jan. 1960; von Braun to Maj. Gen. Don F. Ostrander
(USAF), NASA, 8 Jan. 1960; Abraham Hyatt to von Braun, 18 Jan. 1960.
469
NOTES TO PAGES 158-165
3. Maj. Gen. Don Ostrander, NASA, to von Braun, 26 Jan. 1960; minutes, "Saturn Orientation
Conference," 26-27 Jan. 1960. The latter is a verbatim copy, taped during the two-day session.
4. Abraham Hyatt to O. H. Lange, 22 June 1960.
5. T. Keith Glennan, "Administrator's Statement on the Selection of a Contractor for the Saturn
S-IV Stage," memo, 28 Apr. 1960; Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 8, 10, 13.
6. Glennan memo, "Administrator's Statement." By the fall of 1960, Convair won the S-V contract,
but the future of this third stage became marginal. In Jan. 1961, von Braun recommended a
change in the C-l, from three to two stages, and NASA management concurred. The
development of the S-V subsequently was canceled.
7. Controller General of the U.S. to Overton Brooks, Chmn., Comm. on Science and Astronautics,
22 June 1960; Committee on Science and Astronautics news release, 18 July 1960. Evidently,
there were questions about the significance of Chrysler's proposal to build its own plant near
Cape Canaveral. This would have entailed government funds and equipment, the GAO noted.
In any case, Chrysler's technical proposal received very low ratings. See, for example, Milton W.
Rosen, "Technical Evaluation of Saturn S-IV Proposal; Comments On," memo, 8 June 1950. For
additional comment on NASA procurement policies, see Vernon van Dyke, Pride and Power
(Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1964), pp. 214—16.
8. John Mazur, "Chronological Summary of Negotiations of Saturn . . . Vehicle Stage S-IV . . . ,"
memo, May 1960; von Braun to Ostrander, 18 May 1960; von Braun to Ostrander, "Agreements
and Design Assumptions of First Saturn S-IV Coordination Conference," with attachments, 15
June 1960.
9. Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 8, 10, 13.
10. Oswald H. Lange, "Development of the Saturn Space Carrier Vehicle," in Stuhlinger, et al.,
Astronautical Engineering, pp. 8, 18; Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 14, 16-17, 20, 31, 35.
11. The S-I first-stage booster for Saturn I made 10 launches, including 5 with a live S-IV stage. The
S-IVB third stage made 5 launches with the Saturn IB, and 6 more on the Saturn V through the
first lunar landing (AS-506). By the time of the final Apollo-Saturn mission (AS-512), the S-IVB
notched 6 more launches for a total of 17 flights. The first two stages of the Saturn V, the S-IC
and the S-II, had an even dozen launches on Apollo missions. The S-IC/S-II combination also
launched the Skylab orbital workshop. The last 4 Saturn IB/S-IVB launches involved three
Skylab crews and the ASTP crew, for a grand total of 21 S-IVB flights.
12. MSFC, "S-IVB Summary Chronology: Contract NAS7- 101— Douglas Aircraft Company,"
1963; D. Brainerd Holmes to Robert C. Seamans, "S-IVB Sole Source Procurement with
Douglas Aircraft Company," 15 Dec., 1961.
13. Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 39-40, 43, 50; H. E. Bauer, "Operational Experiences on the
Saturn S-IVB Stage," Society of Automotive Engineers Reprint no. 680756, Oct. 1968, p. 1;
Mrazek, "Launch Vehicle Systems," vol. 1, pp. 1-2.
14. Ludwig Roth and W. M. Shempp, "S-IVB High Energy Upper Stage and Its Development,"
Douglas Aircraft Corp., Douglas Paper no. 4040, 1967, pp. 1-2.
15. Bauer, "Operational Experiences," p. 11.
16. Ibid., pp. 2-3; Lange, "Development," p. 17; Roy E. Godfrey, "S-IVB Stage," STAC Confer-
ence, pt. 5, pp. 1-2.
17. E. D. Geissler, "Ascent Trajectory Considerations," STAC Conference, pt. 3, pp. 1-13.
18. Earl L. Wilson interview, MDAC, 11 Mar. 1971; MSFC, Saturn V News Reference; "S-IVB Fact
Sheet"; Charles C. Wood and H. G. Paul, "A Review of Cryogenic Technology Aspects of Space
Flight," a paper for the International Cryogenic Engineering Conference, Kyoto, Japan, 1967,
unpaged. This paper by Wood and Paul, both MSFC engineers, includes a very informative
summary of cryogenic problems of rockets in terms of tankage, orbital maneuvers, low-gravity
operations, and insulation.
19. Lange, "Development," p. 8.
20. For specific differences in the S-IVB/IB stage and the S-IVB stages, see, George E. Mueller to
NASA Administrator, "Conversion of an SIVB/IB Stage to SIVB/V Configuration," 14 Sept.
1965, and attachments.
21. Bauer, "Operational Experiences," p. 2; Harold E. Bauer interview, MDAC, 8 Mar. 1971;
E. Harpoothian, "The Production of Large Tanks for Cryogenic Fuels," Douglas Paper no.
470
NOTES TO PAGES 165-178
3155, 12 Nov. 1964, pp. 3, 10, 19-20, 31. Harpoothian at the time was Chief Engineer,
Structures Dept., Development Engineering, Douglas Aircraft Co.
22. Tour of contractor facilities, Mar. 1971; Bauer interview; Harpoothian, "Production of Large
Tanks," pp. 4, 6-7, 10, 26, 31; K. H. Boucher, "Saturn Third Stage S-IVB Manufacturing," p.
4; contractor briefing and tour of facilities, McDonnell Douglas and North American Rockwell,
Mar. 1971. For examples of typical aerospace construction techniques of the mid-1960s, see
Frank W. Wilson and Walter R. Prange, eds., Tooling for Aircraft and Missile Manufacture (New
York, 1964),
23. Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 49, 58; Bauer, "Operational Experiences," pp. 3-5; Boucher,
"Saturn S-IVB Manufacturing," p. 4; contractor briefing and tour of facilities, McDonnell
Douglas and North American Rockwell, Mar. 1971.
24. Boucher, "Saturn S-IVB Manufacturing," pp. 6, 9, 11; Harpoothian, "Production of Large
Tanks," pp. 6-7, 13-14, 35; Theodore Smith interview, MDAC, 3 Mar. 1971; Bauer,
"Operational Experiences," pp. 3, 4.
25. Bauer, "Operational Experiences," p. 4; Harpoothian, "Production of Large Tanks," p. 14; Roth
and Shempp, "S-IVB Development," p. 17; A. C. Robertson and E. L. Brown, "The Develop-
ment of a Bonded Common Bulkhead for Saturn," Douglas Paper no. 3817, p. 2; Theodore
Smith interview.
26. Robertson and Brown, "Development of Common Bulkhead," p. 2; Theodore Smith interview.
27. Robertson and Brown, "Development of Common Bulkhead," p. 3. Robertson was from
Douglas, and Brown from MSFC. See also Boucher, "Saturn S-IVB Manufacturing," pp. 13—19;
Harpoothian, "Production of Large Tanks," pp. 39—44.
28. Boucher, "Saturn S-IVB Manufacturing," pp 34-35, 37, 39, 57-58, 60-61. Harpoothian,
"Production of Large Tanks," pp. 14, 44; Gerald L. Riggs interview, MDAC, 1 1 Mar. 1971; tour
of MDAC facility, 3 Mar. and 11 Mar. 1971.
29. Harpoothian, "Production of Large Tanks," pp. 8, 30; Boucher, "Saturn S-IVB Manufacturing,"
pp. 41—43, 63, 67, 69; Bauer, "Operational Experience," pp. 5—7.
30. Robert W. Prentice interview, MDAC, 11 Mar. 1971; Harold E. Bauer and Theodore Smith
interviews.
31. Ernst D. Geissler, "Project Apollo Vehicular Plans," a report at a NASA meeting at Langley
Research Center, Apr. 1962, p. 4.
32. Harold Bauer and Theodore Smith interviews.
33. Glen A. Herstine, "Why Internal Insulation for the Saturn S-IV Liquid Hydrogen Tank?"
Douglas Paper no. 1422, Aug. 1964, pp. 1-3.
34. Ibid., pp. 3-7; Theodore Smith interview; Harpoothian, "Production of Large Tanks," p. 16;
Bauer, "Operational Experiences," pp. 8, 1 1 .
35. Theodore Smith interview; Herstine, "Internal Insulation," pp. 3—7.
36. Bauer, "Operational Experiences," p. 8; Theodore Smith interview. Specially treated balsa was
nevertheless used in some problem areas of the tankage, such as the section where the LH2 tank
joined the common bulkhead. See, for example, D. L. Dearing and R. J. Steffy, "The Signifi-
cance of Parameters Affecting the Heat Transfer . . . ," Douglas Paper no. 3374, June 1965, p. 6
ff.
37. Bauer, "Operational Experience," pp. 8-9; Boucher, "Saturn S-IVB Manufacturing," pp.
44-46.
38. Theodore Smith interview.
39. D. L. Dearing, "Development of the Saturn S-IV and S-IVB Liquid Hydrogen Tank Internal
Insulation," Douglas Paper no. 351 1, Aug. 1965, pp. 2-3; Boucher, "Saturn S-IVB Manufactur-
ing," pp. 46, 54—55; tour of contractor facilities, Mar. 1971.
40. Dearing "Development Internal Insulation," pp. 2-3.
41. MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, pp. 5.4-5.6.
42. Roth and Shempp, "S-IVB Development," pp. 18—19; Harpoothian, "Production of Large
Tanks," p. 26; Earl Wilson interview; H. R. Linderfelt interview, McDonnell Douglas, 9 Mar.
1971.
43. MSFC, Saturn V Flight Manual, SA-506, MSFC-MAN-506, 10 June 1969, pp. 6.11-6.12; MSFC,
Saturn V News Reference, pp. 5.5—5.6.
471
NOTES TO PAGES 180- 192
44. Ibid., 5.6-5.7. As a back-up concept, the S-IVB carried seven extra ambient helium spheres on
the thrust structure. Two provided redundancy for LOX tank pressurization, and five provided
redundancy for the LH2 tank (ibid.). O. S. Tyson, one of MSFC's resident managers at Douglas
during S-IV/IVB development, commented that the availability of significant amounts of helium
in this country constituted a special advantage in the U.S space program, since the efficient
helium system permitted lower design weights and plumbing for stage pressure systems and
other functions. Tyson interview, 3 Mar. 1971.
45. J. D. Shields interview, MDAC, 11 Mar. 1971; Roth and Shempp, "S-IVB Development," p. 19;
MSFC Saturn V News Reference, pp. 5.5-5.6, 5.8; anonymous MDAC memo to author, 1 1 June
1976.
46. D. J. Allen and L. G. Bekemeyer, "Design of the Saturn S-IV Stage Propellant Utilization
System," Douglas Paper no. 1292, Mar. 1962, pp. 2, 15-16; MSFC; Saturn V News Reference, p.
5.9; Lorenzo P. Morata interview, MDAC, 8 Mar. 1971.
47. Morata interview; Allen and Bekemeyer, "Design of PU System," pp. 19, 21. For details of the
PU System design and operation, see Allen and Bekemeyer, pp. 3—14, 16—22.
48. MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, p. 5.9.
49. MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, pp. 5.9-5.10; MSFC, Saturn V Flight Manual, SA-506, pp.
6.19-6.20; Robert Prentice interview.
50. Refer to News Reference and Flight Manual, cited above, passim. See also, Godfrey, "S-IVB Stage,"
STAC Conference, pt. 5.
51. E. A. Hellebrand, "Structures and Propulsion," pt. 2, p. 6.
52. Harpoothian, "Production of Large Tanks," p. 30; Roth and Shempp, "S-IVB Development," p.
14; Godfrey, "S-IVB," STAC Conference, pt. 5, pp. 5-8.
53. John D. Clark, Ignition: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants (New Brunswick, N.J.:
Rutgers Univ. Press, 1972), p. 108; Harold E. Felix interview, MDAC, 9 Mar. 1971.
54. J. B. Gayle, ed., Investigation of S-IV All Systems Explosion, NASA TND-563, Sept. 1964, passim.
55. Edmund F. O'Connor to Maj. Gen. Samuel C. Phillips, telegram, 9 Feb. 1967; Felix interview;
MSFC Saturn V Program Off., Semiannual . . . Report, January-June 1967, pp. 33, 52-56, MSFC
files; Douglas Aircraft Co., S-IVB Quarterly Report, Mar. 1967, pp. 51, 54-55, MSFC files;
anonymous MDAC memo to author, 11 June 1976. Loss of S-IVB-503 led to substitution of
stage serial numbers 504 for 503N, 505 for 504N, and 506 for 505N. The availability of excess
507 tankage led to its reincarnation as S-IVB-506, with S-IVB-507 and subsequent stages
produced as originally planned (Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 161-162).
56. McDonnell Douglas Corp., "McDonnell Douglas S-IVB Rocket for NASA's Saturn Launch
Vehicle," news release, July 1969; MSFC Test Lab., "Historical Report, Jan. -Dec. 1965," pp.
7-8, MSFC files. For description of the automatic checkout concept and its development, refer
to Chapter 13.
57. O. S. Tyson interview, MSFC Resident Mgr. at McDonnell Douglas, 3 Mar. 1971.
58. Edmund F. O'Connor to Samuel Phillips (day and month obscured), 1966. Static firing was
discontinued, however, later in the program.
59. Theodore Smith, Harold Bauer, and O. S. Tyson interviews.
60. Earl Wilson interview. Nevertheless, the Centaur became a highly reliable upper stage mated to
both Atlas and Titan boosters and was used in a wide variety of planetary and Earth-orbital
missions.
61. Wilson interview; Theodore Smith interview.
62. Bauer, "Operational Experiences," pp. 2-3; Godfrey," S-IVB," STAC Conference, part 5, p. 8.
Theodore Smith, Harold Bauer, Robert Prentice, and J. D. Shields interviews.
CHAPTER 7
1. Akens, Saturn Chronology, p. 33; MSFC, "Saturn V, Project Development Plan," Nov. 1967, pp.
2.2, 3.10, cited hereafter as "Saturn V PDP"; von Braun, "Saturn the Giant" in Cortright, ed.,
Apollo Expeditions to the Moon, pp. 42, 46.
It would have been interesting to learn more of the contractor selection process, but a search for
472
NOTES TO PAGES 193-207
these records at MSFC in Oct. 1975 was unsuccessful. The S-IC contract negotiations were
probably similar to those described for the S-IV and S-II, which the author pieced together from
available documents.
2. Milton W. Rosen interviews, NASA, 14 Nov. 1969 and 1 Dec. 1971; Rosen to D. Brainerd
Holmes, "Large Launch Vehicle Program," 6 Nov. 1961, with attached report interview, 20 Nov.
1961.JSC files.
3. Von Braun interview, MSFC, 17 Nov. 1971; von Braun, "Saturn the Giant," p. 42; Ernst Geissler
interview, MSFC, 7 Sept. 1971; John M. Logsdon, "Selecting the Way to the Moon: The Choice
of the Lunar Orbiter Rendezvous Mode," Aerospace Historian, 18 (June 1971): 66.
4. George Alexander, "Boeing Faces Unique Fabrication Challenge," Aviation Week and Space
Technology, 77 (13 Aug. 1962): 52, 59, 63; MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, p. 11.4; Boeing Co.,
Launch Systems Branch, "Controactor Program Procedures," 1966, 1967, 1968; Boeing Co.,
Launch Systems Branch, "Saturn S-IC, Annual Progress Report," FYs 1964 through 1968.
5. Von Braun interview, 17 Nov. 1971; Matthew Urlaub interview, MSFC, 29 July 1975; Rosen
interview, NASA, 1 Dec. 1971.
6. Alexander, "Boeing Faces," pp. 55, 59; Alexander, "S-IC Heavy Tooling Installed at Marshall,"
Aviation Week and Space Technology, 78 (25 Mar. 1963), unpaged reprint in SHP files; William
Clarke, "Roll Out the Booster," Boeing Magazine, 35 (Aug. 1965): 13; William Clarke, "Try This
On for Size," Boeing Magazine, 35 (Feb. 1965): 9; William Sheil, "Saturn Stands Up," Boeing
Magazine, 34 (Apr. 1964): 6; MSFC Saturn V News Reference, p. 2.5.
For clarification of many details of design, development, and manufacturing of the S-IC stage,
the author wishes to acknowledge interviews with Matthew Urlaub and Hans F. Wuenscher,
MSFC, 3 Sept. 1971, and Mathias P. Siebel, MSFC, 9 Sept. 1971. Wuenscher and Siebel were
both top managers in MSFC's Manufacturing Engineering Lab during this period.
7. MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, pp. 2.1-2.5; MSFC, "Saturn V PDF," p. 3.7.
8. Alexander, "Boeing Faces," p. 53; Darrell Bartee, "Hitching Posts for Saturn," Boeing Magazine,
35 (Jan. 1965): 6; Whitney G. Smith, "Fabricating the S-IC Booster," AIAA Paper 65-294, July
1965, p. 6; MSFC, "Saturn V POP," pp. 3.10, 3.18; MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, p. 2.4.
9. MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, pp. 1.7— 1.9; Smith, "Fabrication in S-IC," pp. 5—6; Alexander,
"Boeing Faces," p. 53; J. E. Kingsbury, MSFC, to author, 21 June 1976.
10. MSFC, "Saturn V PDP," pp. 3.7-3.15; MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, pp. 2.3-2.4, 2.9-2.16;
Alexander, "Boeing Faces," p. 55; M. A. Kalange and R. J. Alcott, "Saturn V S-IC Stage Engine
Gimbal Actuation System," 18 May 1965, passim; William B. Sheil, "Migration to Huntsville,"
Boeing Magazine, 35 (May 1965): 6.
11. Whitney G. Smith, "Fabricating the Saturn S-IC Booster," AIAA Paper no. 65-294, July 1965,
p. 1; Alexander, "Boeing Faces," p. 52; Alexander "S-IC."
12. Smith, "Fabricating S-IC," pp. 2—3; Eugene M. Langworthy and Leland Bruce, "Chemical
Milling on Apollo and Saturn Gore Segments," Society of Aeronautical Weight Engineers,
Technical Paper no. 477, May 1965, pp. 1, 5 — 7.
13. Alexander, "Boeing Faces," p. 55; Darrel Bartee, "Curves Cured to Order," Boeing Magazine, 34
(Nov. 1964): 12-13; Darrel Bartee, "Lunar Look," Boeing Magazine, 33 (July 1963): 10-11;
Mathias Siebel, "Building the Moon Rocket" (paper presented to meeting of National Machine
Tool Builders Association, 3 Nov. 1965), pp. 11-13.
14. William Clarke, "The Uncommon Welder," Boeing Magazine, 35 (March 1965): 12; Alexander,
"Boeing Faces," p. 59; Alexander, "S-IC"; Smith, "Fabricating S-IC," pp. 4-5; MSFC, Manufac-
turing Plan: Saturn V Booster Stage, S-IC 15 January 1963, vol. 1 (with change inserts through July
1965), pp. 2.1-2.54.
15. Smith, "Fabricating S-IC," pp. 2-4; Siebel, "Building," pp. 18-20; Alexander, "Boeing Faces,"
pp. 53, 55; Bartee, "Lunar Look," pp. 10-11; MSFC, Manufacturing Plan, vol. 1 pp. 3.1-3.40.
16. William Clarke, "Purity Surety," Boeing Magazine, 34 (Dec. 1964): 11.
17. Smith, "Fabricating S-IC," pp. 4-5; Alexander, "S-IC."
18. Alexander, "S-IC"; Alexander, "Boeing Faces," pp. 55, 59; Smith, "Fabricating S-IC," pp. 4-5;
William Clarke, "Tanks for Saturn," Boeing Magazine, 35 (May 1965): 15; William B. Sheil,
"Ground Testing a Moon Bird," Boeing Magazine, 35 (July 1965): 3, 5; MSFC Manufacturing Plan,
vol. 2, pp. 7.1-7.302.
19. William B. Sheil, "Countdown to Liftoff," (reprint) Boeing Magazine, 1966, pp. 12-13; William
473
NOTES TO PAGES 209-222
Clarke, "The Immovable Object." (reprint) Boeing Magazine, 1966, p. 3; MSFC, news release,
"Saturn V Rocket Booster Test Stand," 5 Aug. 1965; MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, p. 8.9.
20. Matthew Urlaub, interview. The author wishes to express his thanks to Mr. Urlaub for
permission to review his personal files relating to the S-IC stage. There were the usual design
and engineering problems, but no disastrous problems, such as tank explosions or other major
setbacks. Representative copies of Urlaub's weekly memos to Dr. Arthur Rudolph, the Saturn V
Program Manager, are in the SHP files. See, for example: "S-IC Stage Weekly Status Report," 9
Jan. 1964; 31 Jan. 1964; 14 Feb. 1964; 28 Feb. 1964; 6 Mar. 1964; 9 Apr. 1964. See especially the
weekly reports for 13 Oct. 1964, and 4 Nov. 1964.
21. Elmer L. Field, "The S-II Stage," Astronautics, Feb. 1962, p. 35.
22. T. Keith Glennan, "Memorandum for the Administrator," 19 Jan. 1961.
23. MSFC, news release, "First Phase S-II Contractor Selection," 12 May 1961.
24. James E. Webb, "Memorandum for the Record: Selection of Contractors to Participate in Second
Phase of Saturn S-II Stage Competition," 8 June 1961.
25. MSFC, "Minutes of the Phase II Pre-Proposal Conference for Stage S-II Procurement on June
21, 1 96 1,"JSC files.
26. MSFC, Saturn V POP, Nov. 1967, p. 2.2.
27. D. Brainerd Holmes to Associate Administrator, "Management of Saturn S-II Facilities
Program," 27 May 1963; Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 66-67; Roy Godfrey interview, MSFC,
29 July 1975.
28. S-II stages, like other Saturn stages, incorporated numerous design variations over the period of
their production. This composite description is derived from the following sources: MSFC,
Saturn V News Reference, pp. 4.1-4.13; MSFC, Saturn V Flight Manual, SA-506, 10 June 1969, pp.
5.1-5.30; MSFC, Saturn V Flight Manual SA-510, 25 June 1971, 5.1-5.30; MSFC, Saturn V
Project Development Plan, Nov. 1967, pp. 3.19-3.27; NAA, Saturn S-II Stage Program Plan, 1 Apr.
1966; NAA Manufacturing Plan for Saturn S-II, Stages 16-25, 14 June 1967, NAA, Saturn S-II,
General Manual, 1965; NAA, Saturn S-II Stage: S-I1-4 and Subsequent, Mar. 1963; NAA, The Saturn
S-II, 14 May 1964; NAA, Saturn V-Stage II: Power for the Drive into Space, Aug. 1967; NAR,
Manufacturing Plan for Saturn S-II Stage, 1 June 1969. Unless otherwise noted, the physical
description of the S-II stage structures and systems is based on these documents.
29. NAA, The Saturn S-II, p. 22, NAA, "Saturn S-II: Annual Progress Report," Aug. 1963, pp. 135,
138-40; A. C. van Leuven interview, NAR, 12 Mar. 1971.
30. Van Leuven interview; H. Raiklen interview, NAR, 11 Mar. 1971; William F. Parker interview,
NAR, 8 Mar. 1971; interview, William F. Parker, NAR, 8 Mar. 1971; P. Wickham interview,
NAR, 9 Mar. 1971; Richard E. Barton (Dir. of Public Relations, Rockwell International) to
author, 18 June 1976, with attached anonymous memo dated 10 May 1976.
31. For details of the bulkhead assembly sequence, see Tony C. Cerquettini, "The Common
Bulkhead for the Saturn S-II Vehicle," NAA Report, 1967; NAR, Manufacturing Plan, 1969, pp.
15-25; interviews cited in note 30 above.
32. For description, photos, and drawings of the foam process, see NAR, Manufacturing Plan, 1969,
pp. 89-90; NAR, Manufacturing Development Information Report, 1968, pp. 45, 55, 83-85. The
company also had to devise special phenolic cutter heads to trim the insulation to shape, and use
integrated electronic sensors to measure the desired insulation thickness during the cutting
procedure. See also interviews with van Leuven and Wickham.
33. Refer to the sources cited in note 28 above.
34. Ibid; Raiklen interview; G. A. Phelps interview, NAR, 12 Mar. 1971.
35. Quoted in "The Toughest Weld of All" Skyline, 1968, unpaged reprint in SHP files. Skyline was
the company magazine of North American Rockwell. Other manufacturing details and
description from NAA, Saturn S-II; Annual Progress Report, 1963, 1964, 1965; NAR, Manufactur-
ing Development Information Report, 1968, NAR, Manufacturing Plan, 1969; contractor facilities
tour and briefing given the author in Mar. 197 1 ; interviews with van Leuven, Wickham, Raiklen,
and Parker.
36. Quoted in "The Toughest Weld of All."
37. Refer to the sources sited in note 35 above. See also Charles Jordan and Norman Wilson
interviews, both of NAR, 2 Mar. 1971. An executive at North American who reviewed a draft of
474
NOTES TO PAGES 222-230
the manuscript maintained that over a period of time, the NASA welding concepts were not
appreciably superior to North American techniques. Barton to author, with attachment, 18 June
1976.
38. Ray Godfrey and Bill Sneed interviews, MSFC, 28 July 1973.
39. H. G. Paul to Cline, "S-II Insulation Status," 2 June 1964; NAR, Saturn S-II: Chronology of Events,
1958-1970 (no date, unpaged). This is a remarkably comprehensive and candid record of
NAR's S-II program, comprising a two-inch thick document typed on notebook-size paper.
Apparently prepared for management reference.
40. Samuel C. Phillips to von Braun, 1 Apr. 1965.
41. Arthur Rudolph to Herman Weidner, 10 May 1965.
42. Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 109-120; NAR, Saturn S-II Chronology, passim.
43. Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 120-121; NAR, Saturn S-II Chronology, passim; Samuel Yarchin to
William F. Parker, 6 Oct. 1965; Yarchin to Parker, 11 Oct. 1965.
44. O'Connor to von Braun, "Background Data for Dr. von Braun — Mr. Atwood Meeting," 14 Oct.
1965. Housed in MSFC History Off. in file drawer marked Eberhard Rees, "NAR Organization,
S-II Stage." Cited hereafter as Rees files.
45. Rees to O'Connor, "Meeting on NAA/S&ID Situation," 16 Oct. 1965. Rees files.
46. Edmund F. O'Connor to Harrison A. Storms, 18 Oct. 1965.
47. NASA, Hq., Off. of Programs and Special Reports, Program Review: Apollo, 16 Nov. 1966,
transcription of remarks by General Edmund O'Connor, pp. 81-83.
48. Dale Myers interview, 17 Mar. 1970
49. Rees to O'Connor, "Meeting on NAA . . . ," 16 Oct. 1965, Rees Files.
50. George Mueller to J. L. Atwood, 27 Oct. 1965, Rees files.
51. "Phillips Report," 19 Dec. 1965. The letter to Atwood is included in the complete Phillips
Report, housed in the SHP files.
52. Arthur Rudolph interview, MSFC, 26 Nov. 1968.
53. Eberhard Rees, "Personal Impressions, Views and Recommendations," memo, 8 Dec. 1965, Rees
files.
54. Eberhard Rees memo, 9 Dec. 1965, attached to 8 Dec. memo cited above.
55. NAA, news release, 1961; NAA, news release, 25 Jan. 1966.
56. Robert E. Greer interview, NAR, 5 Mar. 1971. The story of "Black Saturdays" is from an
interview with one of Greer's close associates at North American, W. E. Dean, 8 Mar. 1971. Dean
and P. Wickham (interview cited above) both commented on enhanced morale.
57. George E. Mueller to Lee Atwood, 23 Feb. 1966; Harold G. Russell to Gen. Phillips, "S-II-T
Program at MTF," 15 Apr. 1966; George F. Esenwein to Dir., Apollo Test/copy to Phillips, "May
25, Attempted S-II-T Full Duration Static Firing," 26 May 1966; transcribed log of phone call,
Atwood to von Braun, von Braun daily journal, 27 May 1966 (housed in Alabama Space and
Rocket Cr., Huntsville, Ala., cited hereafter as von Braun daily journal); Akens, Saturn
Chronology, p. 141.
58. Log of phone calls, Storms to von Braun, 31 May 1966, and von Braun to Gilruth, 1 June 1966,
in von Braun daily journal; Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 142—143; NAR, S-/7 Chronology. See
also, E. Mims interview, NAR, 12 Mar. 1971.
59. Gerald E. Meloy to Robert C. Seamans, "Saturn V S-II-T Stage Explosion," 31 May 1966;
George E. Mueller, "Congressional Inquiry (S-II-T)," memo and attached preliminary draft
letter, Webb to Sen. Clinton Anderson, 21 Mar. 1967.
60. Samuel Yarchin to Gen. O'Connor, "Weekly Notes Dr. Rees, S-II Notes for Dr. Rees to Mr.
Storms Telecom," 7 Oct. 1966.
61. Samuel Yarchin to Rees, "Weekly Notes to Storms Telecom," 11 Sept. 1966; O'Connor to
Phillips and Rees, "S-II-1 Delays at MTF," 27 Sept. 1966; Frank Magliato to Webb, Seamans, and
Shapley, "Static Test of S-II-1," 27 Oct. 1966.
62. NASA, Program Review, 15 Nov. 1966, transcription of remarks by Samuel Phillips, pp. 37—42.
63. Samuel Phillips to Associate Administrator, "S-II-T Failure Corrective Action," 9 Jan. 1967.
64. Alibrando to Phillips (memo dealt with MSFC's special technical force visit to Seal Beach), 5 Jan.
475
NOTES TO PAGES 231-240
1967; Phillips to Associate Administrator, "Enclosures: S-II Stage Status," 27 Jan. 1967; NAR,
Saturn S-II Chronology.
65. Dale Myers interview, NASA, 17 Mar. 1970.
66. See, for example, Courtney Brooks, James Grimwood, and Loyd S. Swenson, Jr., Chariots for
Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft, NASA SP-4205 (Washington, 1979); Charles D.
Benson and William B. Faherty, Moonport: A History of Apollo's Launch Facilities and Operations,
NASA SP-4204 (Washington, 1978).
67. "North American Tries to Advance Under Fire," Business Week, 3 June 1967, pp. 154-56, 158.
68. George E. Mueller to J. L. Atwood, Jan. or Feb. 1967 (date partially obscured).
69. Arthur Rudolph to John G. Shinkle, TWX, 24 May 1967; Phillips to Ctr. Directors (MSFC, KSC,
MSC), TWX, 25 May 1967.
70. Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 181, 192, 196, 199.
71. See, for example von Braun daily journal, for the year 1963.
72. Parker interview; Sneed and Godfrey interviews.
73. While much of this involves the personal judgment of the author, the conclusions are based on
personal interviews with Matthew Urlaub, Roy Godfrey, Bill Sneed, cited above, and Robert
Greer, 5 Mar. 1971. See also Rudolph interview, 26 Nov. 1968. For sympathetic accounts of
North American personalities, see Beirne Lay, Jr., Earthbound Astronauts (Englewood Cliffs, N. J.,
1971), pp. 100-117.
CHAPTER 8
1. Sidney Sternberg, "Automatic Checkout Equipment — The Apollo Hippocrates," Bulletin of the
Atomic Scientists, 25 (September 1969): 84-87.
2. Paul Alelyunas, "Checkout: Man's Changing Role," Space/ Aeronautics, Dec. 1965, p. 66.
3. Sternberg, "Automatic Checkout," pp. 84—87.
4. Alelyunas, "Checkout: Man's Changing Role," pp. 66-73.
5. Sternberg, "Automatic Checkout," p. 87. For additional general discussion of Saturn automatic
equipment and operations, see, Robert L. Smith, Jr., "Practicalities in Automated Manufacturing
Checkout," MSFC, Oct. 1963.
6. D. Morris Schmidt, "Automatic Checkout Systems for Stages of the Saturn V Manned Space
Vehicle," a paper presented to IEEE International Conference, New York, Mar. 1965, and
published in Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference, 13, pt. 4 (1965): 85-86.
7. Ibid., 86; Sternberg, "Automatic Checkout," p. 85; D. Morris Schmidt, "Survey of Automatic
Checkout Systems for Saturn V Stages," MSFC, 10 July 1968, p. 3. For procedures at KSC, see
Benson and Faherty, Moonport.
8. Schmidt, "Automatic Checkout," p. 86; Schmidt, "Survey," p. 4.
9. Schmidt, "Automatic Checkout," p. 87.
10. Ibid., p. 91; Schmidt, "Survey," pp. 6, 27. For discussion of the Saturn I experience, see, Robert
L. Smith, Jr., "Automatic Checkout for Saturn Stages," Astronautics, February 1962, pp. 46-47,
60; Jack W. Dahnke, "Computer-Directed Checkout for NASA's Biggest Booster," Control
Engineering, August 1962, pp. 84-87. For the Saturn IB vehicle, see William G. Bodie,
Techniques of Implementing Launch Automation Programs (Saturn IB Space Vehicle System), MSFC,
NASA TMX-53274, 30 July 1975.
11. Schmidt, "Survey," pp. 7-8; Smith, "Practicalities," p. 3. For additional descriptions of the
checkout operations and the equipment involved for each stage, see Schmidt, "Survey." The
section on the S-II (pp. 12-17; 33-39) is the most detailed, containing several representative
flow diagrams and descriptions of the test operations for all three stages and the IU. See also
Frank R. Palm, "A Real Time Operating System for the Saturn V Launch Computer Complex,"
Huntsville, Ala./IBM, July 1966. MSFC, "Survey of Saturn Stage Test and Checkout Computer
Plan Development," 1 June 1966, provides a technical overview of the systems for both the
Saturn V and Saturn IB.
476
NOTES TO PAGES 240-247
12. William Sheil, "Breadboards and D-Birds," Boeing Magazine, 35 (October 1965): 10-11; J. W.
Moore, J. R. Mitchell, and H. H. Trauboth, "Aerospace Vehicle Simulation and Checkout,"
MSFC, Apr. 1966; J. R. Mitchell, J. W Moore, and H. H. Trauboth, "Digital Simulation of an
Aerospace Vehicle," MSFC, 9 Mar. 1967.
13. George F. Meister, "The Role of Simulation in the Development of an Automatic Checkout
system," Douglas Paper no. 4010, Aug. 1966, p. 19.
14. H. E. Bauer, "Operational Experiences on the Saturn S-IVB Stage," Douglas Paper no 5268
Oct. 1968, pp. 11-12.
15. Charles Stark Draper, Walter Wrigley, and John Hovorka, Inertial Guidance (New York, 1960),
pp. 1, 2, 4. Other means of guidance include (1) command guidance: data sent to the vehicle
from an operator or computer; (2) homing: may home in on natural radiation or from infrared
wavelengths emanating from the target; (3) beam riding: vehicle steers itself along the axis of
radar or other system pointed at the target.
Draper was a leading researcher in the field of guidance and control, and his book is a basic
treatise in the literature. For a survey of the state of the art during the period of the Saturn
program, see Frederick I. Ordway III, James Patrick Gardner, and Mitchell R. Sharpe, Basic
Astronautics (Englewood Cliffs, N. J., 1962), pp. 366, passim.
16. Draper, Guidance, pp. 14—18. Important work on gyroscopes was done on both sides of the
Atlantic. In the U.S., significant advances were accomplished by Elmer Sperry. See, for example,
the exemplary biography by Thomas Parke Hughes, Elmer Sperry: Inventor and Engineer
(Baltimore, 1971). Aspects of European progress are summarized in Durant and James, First
Steps Toward Space. For the evolution of long-range aerial navigation in the prewar era, see
Monte Wright, MostProbablePosition: A History of Aerial Navigation to 1 941 (Lawrence, Kan., 1972).
17. F. K. Mueller, "A History of Inertial Guidance," ABMA, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., 1959, pp. 1, 4,
6, 7. One of the Peenemuende veterans, Mueller was one of the principals who developed the
V-2 guidance and control systems.
18. James S. Farrior, "Inertial Guidance, Its Evolution and Future Potential," in Stuhlinger, et al.,
Astronautical Engineering, pp. 150—52.
19. Ibid., pp. 153-54; Ernst A. Steinhoff, "Early Developments in Rocket and Spacecraft Perfor-
mance, Guidance, and Instrumentation," in Frederick C. Durant III, and George S.James, eds.,
First Steps Toward Space, Smithsonian Annals of Flight, no. 10 (Washington, 1974), pp. 227-85;
Wernher von Braun, "Redstone, Jupiter, and Juno," in Emme, ed., The History of Rocket
Technology, p. 110.
20. Farrior, "Inertial Guidance," p. 154; von Braun, "Redstone," p. 120; IBM, "Instrument Unit
Program Review," IBM, Huntsville, Ala., 26 July 1966, p. 3; Oswald H. Lange, "Saturn C-l
Vehicle: Project Development Plan," MSFC, 1 June 1962, p. 4.61.
21. Lange, "Saturn C-l Vehicle," p. 3.6; von Braun, "Saturn the Giant," in Cortright, ed., Apollo
Expeditions, p. 52.
22. Lange, "Saturn C-l," pp. 4.14-4.18, 4.57-4.63. In a memo to the author dated 22 June 1976,
Walter Hauessermann, who directed MSFC's Astrionics Lab., said that ST-124 components were
more like those of the ST-120, used in the Pershing missile.
23. MSFC, Saturn I Summary, MSFC, TMX 57401, 15 Feb. 1966 (unpaged).
24. IBM, "Saturn IB/V Instrument Unit System Description and Component Data (Technical
Manual)," 1 June 1966, p. 2; IBM, "Program Review," p. 1; Missile/Space Daily, 8 Oct. 1965;
George Alexander, "Saturn IB Proving Saturn V Control Unit," Aviation Week and Space
Technology, 18 Apr. 1966, unpaged reprint in SHP files.
25. IBM, "Program Review," pp. 5—8, 10, 16; IBM, "Instrument Unit to Navigate Saturn IB's First
Flight," news release, 17 Feb. 1966; Huntsville Times, 7 Oct. 1965.
26. IBM, "Program Review," passim; Ernst D. Geissler and Walter Haeussermann, "Saturn
Guidance and Control," Astronautics, February 1962, p. 44; Haeussermann, "Guidance and
Control of Saturn Launch Vehicles," AIAA Paper 65-304, July 1965, passim; James T. Powell,
"Saturn Instrumentation Systems," a paper presented at the Third International Symposium on
Flight Test Instrumentation, Cranfield, England, June 1964, pp. 6-9.
For clarification of many details of the Instrument Unit, here and in the following pages,
the author is indebted to interviews with Luther Powell, Sidney Sweat, Therman McKay, and
others, at MSFC, 29 July 1975.
477
NOTES TO PAGES 248-255
27. IBM, "Instrument Unit," news release; MSFC, Astrionics Lab, "Saturn IB/V Instrument Unit,"
1965 (unpaged).
28. IBM, "Saturn IB/V . . . (Technical Manual)," pp. 4-5, 12; MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, pp.
7.1-7.2.
29. IBM, "Saturn IB/V . . . (Technical Manual)," pp. 5-9, 15- 16; Bendix Corp., "Saturn ST-124-M
Inertial Guidance Platform," news release, 21 Feb. 1969, pp. 1-3; Herman E. Thomason, A
General Description of the ST-124-M Inertial Platform System, MSFC, NASA TN D-2983, Sept. 1965,
pp. 44-51.
30. Bendix Corp., "Saturn ST-124-M," p. 2; B. J. O'Connor, "A Description of the ST-124-M
Inertial Stabilized Platform and Its Application to the Saturn V Launch Vehicle," Bendix Corp.,
26 May 1964. These documents, along with Thomason, General Description of the ST-124-M,
include drawings, schematics, formulae, and operations of the ST-124. For the theory,
equations, and methodology of computation and handling of error signals, see B. J. O'Connor,
"An ST-124 Instrument Error Analysis for Saturn S-l Vehicle," Bendix Corp., Engineering file
MT-8094 Issue A (no date).
31. Charles D. LaFond, "First Saturn V Guidance Computer, Data Adapter Prototypes Due at
Marshall," Missiles and Rockets, 2 Nov. 1964, unpaged copy in SHP files.
32. Ibid., "IBM Computer Will Direct Saturn Orbital Test Flight," June 1966, pp. 3-4.
33. MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, p. 7.5; IBM, "IBM Apollo/Saturn Press Information," 1968,
unpaged; IBM, "IBM Computer," pp. 3—7; La Fond, "First Saturn V Guidance Computer." For
further details of IU theory, formulae, and schematics, see MSFC, Astrionics Lab, "Astrionics
System Handbook," 1 Aug. 1965, and change sheets, 15 Aug. 1966; Walter Haeussermann and
Robert Clifton Duncan, "Status of Guidance and Control Methods, Instrumentation, and
Techniques As Applied in the Apollo Project," a lecture to the Advisory Group for Aeronautical
R&D, NATO, Dusseldorf, Germany, 21-22 Oct. 1964. For photos and description of all
components, see IBM, "Saturn IB/V Instrument Unit System Description and Component
Replacement Data," IBM no. 66-966-0006, Huntsville, Ala., 1 Mar. 1966.
34. IBM, "IBM Apollo/Saturn Press Information," 1968; IBM, "IBM Computer Will Direct," p. 7;
La Fond, "First Saturn V Computer"; MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, p. 7.4.
35. IBM, "Saturn IB/V . . . (Technical Manual)," pp. 10-11; MSFC, Astrionies Lab, "Saturn IB/V
Instrument Unit"; Alexander, "Saturn IB Control Unit." MSFC telemetry rested heavily on
experience from the Redstone, Jupiter, and Pershing rocket programs. See, for example, Walter
O. Frost and Charles D. Smith, "Saturn Telemetry," MSFC, 1962. For a technical overview of
rocket telemetry from the V-2 era through Saturn I, see Otto A. Hoberg and James E. Rorex,
"Telemetry Development . . .," in Ernst Stuhlinger, Frederick I. Ordway III, Jerry C. McCall,
and George C. Bucker, eds., From Peenemuende to Outer Space: Commemorating the Fiftieth Birthday
ofWernher von Braun, March 23, 1962 (MSFC, 1962), pp. 487-516.
36. MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, p. 7.2-7.7; MSFC, Astrionics Lab, "Saturn IB/V Instrument
Unit"; Alexander, "Saturn IB Control Unit"; IBM, "Saturn IB/V. . . (Technical Manual)," pp.
5-6.
37. Harvey Heuring and E. Wayne Davis, "The IBM Clean Room Comes of Age," IBM/Huntsville,
IBM no. 68-U60-0036, Dec. 1968, pp. 1-3, 5, 12; Heuring, "IBM Mobile Room Lends
Flexibility to Apollo Saturn Unit Fabrication," IBM/Huntsville, IBM no. 67-U60-0026, 28 July
1967, pp. 2-5; Heuring, "Methods for Cleaning Electronic Components and Subassemblies,"
IBM/Huntsville, IBM no. 67-U60-0009, 1967.
38. IBM, "Saturn IB/V . . . (Technical Manual)," pp. 2, 12, 14-15; IBM, "Program Review," p. 12;
Alexander, "Saturn IB Control Unit."
39. Sidney Sweat interview, MSFC, 29 July 1975.
40. IBM, "Program Review," pp. 57-64.
41. See, for example, IBM, "Saturn Instrument Unit Mission Contract: Monthly Progress Report for
February," 15 Mar. 1966; IBM, "Monthly Progress Report for March," 3 May 1966.
42. O'Connor to Phillips, telephone message transcription, 27 July 1967.
43. Judson A. Lovingood and Ernst D. Geissler, "Saturn Flight-Control Systems," Astronautics and
Aeronautics, May 1966, p. 100; Helmut J. Horn, "The Iterative Guidance Law for Saturn" paper
presented at conference on Aerospace and Navigational Electronics, Baltimore, 27-29 Oct.
1965, p. 9; Walter Haeussermann, "Guidance and Control of Saturn Launch Vehicles," AIAA
478
NOTES TO PAGES 255-265
Paper 65-304, July 1965, pp. 5-7; Walter Haeussermann, F. B. Moore, and G. G. Gassaway,
"Guidance and Control Systems for Space Carrier Vehicles," in Stuhlinger, et al., Astronautical
Engineering, p. 163 ff.; MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, 7.4-7.5.
44. MSFC, Saturn V Flight Manual, SA-506, 10 June 1969, pp. 4.19-4.24, 5.25-5.30, 6.31-6.32.
45. Ibid.; R. N. Eilerman, "Saturn Auxiliary Propulsion Applications," paper presented at AIAA
Meeting, Boston, 29 Nov.-2 Dec. 1966, pp. 1-3, 12-13; R. N. Eilerman telephone interview,
10 Aug. 1972.
46. Eilerman, "Saturn Auxiliary Propulsion," pp. 1-2, 5-6.
47. MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, pp. 7.4-7.5. Operations of the IU in the Saturn IB missions
were quite similar. See, for example, IBM, "Instrument Unit to Navigate Saturn IB's First
Flight," news release, 17 Feb. 1966; Alexander, "Saturn IB Control Unit."
CHAPTER 9
1. Wernher von Braun, "Management in Rocket Research," a speech to the Sixteenth National
Conference on the Management of Research, held at French Lick, Ind., 18 September 1972.
Reprinted in Business Horizons, Winter 1962, unpaged copy in the SHP files.
2. See, for example, "Director's Weekly Notes," from lab directors and program office directors to
von Braun, MSFC/Records Holding Area files; von Braun daily journal, a log of visits,
conferences, phone calls, and so on, with memos frequently attached (housed in files of Alabama
Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, Ala.).
3. Akens, Historical Origins of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, MSFC Historical Monograph
no. 1 (Dec. 1960), pp. 71—73; von Braun, "Management"; D. Wyatt interview, NASA, 2 Dec.
1971.
4. See, "Director's Weekly Notes, 1 1 -20-67, Brown," Box III, MSFC/Records Holding Area files.
Cited hereafter as MSFC/RHA files.
5. See, "Director's Weekly Notes, 1961-68, MSFC/RHA files, boxes I-IV. The one-page rule is
from "Notes, 1—22—62, Haeussermann," Box I; the broom remark is from "Notes, 11 — 13—61,
Gorman," Box I.
6. Quotation from interviews with Mat Urlaub, MSFC, 29 July 1975, and Konrad Dannenberg,
MSFC, 30 July 1975. Various individuals from NASA Hq. and MSFC, and the contractors noted
the visits by von Braun and their net positive effect. See, for example, interviews with Frank
Williams, NASA, 3 Dec. 1971; Wyatt, NASA; Dannenberg, MSFC; Robert Pease, MSFC, 3 Sept.
1971; A. C. van Leuven, NAR, 12 Mar. 1971.
7. Williams interview.
8. Dannenberg interview.
9. Williams interview.
10. Eberhard Rees, "Project and Systems Management," a speech to the XVI World Management
Congress, held at Munich, Germany, 25 Oct. 1972, housed in the files of the Saturn V Program
Off., cited hereafter as SPO files. For the early years of NASA's managerial development, see
Robert L. Rosholt, An Administrative History of NASA, 1958-1963, NASA SP-4101 (Washington
1966). Wernher von Braun left in 1970 to take a position at NASA Hq. Eberhard Rees had been
one of the early members of the von Braun team in Germany and for many years, both at ABM A
and MSFC, had served as deputy director for technical operations in von Braun's office. Rees
headed MSFC from 1970 to 1973 and was succeeded by Rocco Petrone, who was followed by
William Lucas.
11. Von Braun to Maj. Gen. Don R. Ostrander, 8 Jan. 1960; Abraham Hyatt to the Associate
Administrator, NASA, 11 Jan. 1960; Hyatt to the Associate Administrator, 15 Jan. 1960, with
attachments.
12. Wyatt, Williams, and Dannenberg interviews, William H. Sneed interview, MSFC, 28 July 1973;
James W. Wiggins interview, MSFC, 31 July 1973; Normal L. Cropp, "Evolution of Marshall
Space Flight Center Program Management Organization," pp. 8—9, SPO files. The Cropp piece
is an unpublished document, prepared in 1972, as part of a management study series for the
Program Management Directorate. The author was a veteran MSFC executive. See also Oswald
H. Lange, "Saturn Systems Management," Astronautics, 7 (Feb. 1962): 31, 110.
479
NOTES TO PAGES 266-276
13. Cropp, "Evolution," pp. 3-4; von Braun, "Management"; Krafft A. Ehricke, "The
Peenemuende Rocket Center," Rocketscience, 4 (Sept. 1950): 60-61; Rocketscience, 4 (Dec.
1950): 81.
14. Von Braun, "Management."
15. Von Braun to Div. Directors and Off. Chiefs, "MSFC Management Policy #1," 16 Aug. 1962; Bill
Sneed interview, MSFC, 26 July 1973.
16. Von Braun, "Management"; Rosholt, Administrative History, offers a detailed analysis of the
reorganization, including organizational charts for both Hq. and center levels.
17. Herman Weidner interview, MSFC, 24 Aug. 1971; von Braun interview, MSFC, 17 Nov. 1971.
18. Dannenberg interview.
19. See, for example, von Braun daily journal, 5 July 1963; 12 July 1963; 31 July 1963; 13 Aug.
1963.
20. Dannenberg interview.
21. William J. Normyle, "A. F. Officers to Bolster Apollo Management," Aviation Week and Space
Technology, 81 (24 Aug. 1964): 22; anon, memo to Gen. Phillips, NASA, "Press Inquiries
Regarding Assignments of NASA Personnel to Air Force Programs," 1 Sept. 1964; anon, memo
to Gen. Phillips, NASA, "Response to Senator Symington's Inquiry on Attached Article in
Aviation Week," 4 Sept. 1964, with attached draft of letter, Webb to Sen. Symington.
22. See Saturn V Program Off., "Saturn V Program Element Plan for Financial and Manpower
Management," Oct. 1967. Annex "C" of this document includes the basic guidelines for
IO/R&DO relationships. SPO files.
23. Arthur Rudolph interview, MSFC, 26 Nov. 1968.
24. Apollo Program Off., NASA Hq., NASA-Apollo Program Management, 1 (Dec. 1967): 3.6-3.12.
Up to 1967, no single document, or series of documents, had been issued to lay out the overall
management picture in detail. In response to many requests for such information, the Apollo
Program Off. authorized a special descriptive series, summarizing the various elements of
management that had developed over the years and that were currently in effect. The project
ran to 14 separate volumes, covering each of the centers involved in the Apollo-Saturn program,
as well as each of the major contractors. Huntsville operations were covered in vol. 3, Apollo
Program Management: MSFC, SPO files.
25. Cropp, "Evolution," pp. 36-37; George E. Mueller interview, NASA, 27 June 1967; Ray
Godfrey interview, MSFC, 29 July 1975.
26. Rudolph interview.
27. Mack Shettles interview, MSFC, 27 July 1973; Rudolph interview.
28. Saturn V Program Control Off., "Saturn V Program Element Plan for Program Management,"
Aug. 1966, SPO files.
29. Arthur Rudolph, "Saturn V Program Directive #9: Saturn V Program Control System," memo, 1
Apr. 1965, passim, SPO files.
30. Saturn V Program Control Off., PEP, "Management," pp. 10, 26, 28, SPO files. There were
seven inter-center panels: Flight Evaluation; Instrumentation & Communications; Flight
Mechanics; Electrical; Crew Safety; Launch Operations; Flight Operations.
31. D. Brainerd Holmes, Dir. of Manned Space Flight, to Gilruth, von Braun, and Debus, 10 July
1963; Holmes, "Panel Review Board," memo 10 July 1963, copies in SHP files; Apollo Program
Off., NASA . . .Management, 1: 3.13-3.14; Curt Hughes, "Saturn Management Concept," 20
Nov. 1970, SPO files. This last document is a transcript of a typical presentation made to
delegations visiting the Saturn V Program Off. to study its operation.
32. Oswald Lange, "Working Groups within the Saturn Management Plan," memo, 8 Sept. 1960,
SHP files; Hughes, "Saturn . . . Concept"; Saturn V Program Control Off., PEP, "Management,"
p. 12; Saturn V Program Off., "Saturn Management Concept," p. 27, SPO files; Shettles
interview.
33. Von Braun interview; Saturn V Program Control Off., PEP, "Management," pp. 13-15; Cropp,
"Saturn," p. 8; Hughes, "Saturn . . . Concept"; Rees, "Project Management," p. 14. The anecdote
of Rudolph's long meetings was repeated to the author by several staff members of the Saturn V
Program Off.
34. Proceedings of the annual program reviews were published by NASA Hq., Off. of Programs &
Special Reports. For example: Program Review: Apollo, 16 Nov. 1966, SPO files. The text consists
480
NOTES TO PAGES 277-284
of transcriptions of the complete remarks made by the participants, accompanied by the charts
and slides used in their presentations. For the Apollo Executive Group, see Mueller interview,
JSC files; NASA . . . Management, 1: 3.6, SPO files.
35. Saturn V Program Control Off., PEP, "Management," p. 10; Hughes, "Saturn . . . Concept";
Shettles interview. For technical managerial reasons, the RMO staffs at Kennedy Space Center
and at North American reported directly to Rudolph's office.
36. Rees, "Project Management," pp. 10, 16-17.
37. Ibid.
38. Interview, privileged source. Many contractor personnel remarked on the very close manage-
ment exercised by NASA, and Marshall in particular, in contrast to the Air Force.
39. Rees, "Project Management," pp. 16-17.
40. Transcription of remarks by Gen. Phillips, in NASA Hq., Off. of Programs & Special Reports,
Program Review: Apollo, 23 Nov. 1964, p. 159.
41. Transcription of remarks by Lee James, Program Review, 23 Nov. 1964, pp. 56-57.
42. Ibid., pp. 55-57. The battleship test was an early phase in which thick, heavy-duty propellant
tanks were used, hence the name. The All Systems Test, as the name implied, involved thorough
testing of all related systems: electrical, mechanical, pneumatic, etc.
43. Ibid.
44. Rees, "Project Management," p. 17.
45. Hughes, "Saturn . . . Concept"; Rees, "Project Management," p. 11; Sneed interview; Rudolph
interview. Cost-plus-award-fee contracts are a type of incentive involving contractor perfor-
mance monitored by project personnel and a board. The contractor is judged on various
effectiveness factors whose criteria are subject to periodic revisions during the contract, whereas
the criteria for the incentive-fee contract are totally spelled out as part of the basic contract.
46. MSFC, Saturn V Reliability and Quality Program Plan, MM 5300.2A, Aug. 1968, SPO files; Rees,
"Project Management," pp. 8-9.
47. Ray Kline, "Memo for Record: Notes on Management Advisory Committee Meeting at Michoud
on June 4, 1964," 26 June 1964, SPO files. For the Douglas operation, see L. C. Wilson et al.,
"Development of Separable Connectors for the Saturn S-IV Stage," Douglas Paper 3552, 1966,
pp. 3-8; R. B. Wilson and H. L. Hug, "A Prime Contractor's Reliability Program for
Components/Parts for the Douglas S-IVB Stage Project," Douglas Paper 3794, pp. 1-4, copies
in SHP files.
48. Transcription of remarks by Lee James, Program Review, 23 Nov. 1964, pp. 58, 60; Rees, "Project
Management," pp. 9—10; Rudolph interview.
49. Hughes, "Saturn Concept"; Rees, "Project Management," p. 11; Sneed interview; Rudolph
interview.
50. Mitchell R. Sharpe interview, 6 Aug. 1973. It would be easy to dismiss such sloganeering, but it
was very pervasive and seems to have been taken very seriously. During a tour of contractor
facilities in the Los Angeles area in 1971, the author could not help but notice the prominently
displayed stickers and placards in engineers' drafting rooms, shop areas, and offices, and the
huge banners, proclaiming PRIDE, VIP, etc., hung across the walls of the cavernous buildings
where the Saturn V stages were assembled. In cafeterias, and even in executive conference
rooms, the coasters for coffee cups and water glasses carried appropriate slogans for "Manned
Flight Awareness." For further details of the Manned Flight Awareness program, see Mitchell R.
Sharpe, "Manned Flight Awareness — Zero Defects for Man-Rated Space Vehicles," Industrial
Quality Control, 12 (June 1966): 658-661.
51. Hughes, "Saturn . . . Concepts."
52. James Baar and William Howard, Polaris! (New York, 1960), pp. 41-42, 49-51.
53. The Boeing Co., "Management Control Center System," D5-15710, 8 Nov. 1967, pp. 1.3-1.4,
SPO files. While this document does not analyze and describe the PCC at MSFC, it was intended
as a comprehensive guideline for control centers in general. It includes the philosophies
involved, sample charts, and even detail drawings of sample hardware.
54. Saturn V Program Control Ctr., "Saturn V PCC: Program Control Center," n. d., unpaged, SPO
files; Arthur Rudolph, "The Program Manager's Problem," in NASA/MSFC, First Annual
Logistics Management Symposium, September 13 8c 14, 1966, NASA TMX-53566, 16 Jan. 1967, p. 59.
481
NOTES TO PAGES 284-293
55. Saturn V Program, "Saturn V PCC"; Sidney Johnson interview, MSFC, 26 July 1973.
56. Rees, "Project Management," pp. 15-16; Arthur Rudolph, "Saturn V Management Instruction
#14; Saturn V Program Control Ctr.," 15 Apr. 1966, pp. 1-2, SPO files.
57. Rudolph, "Saturn V Management Instruction #14," pp. 3-5, 8-9, 14, SPO files; Rudolph
interview; Shettles interview.
58. Johnston interview; William Sheil, "Guidelines for Administrators," Boeing Magazine, 36 (Janu-
ary 1966): 6-7.
59. Norman Cropp, "Saturn," p. 8; Baar and Howard, Polaris, pp. 221-223. The former is a
companion manuscript with Cropp, "Evolution."
60. Kline, memo for record, 1964; R. G. Smith to J. A. Bethay, 12 June 1973, SPO files; Shettles
interview.
61. Interviews and demonstrations by Mack Shettles and Merrell Denoon, MSFC, 10 July 1973;
Smith to Bethay, 1973; Shettles interview. Arthur Rudolph, Saturn V Management Instruction
#19, "Saturn V Resource and Contract Management Reports," memo, 24 Sept. 1965, pp. 2-4;
Saturn V Program Control Off., "Saturn V Program Element Plan for Schedule Control
System," 1 Oct. 1965, pp. 4-8, SPO files.
62. Thomas E.Jenkins to R. F. Freitag, NASA Hq., "Parts Count Breakdown of the Apollo-Saturn V
Space Vehicle," 25 Oct. 1968.
63. Gordon Milliken and Edward J. Morrison, "Management Methods from Aerospace," Harvard
Business Review, Mar.-Apr. 1973, pp. 6 ff. Based on a NASA study done by the authors, this
article summarizes 25 significant methods and includes a significant bibliography of key
documents.
64. Tom Alexander, "The Unexpected Payoff of Project Apollo," Fortune, July 1969.
65. The significance of these various influences on Saturn management is largely drawn from
observations and conversation with personnel of the Saturn V Program Office during the
summer of 1973, when the author was associated with the office as part of the NASA- American
Society for Engineering Education, Faculty Fellowship Program. See also, Cropp, "Saturn,"
passim.
66. Lee James interview, MSFC, 21 May 1971.
67. Von Braun memo, 16 Aug. 1962.
68. Kline memo, 26 June 1964.
69. Von Braun to O'Connor (IO) and Weidner (R&DO), "R&D Operations and Industrial
Operations: Charters and Guidelines for Cooperation," 19 Feb. 1965, SPO files, See also Saturn
V Program Control Off., "Saturn V Program Element Plan for Financial and Manpower
Management," Oct. 1967, SPO files.
70. Mack W. Shettles, "Exertion of Authority by Saturn V Staff Offices," Management Research
Paper, Sch. of Industrial Management, Georgia Inst. of Technology, Dec. 1967, pp. 24-25,
31-43, SPO files.
71. Interviews with Mack Shettles, Herman Weidner, Sid Johnston, and Bill Sneed were particularly
helpful to the author in understanding the basic features of the Saturn management system.
72. Saturn V Program Control Off., PEP, "Management," p. 9.
73. Sneed interview; Marshall Star, 3 Nov. 1965. Direct quote supplied by Bill Sneed, from notes
taken at the time.
74. Shettles interview; Sneed interview. Copies of various presentations are housed in the files of the
Saturn V Program Control Off. Direct quote supplied by Bill Sneed, from notes taken at the
time.
75. This chapter is based on a revised version of Roger E. Bilstein, "The Saturn Management
Concept," NASA CR- 129029, 1 June 1974, prepared when the author participated in the 1973
NASA-American Society for Engineering Education, Faculty Fellowship Program. See also
Konrad K. Dannenberg, "Management Philosophies as Applied to Major NASA Programs,"
Report by the University of Tennessee Space Institute, NCR 43-001-116, Oct. 1974; Lee B.
James, "Management of NASA's Major Projects," July 1973.
CHAPTER 10
1. George Mueller, in NASA, First Annual Logistics Management Symposium, 13-14 September 1966,
NASA, TMX-53566, 16 Jan. 1967, p. 9; Arthur Rudolph, in NASA, Logistics Management, p. 60.
482
NOTES TO PAGES 294-307
2. Von Braun, in NASA, Logistics Management, p. 3; O'Connor in Logistics Management, p. 7; John C.
Goodrum and S. M. Smolensky, "The Saturn Vehicle Logistics Support System," AIAA Paper
65-268, Apr. 1965, pp. 5-8 passim.
3. Goodrum and Smolensky, "Saturn Logistics," p. 2; Mueller, in NASA, Logistics Management, p. 8.
4. Rudolph, in Logistics Management, p. 59.
5. John C. Goodrum interview, MSFC, 31 Aug. 1971.
6. Rudolph, in NASA, Logistics Management, pp. 58—59.
7. O'Connor, in Logistics Management, pp. 6—7.
8. Rudolph, in Logistics Management, pp. 59—60.
9. Goodrum and Smolensky, "Saturn Logistics," p. 4; Goodrum interview; Carl D. DeNeen
interview, MSFC, 23 Aug. 1971. Logistical considerations at KSC are further discussed in Kurt
H. Debus, "Logistical Support for Launch Site Operations" in NASA, Logistics Management, pp.
12—17. See also the voluminous KSC logistics manual, Apollo/Saturn Logistics Support Requirements
Plan, NASA, Kennedy Space Center, K-AM-02, 31 May 1966. This document includes
guidelines for logistical interface and changeovers at the Cape.
10. Goodrum and Smolensky, "Saturn Logistics," pp. 16-17, 19; Goodrum interview. For a
discussion of some of the more technical considerations in transporting and handling cryogenic
propellants, see also R. D. Walter and B. J. Herman, "Saturn Vehicle Cryogenic Programs,"
Cryogenic Engineering Conf., Rice Univ., Houston, 23-25 Aug. 1965.
1 1 . Rudolph, in NASA, Logistics Management, pp. 58, 60.
12. Konrad Dannenberg interview, MSFC, 30 July 1975.
13. Akens, Saturn Chronology, p. 6; Goodrum and Smolensky, "Saturn Logistics," pp. 14— 15; MSFC,
Saturn Systems Off., "Saturn C-l, Project Development Plan," 10 Aug. 1961, p. 4.91, cited
hereafter as MSFC, "Saturn C-l, POP"; Georg von Tiesenhausen, "Ground Equipment to
Support the Saturn Vehicle" a paper presented at a meeting of the American Rocket Society,
Washington, D.C., 5-8 Dec. 1960, pp. 1-2; Georg von Tiesenhausen, "Saturn Ground Support
and Operations," Astronautics, 5 (Dec. 1960): 33, 78.
14. Tiesenhausen, "Saturn Operations," p. 33; William A. Mrazek, "The Saturn Project," Astronautics, 5
(July 1960): 75; Akens, Saturn Chronology, p. 9; MSFC, "Saturn C-l PDP," p. 4.90.
15. Akens, Saturn Chronology, p. 58; Goodrum and Smolensky, "Saturn Logistics," p. 13; William B.
Sheil, "Big Wheels Carry Big Bird," Boeing Magazine, 34 (Dec. 1964): 6-7. For details of the
steering actuators for each modular pair of wheels, see also John Carlson, "Steering Mechanism
for Saturn Transporter," Ground Support Equipment, Jan. -Feb. 1964, pp. 32-33.
16. Goodrum and Smolensky, "Saturn Logistics," p. 15; "Saturn S-IV Hints at Future Problems in
Transport, Handling," Missiles andRockets, 10 (16 Oct. 1961): 32-33; R. W. Prentice, "Transpor-
tation of Douglas Saturn S-IVB Stages," Douglas Paper no. 3688, p. 6.
17. Prentice, "Transportation of S-IVB," pp. 3, 5, 19-20; H. E. Bauer, "Operational Experiences on
the Saturn S-IVB Stage," Douglas Paper no. 5268, Oct. 1968, p. 10.
18. Goodrum and Smolensky, "Saturn Logistics," pp. 11 — 13; briefing and tour of contractor
facilities, North American Rockwell, Mar. 1971.
19. Franklin L. Thistle, "Rocketdyne: The First 25 Years," Rocketdyne, 1970, unpaged; Akens,
Saturn Chronology, pp. 189, 212; Goodrum and Smolensky, "Saturn Logistics," p. 14. For
illustrations and descriptions of the vast array of handling and auxiliary equipment for servicing
and checkout of the Saturn V, see NASA-MSFC, Saturn V Launch Vehicle Ground Support
Equipment Fact Booklet, NASA Technical Manual, MSFC-MAN-100, 25 Aug. 1967.
20. MSFC, "Saturn C-l, PDP," p. 4.93; Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 14, 16; Carl D. DeNeen
interview; briefing and tour of MSFC barges and facilities with Carl L. Pool, MSFC, 26 Aug.
1971.
21. MSFC Historical Off., "History of the George C. Marshall Space Center From January 1 to June
30, 1961," vol. 1, MHM-3, Nov. 1961, pp. 51-52; ". . .July 1 to December 31, 1961," vol. 2,
MHM-4, Mar. 1962, 24-25; Carl L. Pool, briefing.
22. Akens, Saturn Chronology, passim; Pool, briefing; Carl D. DeNeen interview; MSFC, Saturn IB
News Reference, Sept. 1968, pp. 8.2 passim; Goodrum and Smolensky, "Saturn Logistics," pp.
15-16, fig. 12.
23. William A. Mrazek, "The Saturn Launch Vehicle Family," lecture at Univ. of Hawaii, June 1966,
p. 7.
483
NOTES TO PAGES 307-317
24. Bauer, "Operational Experiences," p. 10; "Saturn S-IV Hints at Future Problems," p. 32; John
Goodrum interview.
25. William B. Sheil, "Up the River to the Moon," Boeing Magazine, 34 (Sept. 1964): 6-7; Pool
briefing; De Neen and Goodrum interviews.
26. MSFC, Saturn IB News Reference, p. 8.13.
27. Robert W. Prentice interview, MDAC, 11 Mar. 1971; Goodrum and Smolensky, "Saturn
Logistics," passim.
28. Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 17-18; H. L. Lambert, "Can Saturn S-IV be Piggy-backed by
C-133 from Santa Monica to Canaveral," Society of Automotive Engineers Journal, 69 (Dec. 1961):
70-71; Frank G. McGuire; "Airship Studied as Booster Carrier," Missiles and Rockets, 12 (4
March 1963): 16; "Saturn S-IV Hints at Future Problems," pp. 32-33.
29. H. E. Bauer, "Operational Experiences," pp. 10-11; Julian Hartt, Mighty Thor (New York,
1961), passim.
30. Donald L. Stewart interview, MSFC, 1 Aug. 1972. Formerly an engineer at Boeing, Stewart came
to MSFC in 1961 and became associated with logistics management, particularly the Guppy
operations. Conroy's final acquisition of the Stratocruisers evidently came from Transocean
Airlines, an active nonscheduled airline from 1946 to 1960, when it went bankrupt. See, for
example, Bill Eaton, "Transocean's Stratocruisers Languish," Journal of the American Aviation
Historical Society, 9 (Fall 1964): 229-230.
31. Goodrum interview; Prentice interview; Stewart interview.
32. Jane's All the World's Aircraft (London, 1909—), for 1955/56 and 1971/72, respectively. Details of
the conversion job are given in Harold D. Watkins, "Boeing 377 Undergoes Flight Test,"
Aviation Week and Space Technology, 78 (24 June 1963): 80-81, 84.
33. Bauer, "Operational Experiences," p. 11; R. W. Prentice, "Transportation of Douglas Saturn
S-IVB Stages," Douglas Paper no. 3688, Nov. 1965, pp. 14-15.
34. John M. Conroy to von Braun, Enclosure A, 29 Oct. 1962; Stewart interview; Goodrum
interview.
35. John M. Conroy to von Braun, 29 Oct. 1962.
36. D. Brainerd Holmes to Robert Seamans, 25 Apr. 1963.
37. MSFC Historical Off., History of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center— January 1-June 30,
1963, Nov. 1963, pp. 1, 4, 57-58; July 1 -December 3 1 , 1963, vol. 2, July 1964, 47. The contracts
included a complicated pay schedule, formulated as to mileage and time, ranging from $5.80 to
$3.95 per kilometer (Conroy to von Braun, 29 Oct. 1962). By Nov. 1968, NASA had paid Aero
Spacelines a total of $11 591 633 in contracts. (Akens, Saturn Chronology, p. 203); additional
Guppy flights noted in Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 65, 71-73.
38. Prentice, "Transportation of S-IVB," p. 15; Goodrum and Smolensky, "Saturn Logistics," p. 10.
39. Conroy to von Braun, 29 Oct. 1962; Robert Freitag to von Braun, 3 Feb. 1964.
40. D. L. Stewart personal files, notes and memoranda, 2 Feb. 1964; "B-36 May Tote Saturn Stage,"
Huntsville Times, 1 Dec. 1963; J. H. Overholser, Aero Spacelines, to Maj. Gen. Samuel C. Phillips,
Deputy Dir. Apollo Program, NASA, Washington, D.C., 9 May 1964. See also, "Aero Spacelines
Seeking Options to Buy Saunders-Roe Flying Boats," Aviation Week and Space Technology (20 Ian.
1964), 34.
41. Telephone interview with Donald L. Stewart, 11 Aug. 1972.
42. Harold D. Watkins, "Larger Guppy Aimed at S-IVB Transport," Aviation Week and Space
Technology, 82 (19 Apr. 1965): 43, 45; Harold D. Watkins, "Super Guppy to Make First Flight
August 25," Aviation Week and Space Technology, 83 (23 Aug. 1965): 42-43; Stewart interview;
Earl D. Hilburn, Deputy Assoc. Administrator, NASA Hq., to Robert H. Charles, Asst. Secretary
of the Air Force, 20 May 1965. For details on the C-97J, see Jane's for 1955/56.
43. John C. Goodrum to Maj. Gen. Samuel C. Phillips, TWX, 4 Mar. 1966; Akens, Saturn Chronology,
pp. 135-136.
44. Prentice, "Transportation of S-IVB," pp. 15- 19; Richard W. Trudell and Keith E. Elliott, "The
Dynamic Environment of the S-IV Stage During Transportation," Douglas Paper no. 1780, 4
Dec. 1963, pp. 28, 30, 34, 43.
45. Stewart interview.
46. De Neen interview; Stewart interview; Stewart personal file, notes and photos. See also "Super
484
NOTES TO PAGES 317-329
Guppy," Product Engineering, 8 Nov. 1965, p. 75; Harold E. Felix interview, MDAC, 9 Mar. 1971;
Ruth jarrell, comp., A Chronology of the Marshall Space Flight Center, January 1-December 31, 1967,
MSFC, Apr. 1970, p. 108; Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 162, 170, 226.
47. Leo L. Jones, comp., A Chronology of the Marshall Space Flight Center January 1-December 31, 1968,
MSFC, Feb. 1971, pp. 21, 83, 102-104; MSFC photo archives and Marshall Star, 1970-1972.
48. New York Times, 31 July 1965; Watkins, "Super Guppy," p. 43; "Johnston to Head Aero
Spacelines," Aviation Week and Space Technology, 83 (20 Nov. 1967): 30. Conroy left the company
in 1967 to engage in other aircraft conversion operations. The original firm built three more
Guppies. For details, see Roger E. Bilstein, "Aircraft for the Space Age: The Guppy Series of
Transports," Aerospace Historian, 21 (Summer 1974): 85-86.
49. Goodrum interview.
CHAPTER 11
1. F. A. Speer, "Saturn I Flight Test Evaluation," AIAA Paper 64-322, July 1964, pp. 1, 8.
2. MSFC, Saturn I Summary, MSFC, TMX-57401, 15 Feb. 1966 (unpaged).
3. For comments on Highwater, see interviews with von Braun, MSFC, 30 Nov. 1971; Stuhlinger,
MSFC, 25 Aug. 1971; Bucher, MSFC, 30 Aug. 1971.
Each Saturn I flight, SA-1 through SA-10, was preceded by a technical summary including
miscellaneous diagrams, mission profile details, and operational highlights. See, for example,
MSFC, Technical Information Summary, SA-1, and subsequent. In addition, each of the Saturn I
missions received an exhaustive postmission analysis, best summarized by the "Saturn Flight
Evaluation Working Group," which operated out of the Flight Evaluation and Operational
Studies Div., Aero-Astrodynamics Lab. See, for example, MSFC, Saturn Flight Evaluation
Working Group, Saturn AS-1 Flight Evaluation, a generic title, respectively, for the SA-1, SA-2,
and SA-3 missions. For missions SA-4 through SA-10, see MSFC, Saturn Flight Evaluation
Working Group, Results of the Fourth Saturn I Launch Vehicle Test Flight, SA-4, and subsequent. All
of these documents may be consulted in the files of the MSFC Historical Off. All launches made
from Cape Kennedy (or Cape Canaveral, as it was known prior to 1963) are conveniently
tabulated and summarized in William A. Lockyer, Jr., ed., A Summary of Major NASA Launchings,
Eastern Test Range and Western Test Range: October 1, 1958 to September 30, 1970, rev. ed., Historical
Report no. 1 (Kennedy Space Center, Fla., 1970). Files of the Saturn History Project include
general as well as specific information on the Saturn I series. Mission highlights of each Saturn I
launch are recapitulated in MSFC, Saturn I Summary, 15 Feb. 1966. See also B. E. Duran, "Saturn
' I/IB Launch Vehicle Operational Status and Experience," Society of Automotive Engineers,
Paper no. 680739, 1968. James P. Lindberg, "Saturn I Flight Test Evaluation," MSFC, 1966,
includes mission summaries and technical diagrams. Propulsion aspects are treated more
specifically in B. K. Heusinger, "Saturn Propulsion Improvements," Astronautics and Aeronautics,
2 (Aug. 1964): 20-25. For information more specifically related to the Block I vehicles, see
O. Hoberg, "Saturn SA-1 Flight and Its Instrumentation," MSFC, Apr. 1966; F. A. Speer,
"Saturn I Flight Test Evaluation," AIAA Paper 64-322, July 1964; Fernando S. Garcia, An
Aerodynamic Analysis of Saturn I Block I Flight Test Vehicles, MSFC: NASA TND-20002, Feb. 1964.
Unless otherwise noted, information for the composite summaries of the Saturn missions was
abstracted from the documents noted above.
4. For description and discussion of the Block II series, see MSFC, Saturn I Summary; Heusinger,
"Saturn Propulsion Improvements"; Lindberg, "Saturn I ... Evaluation"; Duran, "Saturn I/IB
. . . Experience."
5. Carl T. Huggins, "Saturn Television System for SA-6," MSFC, Internal Note, M-ASTR-IN-63-6,
25 Feb. 1963, pp. 1-13.
6. Lindberg, "Saturn I ... Evaluation," pp. 4-6; A. J. Davis and P. L. Hassler, "Saturn IB Inflight
Photographic Instrumentation System," MSFC, Sept. 1966.
7. Lindberg, "Saturn I ... Evaluation," p. 9.
8. Duran, "Saturn I/IB . . . Experience' ; MSFC, Saturn I Summary.
9. MSFC, Saturn I Summary. For discussion of the IU, see Chap. 8.
485
NOTES TO PAGES 330-338
10. Arthur C. Clarke, The Promise of Space (New York, 1968), pp. 83-84.
11. Ibid.; Fred L. Whipple, Earth, Moon, and Planets (Cambridge, Mass., 1963), pp. 71, 74; Wernher
von Braun, Space Frontier (New York, 1967), pp. 90-91, 184-185.
12. Ernst Stuhlinger, "Meteoroid Measurements with Project Pegasus," paper presented at North-
east Electronics Research and Engineering Meeting, Bostbn, 4 Nov. 1965, pp. 1-2; NASA, The
Meteoroid Satellite Project Pegasus, First Summary Report, NASA TND-3505, Nov. 1966, pp. 1-2;
von Braun, Space Frontier, p. 91. The problem of meteoroid penetration of booster tank walls, as
well as spacecraft, was also noted in interviews with von Braun, NASA, 30 Nov. 1971;
Stuhlinger, MSFC, 25 Aug. 1971; Bucher, MSFC, 30 Aug. 1971. Stuhlinger had been chief of
MSFC's Space Science Lab; Bucher was a top aide during the Pegasus project. For discussion of
meteoroid research, see also "Satellites: Manned and Unmanned, Report of Conference at
Virginia Polytechnic Institute," Science, 22 Nov. 1963, p. 1091; Joseph H. Wujek, "Experiments
in Space," Electronics World, July 1965, p. 48. Although many scientific books and journals refer
to "micrometeoroids," NASA consistently used the term "meteoroid," with diminutive size
inherently implied. The author has followed NASA's style in this case.
13. NASA, Meteoroid Satellite, pp. ix, 2-3; M. Getler, "Hope Grows for Follow-on Pegasus," Missiles
and Rockets, 22 Feb. 1965, p. 15; C. D. La Fond, "Meteoroid Detection Satellite Mock-up Shown,"
Missiles and Rockets, 24 June 1963, p. 32; William G. Johnson interview, MSFC, 23 Aug. 1971.
Johnson was the Project Manager for Pegasus.
14. NASA, Meteoroid Satellite, pp. 4, 29—31; Stuhlinger, "Meteoroid Measurements," p. 7; "Measur-
ing Meteoroids: Orbiting Pegasus Launched," Time, 26 Feb. 1965, p. 58.
15. NASA, Meteoroid Satellite, pp. 10, 27, 35-37; Getler, "Hope Grows," p. 15; Stuhlinger,
"Meteoroid Measurement," pp. 4-9; La Fond, "Meteoroid Detection," p. 32.
16. La Fond, "Meteoroid Detection," pp. 32 — 33; Akens, Saturn Chronology, p. 92.
17. Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 89, 97, 104.
18. Getler, "Hope Grows," pp. 14—15; NASA, Meteoroid Satellite, pp. 59—60; Akens, Saturn
Chronology, pp. 100, 103-104; "First Ten Lives of Saturn I," film, MSFC, Serial no. M-206.
19. Raymond M. Watts, Jr., "Pegasus Satellite Flies," Sky fcf Telescope, 29 (Apr. 1965): 210;
Raymond M. Watts, Jr., "Pegasus 3," Sky & Telescope, 30 (Oct. 1965): 215.
20. Getler, "Hope Grows," pp. 14-15; Watts, "Pegasus Satellite," p. 210; NASA, Meteoroid Satellite,
pp. 60-62; Stuhlinger, "Meteoroid Measurements," pp. 9-10; "First Industry-Built Saturn I
Puts Pegasus-2 in Precise Orbit," Aviation Week and Space Technology, 80 (31 May 1965): 2; "S-I
Readied for Pegasus 2 Launch," Aviation Week and Space Technology, 80 (24 May 1965): 25.
21. Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 108, 110; "Meteoroid Program May Be Expanded," Missiles and
Rockets, 31 May 1965, p. 17.
22. "Measuring Meteoroids," Time, 26 Feb. 1965, p. 58; comments by von Braun and Mueller in
"Meteoroid Program," Missiles and Rockets, p. 17.
23. "First Industry-Built Saturn I," Aviation Week, p. 21; NASA, Meteoroid Satellite, p. 63.
24. Akens, Saturn Chronology, pp. 112-114, 126.
25. NASA, Scientific Results of Project Pegasus: Interim Report, NASA, TMX-53629, 3 July 1 967, pp. vii,
25,27-31.
26. Phillips to von Braun, telegram, "Subject: Gemini Rendezvous with Pegasus," 28 May 1965;
NASA, Meteoroid Satellite, p. 64; Watts, "Pegasus 3," p. 215; Lockyer, Summary of Major NASA
Launchings, p. 121.
27. The quotation is from Frank W. Anderson, Jr., Orders of Magnitude: A History of N AC A and NASA,
1915-1976, NASA SP-4403 (Washington, 1976), p. 55. Skepticism about the Saturn I launches,
and Highwater in particular, was expressed to me by NASA employees at Huntsville and
elsewhere. The persistence of such allegations prompted me to question several Saturn I project
managers; they tended to reaffirm the presumed value of Highwater and later Block II launches
in particular. Von Braun's response seemed to be the most candid. See von Braun interview,
NASA, 30 Nov. 1971.
28. This was the consensus expressed in interviews with William Johnson, head of the project; Ernst
Stuhlinger, former Dir. of the Space Sciences Lab.; and Stuhlinger's deputy, George Bucher.
29. Gerhard Heller interview, MSFC, 3 Sept. 1971; von Braun interview, MSFC, 30 Nov. 1971.
30. Information concerning Saturn IB missions AS-201 through AS-205 can be found in the
continuing series of reports, such as: MSFC, Saturn Flight Evaluation Working Group, Results of
486
NOTES TO PAGES 338-352
the First Saturn IB Launch Vehicle Test Flight, AS-201, and subsequent, housed in the files of the
MSFC Historical Off. In addition, see Lockyer, A Summary of Major NASA Launchings (cited for
the Saturn I mission narratives); NASA-MSFC, Saturn IB News Reference, Sept. 1968; and Duran,
"Saturn I/IB . . . Experience." Unless otherwise noted, information for the composite summaries
of the Saturn IB launches was compiled from the assorted documents noted above.
31. Savage to Dir., Apollo Program, 3 Mar. 1966; Kurt Debus to Gen. Phillips, 8 June 1966.
32. Davis and Hassler, "Saturn IB Photo System," pp. 90-96; MSFC, Saturn IB News Reference,
passim.
33. Akens, Saturn Chronology, p. 138; Duran, "Saturn IB ... Experience"; Eberhard Rees to Gen.
Phillips, 6 June 1966.
34. MSFC, Saturn IB News Reference, pp. 12.3-12.4; MSFC, "AS-203 Technical Information
Summary," 14 June 1966.
35. For extended discussion of the fire and its aftermath, see Brooks, Grimwood, and Swenson,
Chariots for Apollo.
36. Akens, Saturn Chronology, p. 163; Lockyer, Summary of Major NASA Launchings, p. 117.
37. MSFC, Saturn IB News Reference, pp. 12.5— 12.6; Lockyer, Summary of Major NASA Launchings, p.
123; KSC, "Apollo/Saturn Consolidated Instrumentation Plan for AS-204/LM-1," K-IB-029/4,
16 Oct. 1967; NASA, "Press Kit: Apollo 5," 11 Jan. 1968, pp. 20-21; NASA, "Apollo 5
Pre-Launch Press Conference," 21 Jan. 1968, pp. 8-9; NASA, "Apollo 5 Post-Launch Press
Conference," 21 Jan. 1968, pp. 8-9; NASA, "Apollo 5 Post-Launch Press Conference," 22 Jan.
1968.
38. Apollo News Ctr., "Apollo 7 Mission Commentary," 1 1 Oct. 1968, pp. 12.1-12.4, 22.1, JSC files.
39. Lockyer, Summary of Major NASA Launchings, p. 126; Leo C. Jones, comp., A Chronology of the
George C. Marshall Space Flight Center January 1 -December 3 1 , 1968, MSFC, MHR-8, Feb. 1971, pp.
109-13; NASA, "Press Kit: Apollo 7," 6 Oct. 1968, pp. 8, 29, 33-34.
CHAPTER 12
1. Quoted in James J. Haggerty, "Apollo 4: Proof Positive," Aerospace, 5 (Winter 1967): 4.
2. Haggerty, "Apollo 4," p. 3; NASA, "Apollo 4 Pre-Launch Press Conference," 8 Nov. 1967, pp.
3-4,9-10.
3. Webb to R. Cargill Hall, 20 Dec. 1974.
4. Sharpe, "Saturn and All-up Flight Testing: Historical Note, Saturn History Project," Jan. 1974,
p. 2.
5. NASA, Off. of Manned Space Flight, "Apollo Flight Mission Assignments," 9 Apr. J963, pp.
5-7, cited in Sharpe, "Saturn." Mueller interview, NASA, 21 Apr. 1971, copy in JSC files.
6. Mueller to Directors, MSC, LOC, MSFC, teletype, 1 Nov. 1963.
7. R. B. Young to Mitchell R. Sharpe, 1 1 Jan. 1974; Walter Haeussermann interview, 14 Dec. 1973;
Frank Williams to M. R. Sharpe, 20 Feb. 1974; Eberhard Rees to Robert Sherrod, 4 Mar. 1970;
Dieter Grau to M. R. Sharpe, 12 Dec. 1973. The conservative approach to launch vehicle testing
is inherent in all of the sources noted above. The decision of von Braun and Rees to back
Mueller, as the boss, was noted by Bob Young, who also remembered continuing reluctance by
some MSFC chieftains. The decision by von Braun to back up Mueller, forcefully overriding his
staff, was also remembered by another individual from the senior management level (privileged
source).
8. Von Braun to Mueller, 8 Nov. 1963.
9. Transcribed telephone conversation appended to von Braun daily journal, 8 Nov. 1963, ASRC
files.
10. Arthur Rudolph interview, MSFC, 14 Dec. 1973.
11. Harvey Hall to Gen. Phillips, 10 Apr. 1964.
12. NASA, "Roll-out Ceremony: Saturn V Facility Vehicle (500-F)," 25 May 1966; Arthur Rudolph,
"Operational Experience with the Saturn V," AIAA Paper 68-1003, Oct. 1968, p. 3.
13. Phillips to Ctr. Directors (MSC, MSFC, KSC, GSFC), teletype, 25 July 1967.
14. Phillips to Mueller, "AS-501 as Apollo 4," 4 May 1967; L. E. Day to Gen. Phillips, "Brief
487
NOTES TO PAGES 352-363
Summary of Status for Items on Agenda for AS-501 Meeting at KSC Friday, March 10, 1967";
anon., "Minutes of March 10, 1967 Meeting at KSC to discuss AS-501"; Gen. O'Connor to Gen.
Phillips, "KSC-501 meeting," memo of call, 16 Mar. 1967.
15. J. J. O'Connor, "SA-501 Program Managers Pre-Flight Review— Case 330," 2 June 1967; J. J.
O'Connor to Gen. Phillips, "Working Note— S-IC-8 Weld Cracks," 15 June 1967; Gen. Phillips,
to Directors, MSFC, MSC, KSC, "Changes Relating to Apollo 4," 16 June 1967.
16. NASA, "Press Conference: Roll-out of Apollo 4 (Apollo/Saturn 501)," KSC, 26 Aug. 1967.
17. See, for example, Schneider and Wagner, "Memorandum to Maj. Gen. S. C. Phillips on Purging
of the S-II LOX Fill and Drain Line," 1 Sept. 1967.
18. Bill Schneider to Gen. Phillips, "Helium Pressure Regulator in the Pneumatic Console," memo
of call, 10 Oct. 1967; Rudolph, "Operational Experience," p. 4.
19. Bart J. Slattery, Jr., to von Braun, 25 Oct. 1967.
20. Gen. Phillips to the Deputy Administrator, "Apollo 4 Launch Schedule," 2 Nov. 1967.
21. Rudolph, "Operational Experience," p. 4.
22. Miscellaneous data and comparisons were culled from the following sources: MSFC, Public
Affairs Off., Release 67-217, 30 Oct. 1967; NASA, Off. of Public Information, "Current
News," 7 Nov. 1967; NAR, "This is the First of the Big Shots," 1967; Houston Post, 17 Sept. 1967;
James J. Haggerty, "Apollo 4: Proof Positive," Aerospace, 5 (Winter 1967): 3-7; Gene Bylinsky,
"Dr. von Braun's All-Purpose Space Machine," Fortune, 75 (May 1967): 142-149.
23. Von Braun daily journal, von Braun itinerary, Cape Kennedy, Fla., 6-9 Nov. 1967; W. C.
Schneider, NASA Hq. to multiple addressees, 9 Nov. 1967; NASA, Astronautics and Aeronautics,
1967, p. 341. Cronkite's troubles were noted in Hugo Young et al., Journey to Tranquility (New
York, 1970), pp. 220-221.
24. Arthur Rudolph interview, 14 Dec. 1973. See also Sharpe, "Saturn," von Braun copy with
marginal notes, p. 13.
25. Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1967, p. 341.
26. Schneider, teletype, 9 Nov. 1967; remark to reporters, "Apollo 4," p. 7.
27. MSFC, Saturn V News Reference, 12.1-12.2. Each Saturn V flight was preceded by a technical
summary including miscellaneous diagrams, mission profile details, and operational highlights.
See, for example, MSFC, Technical Information Summary, Apollo 4 (AS-501), and subsequent. A
more comprehensive prelaunch publication, including details of the spacecraft and the launch
facilities at KSC as well as the Saturn V launch vehicles, was issued as MSFC, Saturn V Flight
-Manual, SA-501, and subsequent. For a postmission analysis, see the continuing (and more
voluminous) series of reports, such as MSFC, Saturn Flight Evaluation Working Group, Saturn V
Launch Vehicle Flight Evaluation Report AS-501, Apollo 4 Mission, and subsequent. All of these
documents may be consulted in the files of the MSFC Historical Off. In addition, see Lockyer, A
Summary of Major NASA Launchings (cited for Saturn I and IB mission narratives), and MSFC,
Saturn V News Reference, Dec. 1968. The annual issues of NASA, Astronautics and Aeronautics
include pertinent summary information on the successive Apollo-Saturn launches and missions.
An excellent survey of Apollo-Saturn vehicles and operations, covering AS-50 1/508, is David
Baker, "Saturn V," Spaceflight, Jan., Feb., and Mar., 1971, pp. 16-22, 61-65, 100-107. Unless
otherwise noted, information for the composite summaries of the Saturn V launches was
compiled from the assorted documents noted above.
28. For a clear and concise summary of vehicle AS-50 1 mission operations, see Haggerty, "Apollo 4,"
pp. 5-7; Baker, "Saturn V," Spaceflight, Mar. 1971, p. 100.
29. Von Braun daily journal, transcript of telephone call 15 Nov. 1967, ASRC files.
30. George Mueller to William M. Allen, 21 Nov. 1967.
31. Gen. Phillips to NASA centers, teletype, 15 Nov. 1967.
32. For the most concise assessment of the POGO investigation and ASI line analysis, see von Braun,
"The Detective Story Behind Our First Manned Saturn V Shot," Popular Science, 193 (Nov.
1968): 98-100, 209. The quotations by von Braun have been taken from this source. On the
background of the POGO problem and detailed study of the phenomenon, see L. L. Bickford
and S. G. Meisenholder, POGO Analysis of the Saturn Propulsion System (Final Report), NASA
CR-86432, 3 Apr. 1967; George L. von Pragenau, "Stability Analysis of Apollo-Saturn V
Propulsion and Structure Feedback Loop," AIAA Paper 69-877, Aug. 1969. See also interviews
with von Braun, MSFC, 30 Nov. 1971; Roy Godfrey, MSFC, 29 July 1975; and Robert Pease,
488
NOTES TO PAGES 364-377
MSFC, 3 Sept. 1971. The ASI line failure in particular is analyzed in Beirne Lay, Jr., Earthbound
Astronauts (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1970), pp. 142—146.
33. Anon., "Manned Space Flight Program Progress," draft, 8 June 1967.
34. Robert O. Aller to Dir., Apollo Program, 9 June 1967.
35. Gilruth to George E. Mueller, 19 Sept. 1967.
36. Von Braun daily journal, von Braun and Mueller teleconference, 11 Apr. 1968, ASRC files.
37. NASA, Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1968, pp. 92-93; Arthur Rudolph to Gen. Phillips, telegram,
29 Apr. 1968.
38. Arthur Rudolph to Gen. Phillips, "Replacement of F-l engine on AS-503," 14 May 1968, and
attachment, William D. Brown, Mgr., Engine Program Off. to Arthur Rudolph," "Leaking F-l
Primary Fuel Pump Seal on Engine F-4023, AS-503," 13 May 1968.
39. Phillips' recollections are recounted in his essay, "The Shakedown Cruises," in Edgar M.
Cortright, ed., Apollo Expeditions to the Moon, NASA SP-350 (Washington, 1975), pp. 171-175.
All quotations are from this source. See also Brooks, Grimwood, and Swenson, Chariots for Apollo,
chap. 12; Frank W. Anderson, Jr., Orders of Magnitude: A History ofNACA and NASA, 1915-1976,
NASA SP-4403 (Washington, 1976), p. 69.
40. Mueller to Acting Administrator, "Request for Approval to Man the Apollo/Saturn V Launch
Vehicle," 5 Nov. 1968; Mueller to Dr. Thomas O. Paine, 11 Nov. 1968, with attachments;
Phillips to Mueller, "Apollo 8 Mission Selection," 1 1 Nov. 1968; Paine to Mueller, 18 Nov. 1968.
41. Dieter Grau interview, MSFC, 24 Aug. 1971.
42. NASA, Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1968, pp. 318-320; Lockyer, Summary of Major NASA
Launchings, p. 128. Copy of Apollo 8 invitation housed in JSC files.
43. Lockyer, Summary of Major NASA Launchings, pp. 127, 129; NASA, Astronautics and Aeronautics,
1969, pp. 62-65, 142-145.
44. Michael Collins, Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys (New York, 1974), pp. 358-359.
45. NASA, Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1969, pp. 209-210.
46. Michael Collins interview, 17 Oct. 1975; Collins, Carrying the Fire, pp. 364-365.
47. Collins interview; Collins, Carrying the Fire, pp. 371—373.
48. Collins, Carrying the Fire, pp. 371-373.
49. The most convenient summary of the AS-506 mission is contained in NASA, Astronautics and
Aeronautics, 1969, pp. 212 ff. It includes a wide range of editorial and public comment on the
flight of Apollo 11, its significance and results. For published accounts see, for example, Neil
Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin Aldrin, First on the Moon (New York, 1970); Young, and
others, Journey to Tranquility; Collins, Carrying the Fire; Norman Mailer, Of a Fire on the Moon
(Boston, Massachusetts, 1969). See also Brooks, Grimwood, and Swenson, Chariots for Apollo.
50. See, for example, Boeing Co., "Saturn V Flight Evaluation Trend Report: AS-501 Through
AS-506," 30 Sept. 1969.
51. NASA, Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1969, pp. 372 — 374; "Towards the Ocean of Storms," Time,
21 Nov. 1969, p. 8.
52. Von Braun interview, MSFC, 17 Nov. 1976; Roy Godfrey interview, MSFC, 29 July 1975; Walter
Haeussermann, MSFC, to author, "History of Saturn Launch Vehicles," 22 June 1976.
53. NASA, Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1970, pp. 119 ff., 201 ff. See also, Edgar M. Cortright,
"Report of the Apollo 13 Review Board," 15 June 1970. The report includes a one-volume
narrative summary, and three volumes of appendices. Copies in JSC files. See also Brooks,
Grimwood, and Swenson, Chariots for Apollo.
54. NASA, Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1971, pp. 25 ff.; MSFC, Public Affairs Off., news release, 5
Feb. 1971.
55. Commentary on the LRV can be found in David S. Akens, An Illustrated Chronology of the NASA
Marshall Center and MSFC Programs, 1960-1973, MSFC, MHR-10, May 1974. On manned
exploration of the lunar surface, including use of the LRV, see Richard S. Lewis, The Voyages of
Apollo: The Exploration of the Moon (New York, 1974).
56. Interviews with von Braun, MSFC, 30 Nov. 1971; Richard N. Rodgers, MSFC, 24 Aug. 1971;
Leonard Bostwick and Milan Burns, MSFC, 31 July 1975. See also Jonathan Eberhart, "Saturn V
Only a Beginning," Science News, 1 1 Nov. 1967, pp. 472-473.
489
NOTES TO PAGES 378-390
57. For a review of the scientific gear, experiments, and results, see Richard S. Lewis, The Voyages of
Apollo: The Exploration of The Moon (New York, 1974).
CHAPTER 13
1. David S. Akens, Skylab Illustrated Chronology, 1962-1973, MSFC, 1 May 1973, pp. 1-7; James T.
Murphy to Robert G. Sheppard, "Comment Edition of History of Saturn Launch Vehicles," with
enclosures, 15 June 1976.
2. Akens, Skylab, pp. 32-34.
3. Akens, Skylab, pp. 41—43; David S. Akens, An Illustrated Chronology of the NASA Marshall Center
and MSFC Programs, 1960-1973, MSFC, MHR-10, May 1974, pp. 328, 332.
4. Akens, Skylab, pp. 55, 70-71.
5. Akens, Chronology of MSFC, pp. 333-341. For the full story of Skylab, see Charles D. Benson and
W. David Compton, Skylab: A History, the forthcoming official NASA history.
6. For details of the ASTP launch and background, see NASA, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project: Press Kit
(1975). Copy in JSC files.
7. The most authoritative single volume on Soviet launch vehicles and other Soviet space
technology is Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Soviet Space Programs,
1966—1970, staff report, 92nd Cong., 1st sess., 9 Dec. 1971. This document includes a general
discussion of the standard launch vehicle series, known as the A version, p. 135 ff. The
discussion is preceded by a highly useful table of the characteristics of Soviet launch vehicles, on
pp. 133-134. Illustrations are included on pp. 560-561, 563, 572-573. See also, Peter L.
Smolders, Soviets in Space (New York: Taplinger Publishing Co., 1974). This book is translated
from the Dutch edition which appeared in 1971. The author used no footnotes, but apparently
he had access to an unusually large amount of unpublished information, and had opportunities
for interviews with a number of leading Russian cosmonauts and scientists. A good, brief
discussion of Soviet rockets appears on pp. 59-69, a useful illustration on p. 64, and a
numbered, cut-away diagram of the Salyut vehicle on pp. 70-71. A recent survey of rocket
technology, including the Russian vehicles, is Kenneth Gatland, Missiles and Rockets (New York:
Mac mil Ian Co., 1975), pp. 184-199 especially. This discussion includes comments on some of
the later engines and on the range of Soviet rockets, as well as photographs of the engines
themselves. Useful and detailed illustrations, done by a professional illustrator team, appear on
pp. 76-82. These include a very useful illustration of the RD-107 engine (p. 77) as well as a
launch profile of a Soyuz mission (p. 81). A noted expert and writer on space technology,
Gatland is editor of the authoritative British magazine, Spaceflight. See also Nicholas Daniloff,
The Kremlin and the Cosmos (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1972); and Leonid Vladimirov, The
Russian Space Bluff (New York: Dial Press, 1973). The latter was written by a former mechanical
engineer and scientific editor from the Soviet Union, who decided to defect in 1966. His
intriguing thesis is that the Russians remained one step ahead of the U.S. during the 1960s
because they felt that American space programs were further ahead than they actually were, and
the Russians undertook a series of very risky space shots to maintain their propaganda
advantage. The publisher included a comment by von Braun that the book was "fascinating,
informative and worthy of a wide readership in the United States" (cited opposite the book's title
page).
8. See Vladimirov, Russian Space Bluff, pp. 79-80. The comment on the heavy gauge of Soviet
tankage is from U.S. Senate, Soviet Space Programs, p. 136.
9. Gatland, Missiles and Rockets, pp. 192-199. For a brief discussion of Russian propellant
development, see John D. Clark, Ignition! An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants (New
Brunswick, N.J., 1972), pp. 115-119.
10. MSFC, press release, 5 Aug. 1975. For the full story of ASTP, see Edward and Linda Ezell, The
Partnership: A History of the Apollo Soyuz Test Project, NASA SP-4209 (Washington, 1978).
11. See, for example, Loyd S. Swenson, Jr., "The Fertile Crescent: The South's Role in the National
Space Program," Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 71 (Jan. 1968): 377-392. Obviously, the
impact of NASA's presence varied. MSC was sited near an existing metropolis (Houston) of
considerable size. KSC, in Brevard County, Fla., was located in an area of several smaller
communities. MSFC, near Huntsville, was established near a medium-sized, though well-
490
NOTES TO PAGES 391-400
established, city. MAP occupied existing facilities within the New Orleans metropolitan area,
whereas MTF was largely a huge buffer zone for testing, different in concept from all of the
above, employing a smaller number of permanent civil service and contractor personnel. Thus,
the subtleties of NASA impact were different in each case, despite general patterns in terms of
jobs, construction, and so on. See also Raymond A. Bauer, Second-Order Consequences: A
Methodological Essay on the Impact of Technology (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1969). Huntsville
and Brevard County are specifically contrasted on pp. 92—101.
12. John S. Beltz, "Huntsville and the Aerospace Age," paper presented at the annual meeting of the
Southern Historical Assn., Houston, 1971. Copy in SHP files. The Huntsville Times, "25 Years
Since," 3 Nov. 1974. This was a special 16-page supplement to the Times, commemorating the
25th anniversary of the decision to locate the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville in 1949. The
supplement included numerous signed articles on various phases of the impact on Huntsville in
the ensuing two and one-half decades. Cited hereafter as Times, Supplement.
13. Bob Ward, "Famed von Braun Remembers Huntsville His Personal Choice," Times, Supplement,
p. 4.
14. Bauer, Second Order Consequences, p. 93; Beltz, "Huntsville," pp. 18-21.
15. Beltz, "Huntsville," 21-22. Don Eddins, "City Schools," p. 11, John Park, "Medical Help
Boomed," p. 15, in Times, Supplement.
16. Don Eddins, "University of Alabama Spreads Wings," Times, Supplement, p. 13. The prior
existence of a primarily Black state college, Alabama A&M, founded in 1873, seemed to
underscore lingering racial divergences. Nevertheless, Huntsville's civil rights issues remained
less volatile than elsewhere in the South during the turbulent 1960s. See Bauer, Second-Order
Consequences, p. 98.
17. Bob Ward, "Small Error Turned Out to Be More Fact Than Fiction," Times, Supplement, p. 2.
18. Times, Supplement, passim.
19. Alan Moore, "Von Braun Civic Center Heralds Future," Times, Supplement, p. 14; information
supplied by the Alabama Space and Rocket Center.
20. Bauer, Second Order Consequences, pp. 171-172, 174.
21. For a popular account of these and other aspects of the national space program in general, see,
Frederick I. Ordway III, Carsbie C. Adams, and Mitchell R. Sharpe, Dividends from Space (New
York, 1971).
22. Bauer, Second Order Consequences, p. 174.
23. William R. Lucas, "The Past, Present, and Future of Metals for Liquid Rockets," Metals
Engineering Quarterly, Feb. 1966, p. 59.
24. R. V. Hoppes, "The Saturn V Space Program and Aluminum Welding Technology," MSFC,
1967, p. 10.
25. Hoppes, "Saturn Welding Technology" p. 3, passim.
26. Ibid., pp. 5, 24-25.
27. See, for example: "Listing of Special Publications Published by the NASA Technology Utiliza-
tion Division," 1968; NASA, Transferable Technology: Publications Reporting Innovations Suitable for
Many Purposes, NASA Off. of Technology Utilization, Fall 1968; House Committee on Science
and Astronautics, "For the Benefit of All Mankind; a Survey of the Practical Returns from Space
Investment," House report, 91st Cong., 2nd sess., 7 Dec. 1970; JSC, "Space Benefits: Today
and Tomorrow," pamphlet, Nov. 1971.
28. This became a standard interview question, even though it invariably elicited the same answer.
29. Statements to this effect were made to the author by numerous contractors as well as MSFC
managers and engineers, and printed in various press releases. See, for example, MSFC, Press
Release 75- 174, 1975.
491
Sources and Research Materials
DOCUMENTARY SOURCES
This history rests primarily on documents acquired for the Saturn
history project, under a contract awarded to the University of Ala-
bama in Huntsville by MSFC in 1968. Documents in the Saturn history
project (SHP) amount to approximately 24 file drawers and are currently
housed in the library of the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Although the SHP files contain letters, memoranda, and other docu-
ments copied from the History Office at NASA Headquarters, as well as
some material from the Kennedy and Johnson Presidential Libraries,
their principal strength is represented in other aspects. The SHP files are
primarily a collection of MSFC documents and materials gathered from
contractors involved in the Saturn program. These documents include
many unpublished reports and summaries prepared for miscellaneous
briefings and professional meetings. Where no official control number
was included, the source has been identified as NASA Report, Douglas
Report, etc.
Many engineers who were involved in the Saturn program read
papers at professional meetings of the American Institute of Aeronautics
and Astronautics, and many were reprinted and cited herein as AIAA
Paper No. 0000, etc. These AIAA papers were very valuable in coming to
grips with many key areas in Saturn development, in discussing problems
encountered, in trouble-shooting, and in assessing the solutions adopted.
For the most part, these papers are notably candid and, because their
authors were directly associated with Saturn hardware, can be regarded
as useful primary sources. The SHP files also include selected corre-
spondence, test reports, flight summaries, press kits, and other miscella-
neous documents from NASA and contractor sources.
Although the files themselves are arranged in chronological order,
there is an extensive and detailed index arranged by subject. The index is
fully cross-referenced and annotated. Additional documents, acquired
493
STAGES TO SATURN
during later phases of the Saturn history, are housed with the SHP files,
although they still await indexing and location within the original files.
Finally, the SHP files include tapes, transcripts, and notes of 128
interviews with NASA and contractor personnel who worked on the
Saturn rockets. Unhappily, some of the interviews were recorded on
tapes of inferior quality and the transcriptions are only marginal or frag-
mentary. A number of other transcriptions, although prepared from
audible tapes, were so poorly transcribed as to be unusable. Notes were
taken of several interviews when use of recording equipment was either
impractical or impossible. Other interviews, housed in the files of
Johnson Space Center or at NASA Headquarters in Washington, B.C.,
are so identified in the backnotes.
In identifying authorship or affiliation with government agencies
and contractors, the following abbreviations have been used:
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
MSFC (Marshall Space Flight Center)
KSC (Kennedy Space Center)
JSC (Johnson Space Center)
MDAC (McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company)
NAR (North American Rockwell)
In citing interviews, these abbreviations have also been used to indicate
the affiliation of the person who gave the interview. "NASA" in the
interviews identifies individuals primarily associated with NASA Head-
quarters in Washington. Although von Braun was interviewed while he
was attached to NASA Headquarters (as Deputy Associate Administrator
for Planning) following his departure from MSFC in March 1970, 1 have
identified him as an affiliate of MSFC because of his close association with
Marshall and the Saturn program.
Several other documentary sources were used in writing the Saturn
history. The files of the Historical Office, Marshall Space Flight Center,
although including miscellaneous correspondence, were strongest in the
series of monthly, quarterly, and annual progress reports of major
laboratories and individual MSFC programs. These files were especially
useful in establishing chronological sequences and specific dates. Other
files consulted are now in MSFC's Records Holding Area. These include
the Director's Reading Files (1960- 1969); Office of the Director, "Weekly
Notes" (1960-1968); Industrial Operations, Director's Reading Files
(1960-1970); Industrial Operations, Record Files (1960-1970). I was
unable, apparently because of internal bureaucratic inertia, to gain access
to these files until a late phase of research. Fortunately, I do not seem to
have missed much. The files were disappointingly thin in any matter of
substance and dealt mostly with day-to-day managerial and budgetary
SOURCES AND RESEARCH MATERIALS
issues. The "Weekly Notes" were an exception, including several folders
on special projects, as well as the weekly summaries from program
managers and lab chiefs to von Braun, all with his rejoinders, queries,
and directions scribbled in the margins.
Aside from the SHP files, the most rewarding source of correspond-
ence and memos came from the historical files at NASA Headquarters,
and from the files at Johnson Space Center. The latter included a wide
range of direct correspondence among Headquarters, MSFC, and JSC.
Because much correspondence from NASA Headquarters to JSC in-
cluded information relevant to the Apollo-Saturn program as it involved
other centers, the JSC files contained a remarkable amount of material
pertinent to the Saturn.
The historian who delves into any of these files and expects to find
signed, original documents is going to be disappointed. They must exist
somewhere, but I did not see them. Apollo-Saturn not only flourished in
the "age of the copier," it was one of its chief customers. For all practical
purposes, there is nothing wrong with a copy, but the inability to find and
actually handle the original takes some of the zest from historical
research. The telephone is another obvious stumbling block in modern
research. NASA and contractor personnel alike emphasized their reli-
ance on the telephone to resolve problems and formulate policy on an ad
hoc basis, making many decisions nearly impossible to trace. For this
reason, interviews were often the only way to reconstruct some events.
Wherever possible, data and controversial issues discussed in interviews
were double checked against extant documentation, and/or in subse-
quent interviews with other people. Von Braun, however, kept a "Daily
Journal," that listed hourly appointments, travel itineraries, and phone
calls. Sometimes the Daily Journal included summaries of conversations,
and sometimes it included verbatim transcriptions. In several instances,
this made the "Daily Journal" an invaluable aid in understanding an
event. The "Daily Journal" frequently included copies of memos and
other instructions.
The SHP files and other documentary files used during preparation
of the manuscript are listed below. (Although the manuscript includes
material available in the files of the History Office, NASA Headquarters,
it is not listed here because copies were made and housed in the SHP and
JSC files.)
SHP files Saturn History Project, Marshall Space Flight Cen-
ter
MSFC files Files of the History Office, Marshall Space Flight
Center
MSFC/RHA files Files in the MSFC Records Holding Area
JSC files Files of the History Office, Johnson Space Center
495
STAGES TO SATURN
SPO files Files of the Saturn V Program Office, Marshall
Space Flight Center
ASRC files Files of the Alabama Space and Rocket Center,
Huntsville, Alabama. Wernher von Braun's Daily
Journal is housed in the ASRC files.
Unless otherwise noted, all correspondence, memos, government docu-
ments, contractor reports, miscellaneous papers, and taped interviews
are housed in the SHP files.
OTHER SOURCES
The manuscript's bibliography is represented in its backnotes. These
notes frequently include annotations on the direct citation, in addition to
a brief discussion of other relevant sources. Because of the extent and
nature of modern governmental documentation, this short bibliographical
essay describes classes of documents in place of an extensive and formal
listing of sources. It is a summary of selected sources already discussed
within the backnotes themselves. The titles that follow are those that the
author most frequently consulted as a starting point, or for guidelines,
enlightenment, and specifics, particularly as they pertained to NASA and
the Saturn programs.
REFERENCE AND BACKGROUND
A gaod bibliographic reference is Katherine Murphy Dickson,
History of Aeronautics and Astronautics: A Preliminary Bibliography (Washing-
ton: NASA, 1968). Dickson's work is particularly valuable because of the
succinct annotations. Astronautics and Aeronautics: Chronology on Science,
Technology, and Policy (Washington, 1963— ) is issued annually and
contains reference sources for each entry. For a well-illustrated historical
survey of rocketry, see Wernher von Braun and Frederick I. Ordway
III, History of Rocketry and Space Travel (New York, 1969). With von Braun
as co-author, the book carries special authority in its discussion of many
phases of the von Braun team, ABMA, and the Saturn program. Eugene
M. Emme, ed., The History of Rocket Technology: Essays on Research,
Development, and Utility (Detroit, 1964), features essays by historians, as
well as participants, including von Braun. Two other edited works, with
contributions by key engineers and managers themselves, are of special
value. Ernst Stuhlinger, Frederick I. Ordway III, Jerry C. McCall, and
GeorgeC.Rrovfn,eds.,AstronauticalEngineeringandScience:FromPeenemuende
to Planetary Space (New York, 1963), includes a variety of semitechnical
discussions, prepared by engineers, that provide a good feel for the state
of astronautics in the early 1960s. The book was a festschrift honoring
Wernher von Braun on his 50th birthday, and its contributors had been
his associates at Peenemuende, Fort Bliss, and Huntsville. Most of the
essays have a historical theme. Edgar M. Cortright, ed., Apollo Expeditions
496
SOURCES AND RESEARCH MATERIALS
to the Moon (Washington, 1975), is a superbly illustrated retrospective
summary of the Apollo-Saturn program, written by NASA astronauts
and executives. Von Braun authored the essay on the Saturn.
Several of NASA's historical monographs were especially useful in
dealing with early space programs and with early NASA activities. These
include Constance Green and Milton Lomask, Vanguard: A History, NASA
SP-4202 (Washington, 1971); Robert L. Rosholt, An Administrative History
of NASA, 1958-1963, NASA SP-4101 (Washington, 1966); and Loyd S.
Swenson, James M. Grimwood, and Charles C. Alexander, This New
Ocean: A History of Project Mercury, NASA SP-4201 (Washington, 1966).
For numerous charts, tables, and graphs, on manpower, funding, and
organization, see Jane Van Nimmen, Leonard C. Bruno, and Robert L.
Rosholt, NASA Historical Data Book, 1958-1968, vol. I, NASA Resources,
NASA SP-4012 (Washington, 1976). Bruce Mazlish, ed., The Railroad and
the Space Program: An Exploration in Historical Analogy (Cambridge, Mass.,
1965), offered a helpful framework for historical perspectives.
The titles noted above were useful for Part One and throughout the
Saturn history. For specific sections of the book, the following titles were
especially valuable.
PART Two
Through its history office, MSFC sponsored its own series of
historical reviews. Volume I was published as Historical Origins of the
George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (1960), designated as MHM-1.
Subsequent titles, numbered sequentially, were called History of the George
C. Marshall Space Flight Center and issued semiannually through MHM-1 1
(1965). Companion volumes (designated as "Volume II" for each title)
reproduced key documents cited in these histories. Beginning in 1966,
the semiannual histories became annual Chronologies, designated MHR-6
and subsequent, ending in 1969. Based largely on these publications,
MSFC issued a convenient chronology, David S. Akens, Saturn Illustrated
Chronology: Saturn's First Eleven Years, April 1957 Through April 1968
(MSFC, 1971), which furnished appropriate dates and titles of relevant
documents for further research.
PART THREE AND PART FOUR
These sections deal with the principal components of Saturn hard-
ware. Heinz H. Koelle, ed., Handbook of Astronautical Engineering (New
York, 1961), provides an excellent survey of astronautical state of the art
as of the early 1960s. This encyclopedic book treats structures, propul-
sion, guidance, and other significant topics. See also, Frederick I.
Ordway III, James Patrick Gardner, and Mitchell R. Sharpe, Basic
Astronautics (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1962), an introductory text by
authors especially oriented to NASA's launch vehicle program.
497
STAGES TO SATURN
Two invaluable references for understanding the Saturn launch
vehicles themselves are NASA-MSFC, Saturn IB News Reference (1968),
and NASA-MSFC, Saturn V News Reference (1968). Produced by MSFC in
cooperation with the major Saturn contractors, each three-ring loose-leaf
volume illustrates essential Saturn systems, subsystems, components, arid
miscellaneous hardware. The accompanying text describes, in semitechnical
terms, the function and operation of a bewildering array of Saturn
hardware. As a means of grasping the complexities of the Saturn launch
vehicle and the essentials of the different stages, including tankage,
engines, and guidance, they are indispensable.
On engines, in particular, see Dieter K. Huzel and David H. Huang,
Design of Liquid Propellant Rocket Engines, NASA SP-125 (Washington,
1971). Both men were Rocketdyne engineers; although the book's
numerous fine illustrations do not specifically identify engine compo-
nents, the illustrations and descriptions obviously owe much to Rocketdyne's
development and production of the H-l, F-l, and J-2, making this
publication uniquely interesting for the Saturn history. William J. Brennan,
a top Rocketdyne executive, presented to an AIAA meeting a succinct
but comprehensive historical overview of rocket engines, "Milestones in
Cryogenic Liquid Propellant Rocket Engines," published as AIAA Paper
67-978 (Oct. 1967). For the Saturn generally, see Leland F. Belew, W. H.
Patterson, and J. W. Thomas, Jr., "Apollo Vehicle Propulsion Systems,"
AIAA Paper 65-303 (July 1965).
The procedures used in the fabrication of stages borrowed from
prior aircraft experience and from extant techniques used in military
rocket boosters. A useful semitechnical overview of contemporaneous
practice is Frank W. Wilson and Walter R. Prange, eds., Tooling for
Aircraft and Missile Manufacture (New York, 1964). Nevertheless, produc-
tion of the various stages of Saturn presented new problems in metallur-
gy, tooling, and welding. The evolution of the S-IVB upper stage
presented many typical problems. See, for example, K. H. Boucher,
"Saturn Third Stage S-IVB Manufacturing," Douglas Paper 3707 (1965),
and E. Harpoothian, "The Production of Large Tanks for Cryogenic
Fuels," Douglas Paper 3155 (1964). For discussion of the S-IC, see
George Alexander, "Boeing Faces Unique Fabrication Challenge." Avia-
tion Week and Space Technology, 77 (13 Aug. 1962): 52-63; Whitney G.
Smith, "Fabricating the Saturn S-IC Booster," AIAA Paper 65-294
(1965). The S-II stage was plagued by welding problems, as described in
an anomyous article, "The Toughest Weld of All," Skyline (1968), an
unpaged reprint in the SHP files. Despite an obvious bias, company
magazines like North American's Skyline and Boeing's Boeing Magazine
frequently carried valuable descriptive articles and illustrations. The
authoritative articles in Aviation Week and Space Technology are also
valuable for their depth and accuracy.
On computers and guidance, see D. Morris Schmidt, "Survey of
498
SOURCES AND RESEARCH MATERIALS
Automatic Checkout Systems for Saturn V Stages," MSFC, 10 July 1968.
C. Stark Draper, Walter Wrigley, and John Hovorka, Inertial Guidance
(New York, 1960), is a basic treatise. A study closely related to the Saturn
program and its immediate predecessors is F. K. Mueller, "A History of
Inertial Guidance," ABMA, Redstone Arsenal, Ala. (1959), written by
one of the originators of the guidance systems for the V-2.
PART FIVE
For a comprehensive analysis of management theories and organiza-
tion at the height of the Apollo-Saturn program, see Apollo Program
Office, NASA Headquarters, NASA- Apollo Program Management (1967), a
project that covered NASA centers as well as major contractors, and ran
to 14 volumes. For all this elaborate managerial superstructure, the
flavor of operational problems and frustrations stands out in annual
reviews like NASA Headquarters, Office of Programs and Special
Reports, Program Review: Apollo (1962- 1966). The complexities of logis-
tics near the peak of Apollo-Saturn can be examined in First Annual
Logistics Management Symposium, 13 — 14 September 1966, NASA
TMX-53566 (16 Jan. 1967). See also John C. Goodrum and S. M.
Smolensky, "The Saturn Vehicle Logistics Support System," AIAA Paper
No. 65-268 (April 1965).
PART Six
The best single summary reference for all Saturn I, Saturn IB, and
Saturn V launches is the tabulation by William A. Lockyer, Jr., ed., A
Summary of Major NASA Launchings, Eastern Test Range and Western Test
Range: October 1, 1958 to September 30, 1970, Kennedy Space Center, Fla.,
Historical Report No. 1 (Revised, 1970). A readable and instructive
account of launch activities at Cape Kennedy and the launch of a Saturn
V is Gene Bylinsky, "Dr. von Braun's All-Purpose Space Machine,"
Fortune, 75 (May 1967): 142-49. For dimensions, weights, duration,
and other specifics of Saturn V launches, see MSFC, Saturn V Flight
Manual, SA-501, through SA-509, which was the last flight manual
issued. Astronaut Michael Collins has written a marvelous, colorful
memoir, Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys (New York, 1974), that
includes his account of what it was like to ride a Saturn V into space.
PART SEVEN
Raymond A. Bauer, Second-Order Consequences: A Methodological Essay
on the Impact of Technology (Cambridge, 1969), is an insightful and
499
STAGES TO SATURN
provocative book generally concerned with the implications of space
exploration. The local impact on Huntsville is graphically conveyed in
the special supplement of the Huntsville Times, "25 Years Since" (3
Nov. 1974), in remembrance of the evolution of rocketry since the
von Braun group's arrival at Redstone Arsenal in 1949.
500
Index
The appendixes are not included in the index.
Acceptance Test or Launch Languages( ATOLL),
237, 256, 398
Actuator (flight control system), 182
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA),
31,39,56, 133, 135;defense funding, 26-27,
29-30, 35, 76, 299; and NASA programs,
33, 34, 38; and Saturn program, 23, 37
Advanced Vehicle Team (LaRC), 61
Advent (communications satellite), 135
Aero Spacelines, Inc., 309—17
Aerobee (sounding rocket), 17
Aerojet General Engineering Corp., 60, ISO-
SI, 210
Air Force, U.S., 13-14, 17, 25, 35, 37, 135,
137, 149; civilian space program, aid to, 19,
35, 36, 98, 1 1 1 ; contractor relations, 194-95,
288-89; F-l engine program, 26, 105, 123,
127; liquid hydrogen research, 131, 135-36;
Pregnant Guppy detention, 317-18; and
Saturn program, 39—40, 43, 57
Air transport, 293, 302, 308-18
Airlock module (Skylab), 382
Alabama Space and Rocket Center, 394, 395 ill.
Aldrich, David E., 110
Aldrin, Edwin E., 3, 5, 6 ill., 363, 369, 371-72,
373 ill.
All-up concept, 347-49, 351, 356 ill., 357, 360,
377
Allen, William M., 360
Alloy, 194; aluminum, 101, 119, 165,201,203,
217, 396; beryllium 248, 250-51, 257, 398;
magnesium-lithium, 250-51, 257, 397-98;
nickel, 102, 119
Anders, William A., 367
Animals in space, 19, 327
Apollo Applications Program (AAP), 382
Apollo Applications Program Office, 382
Apollo Executive Group (contractors), 276
Apollo Program Office, 230, 254, 278, 285,
291, 295
Apollo Saturn (Apollo space vehicle and flight).
See Apollo Saturn IB, Apollo Saturn V.
Apollo Saturn IB:
AS-201, 148, 187, 253, 338-39, 340, 349
AS-202, 339, 340, 341,343
AS-203, 339-40, 341, 349
AS-204 (Apollo I), 340-41
AS-204 (Apollo 5), 340-41, 343-44
AS-205 (Apollo 7), 343 ill., 344, 345
AS-206 (Skylab 2), 383-84
AS-207 (Skylab 3), 383-84
AS-208 (Skylab 4), 149, 383-84, 385 ill.
AS-209 (ASTP; Skylab), 384, 389
AS-210 (ASTP), 385
Apollo Saturn V:
AS-501 (Apollo 4), 223, 228-32, 254, 321,
347-49, 351-55, 356 ill., 357-60, 364
AS-502 (Apollo 6), 321, 364, 377
AS-503 (Apollo 8), 32 1 , 349, 363-68, 377, -78
AS-504 (Apollo 9), 149, 364, 368
AS-505 (Apollo 10), 368-69
AS-506 (Apollo 11), 3, 321, 369-72, 378
AS-507 (Apollo 12), 374-75
AS-508 (Apollo 13), 375-76
AS-509 (Apollo 14), 376
), 376
STAGES TO SATURN
Apollo Saturn V, continued
AS-511 (Apollo 16), 376
AS-512 (Apollo 17), 376, 377 ill.
AS-513 (Skylab 1), 384
Apollo-Saturn program, 184, 285, 360, 370-71;
booster-payload coordination, 61-62; 274;
existing techonology use, 2 1 , 87, 1 3 1 ; growth,
267, 382; objectives, 261-62, 264, 381;
problem prevention efforts, 103, 184, 262,
330, 374; success factors, 262, 264, 282, 288-
89, 318, 337, 377, 397-99. See also All-up
concept, Budget (NASA), Logistics program,
Quality control, Technology transfer.
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), 127, 291,
379, 385, 386, 388, 389 ill., 401
Apollo spacecraft and missions:
Apollo 1 (AS-204), 340-41
Apollo 4 (AS-501), 340-41, 347-49, 351-60,
364
Apollo 5 (AS-204), 341, 343-44
Apollo 6 (AS-502), 344, 360
Apollo 7 (AS-205), 343 ill., 344, 345
Apollo 8 (AS-503), 321, 363-68, 378
Apollo 9 (AS-504), 364, 368
Apollo 10 (AS-505), 368
Apollo 11 (AS-506), 3, 4, 6 ill., 7, 125, 363,
369-72, 373 ill.
Apollo 12 (AS-507), 374-75
Apollo 13 (AS-508), 375-76
Apollo 14 (AS-509), 376
Apollo 15 (AS-510), 376
Apollo 16 (AS-511), 376
Apollo 17 (AS-512), 376, 377 ill.
Apollo telescope mount (ATM), 382-83
Appold, Norman C., 34, 45
Armstrong, Neil A., 3, 5, 6 ill., 363, 369,
371-72, 373 ill.
Army, U.S., 25, 35, 391; civilian space pro-
gram, aid to, 19, 35-36, 298; liquid propul-
sion rocketry, 14, 131; missile development,
13-15; and Saturn program 39-40
Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), 15- 16,
18, 25; booster programs, 25-30, 33-34,
298; civilian space program, aid to, 19-20,
33-40; and NASA program, 81, 157-58,
193; and Saturn program, 41-44, 69, 74,
76, 136, 243
Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC),
14, 30, 31, 42, 299
Arnold Engineering Development Center, 149,
390
Astrionics Laboratory (MSFC), 247, 328
Astronauts, 19, 20 ill., 383. See also names of
individual astronauts.
502
Atlantic Missile Range, 16 ill.
Atlas (ICBM missile), 14, 17, 19, 20, 21, 34-36,
164, 189; liquid fuel use, 14, 44, 91; satellite
payloads, 17, 134—35; and Saturn program,
37,43, 120, 127, 141, 146
Atlas (launch vehicle), 17, 19, 20 ill., 21, 25,
44, 61 ill., 161, 134-35
Atlas- Agena, 61 ill.
Atlas-Centaur, 135
Atmospheric research, 17
ATOLL (Acceptance Test or Launch Languages),
237, 256, 398
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), 13, 17
Atwood, J. Leland, 224, 226, 229, 231
Automation, 241; automated checkout, 186,
235-40; and welding, 218, 221 ill., 222
Auxiliary propulsion system (Saturn guidance
and control system), 182, 256
B-377 (cargo aircraft), 309
B-377 PG. See Pregnant Guppy.
B-377 SG. See Super Guppy.
BARC amphibious vessel, 298
Balch, Jackson L., 74
Balsa wood insulation, 175
Barge, 298; Compromise, 305; Little Lake, 305;
Palaemon, 302-03, 304, 305, 306 ill., 307;
Pearl River, 305, 306 ill.; Poseidon, 305, 306
ill., 307; Promise, 305, 307
Base heating phenomena, 78-79
Bauer, H. E., 167, 171, 189, 240, 302
Bauer, Raymond A., 394-96, 399
Baykonur Cosmodrome, 388
Bean, Alan L., 374
Belew, Leland F., 99, 148
Bendix Corp., 245, 248
Bergen, William B., 231
Bill Dyer (tugboat), 308
Bob Fuqua (tugboat), 303, 304, 307
Boeing Co., 1 16, 200, 352, 360; contracts, 105,
284; MSFC staff, work with, 192-96, 207,
239-40; NASA facilities use, 71, 73, 166,
194; production innovations, 201-03, 206
Booster. See Launch vehicle and Missile.
Borman, Frank, 367
Bostwick, Leonard C., 95-96, 104, 112
Bramlet, James B., 65, 193
Brand, Vance D., 389
Brennan, William J., 108, 113, 115
Budget (NASA), 54-55, 188, 297; logistics
costs, 293, 295; long-range plans, 48, 50, 53.
See also All-up concept.
Bumper (atmospheric research probe), 14
INDEX
Camera capsules, 328, 338, 340
Canright, Richard B., 39, 134
Cape Canaveral, 14, 15, 70, 73, 80, 323. See
also Cape Kennedy.
Cape Kennedy, 21, 101, 123, 125, 239, 317,
318, 332, 388-89
Cargo aircraft, 309-18
Cargo Lift Trailer (CLT), 315
Castenholz, Paul, 113
Centaur (launch vehicle upper stage), 36-38,
43; liquid hydrogen fuel, 44, 46, 51, 61 ill.,
92, 131-35, 136 ill., 137; tank structure, 164,
167
Cernan, Eugene A., 368, 369
Chaffee, Roger B., 231, 340-41
Chance- Vought Corp., 82
Chrysler Corp., 15, 71-72, 81-83, 98, 102,
103, 196,210, 331, 333,385
Civilian space program, 41, 55
Cluster concept, 34, 35, 324; engine, 30, 36,
43, 51, 76, 79-80, 83, 97, 137, 160, 164,
334, 337, 345, 400; tank, 30, 43, 76, 77,
82 ill., 155
Collins, Michael, 3, 5, 363, 369-72
Combustion instability, 99, 101, 113-16, 398
Comet Kohoutek, 385
Command and service module (GSM), 5, 83,
161, 236, 247-48, 344, 359, 361, 363, 368,
369, 372; 384; Apollo 1 fire, 340-41; pro-
duction delays, 226-27, 230-31
Committee for Evaluating the Feasibility of
Space Rocketry (CEFSR), 130, 131
Compromise (barge), 305
Computer language, 236-37, 256, 398
Computer, 155, 235, 236 ill., 246 ill., 294-
95; automated checkout, 236-41; guidance,
243, 249; innovations, 250-51, 398; PERT,
286-87
Conrad, Charles ("Pete"), Jr., 374, 384
Conroy, John M., 309-14
Contractor, 15, 96, 102, 268 ill., 281, 283,
360. See also Apollo Executive Group, Govern-
ment-contractor relations, Management,
Marshall Space Flight Center, Resident Man-
ager's Office, and names of individual con-
tractors.
Contract (NASA), 15, 42, 68, 284, 309; engine,
104-05, 137, 141, 143, 148; maintenance,
73-74; stage, 81, 157-59, 160, 210-11
Control Data Corp., 240
Convair Astronautics Div., General Dynamics
Corp., 159, 173, 188, 210
Cook Technological Center, Cook Electric
Co., 328
Cosmonaut, 19, 21, 54, 388. See also names of
individual cosmonauts.
Crocco, Luigi, 114
Cronkite, Walter, 357
Crypgenics, 89, 90, 91, 94, 127, 130, 184, 198,
297, 398
Cummings Research Park, 395 ill.
Cunningham, R. Walter, 343
Dannenberg, Konrad, K., 263, 264
Davis, Wilbur, S., 211
Debus, Kurt H., 38 ill., 70, 231, 277 ill.
Defense, Dept. of, 1 5, 23, 282; booster program,
26, 36, 37; space program, 25, 27, 32, 55;
and Saturn program, 38-42, 57, 297
Development Operations Div. (ABMA), 42
Direct ascent (Nova), 63, 65, 66, 83
Donn, William, 357
Doolittle, James H., 34
Dornberger, Walter R., 11, 12
Douglas Aircraft Corp., 169 ill., 182, 210, 240,
279 ill., 283, 309, 382; insulation innovations,
172-77; S-IV stage, 81, 136-37, 157, 158-
59, 188-89, 331; S-IVB stage, 143, 147-48,
157, 160, 162, 168, 185-87, 278, 280; tank,
165-67, 170-72, 184-85
Draper, Dr. C. Stark, 242
Dryden, Dr. Hugh L., 32 ill., 34, 39, 40, 53,
55, 58,67, 113
"Dry workshop." See Orbital Workshop.
Dyna-Soar, 35, 43, 47, 57, 58, 60
E-l engine, 26, 27, 111
Earth orbit rendezvous (EOR), 59, 63, 65-67,
84, 162, 349, 400
Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., 68-69, 106,
107, 116, 123, 124, 126, 136
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 19, 27, 32 ill., 33, 41,
42, 43 ill., 50
Eisele, Donn F., 343
Electronics Communications Inc., 254
Engine Program Office (MFSC), 108, 140, 270
Explorer (satellite), 16 ill.
Explorer I, 18,26,70, 354
Explorer XVI, 330
F-l engine, 26, 48, 51, 52, 87, 105, 1 10 ill., 122
ill., 142, 210, 302, 370, 397-98; innovations,
107-08, 119, 120-21, 127; problem phases,
95, 108-09, 112-114, 116, 153; Saturn V,
503
STAGES TO SATURN
F-l engine, continued
C-5 configuration, 58-59, 65, 192-93;
Saturn V, S-IC stage, 5, 106, 196, 198-99;
207-08; 348, 352, 354, 357; testing program,
106-07, 108, 111-12, 115, 117, 119, 123-
26. See also Combustion instability, Fuel in-
jector, Pogo effect, Thrust chamber, Turbo-
pump.
Fairchild Corp., 333
Felix, Harold E., 185
Flight Operations Office (GEM box), 274
Ford Instrument Co., 243
Frietag, Robert F., 313
Friendship 7, 20
Fuel injector, 109-16, 138, 142, 145, 151 ill.
Fuller, Paul N., 144
Gagarin, Yuri A., 19, 54
Gates, Thomas S., Jr., 41
Gayle.J. B., 185
Geissler, Ernst D., 38 ill., 59, 163
GEM boxes, 270, 272 ill., 273, 289, 290, 292
Gemini program, 21, 161, 294, 330, 336, 355,
381
General Accounting Office, 159
General Dynamics/Astronautics, 132, 134-35,
138
General Electric Co., 14, 73-74
Gilruth, Robert R., 61, 62, 63, 65, 229, 277 ill.,
364, 373 ill.
Glenn, John H.,Jr., 20
Glennan, T. Keith, 32 ill., 33, 38, 40, 41, 43,
50,51, 53,57, 141, 159, 209
Goddard, Robert H., 8-9, 10 ill., 91
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), 61
Godfrey, Roy E., 162, 190
Goett, Harry J., 41
Golovin, Nicholas E., 63, 67, 351
Goodrum, John C., 296, 307, 310, 311, 314,
318
Gordon, Richard F., 374
Government-contractor relations, 15, 358, 397-
400; MSFC contractor monitoring, 81, 98,
102-03, 107, 113, 116, 124, 141, 184-85^
193-95, 200-02, 213, 222-23, 226-27,
230, 232, 257, 275, 277-78, 280-82, 292,'
296, 358, 36 1 -62; NASA contractor manage-
ment, 104, 159, 222, 224-32, 245-56, 274,
288-89, 292
Grace, Clinton, H., 245-46
Grau, Dieter, 350, 366
Greer, Robert E., 227, 228, 232
Grissom, Virgil I., 231, 340, 341
504
Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp., 68
Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory, Cali-
fornia Institute of Technology, 10
Guidance and control system, 7, 8, 52, 241,
242, 247, 278, 250, 251
Gyroscope, 242
H-l engine, 29, 39, 48, 87, 91, 94 ill., 100 ill.,
105 ill., 120, 125, 127, 142, 153, 398; innova-
tions, 99, 1 19; problem phases, 95, 101-04;
Saturn I, 77, 97, 324, 325, 326, 328-29,
336; Saturn IB, 83, 97, 338, 344; testing
program, 98, 1 13, 1 15, 126. See also Combus-
tion instability, Fuel injector, Teflon, Thrust
chamber, Turbopump.
Haeussermann, Walter, 38 ill., 350
Haise, Fred W.,Jr., 375
Hall, Eldon W., 45, 47
Hamilton, Julian S., 311
Harrje, David, 114
Haynes Stellite Co., div. of Union Carbide,
103-04
Heimburg, Karl L., 38
Helicopter, 308, 316 ill.
Helium, 177-78, 198, 199
Hellebrand, Emil A., 183-84
Hello, Bastian, 231
Hermes C-l, 14
Hermes program, 14
High Altitude Test Vehicle (HATV), 130-31
Highwater, Project, 325, 336, 345
Hjornevik, Wesley L., 35, 36, 40, 41
Hoelzer, Helmut, 38 ill.
Hoffman, Samuel K., 34
Holaday, William M., 27
Holmes, D. Brainerd, 63, 65, 67, 114, 160,
192,211, 312,349,359-60
Hoppes, R. B., 396
Homer, Richard E., 45, 47, 50
Hornig, Donald F., 113
Houbolt, John C., 63, 64 ill.
House Committee on Science and Astronautics,
159
Hueter, Hans, 38 ill.
Huntsville, Ala., 379, 390-94
Hyatt, Abraham, 34, 36, 41, 45, 158
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM),
240, 245, 246 ill., 247, 252-53, 386
Industrial Operations Div., (IO, MSFC), 182,
269-70, 286, 290
Inertial guidance systems, 242, 243
INDEX
Injector, See Fuel injector.
Instrument unit (IU), 161, 241-57, 315, 386;
automated checkout, 239-40; production
procedures, 242-54; Saturn 1, 244-45, 249;
Saturn IB, 245, 246 ill., 247, 344; Saturn V,
241-42, 246 ill., 247-50, 255-56, 358-59,
360-61
Insulation, 149, 172-77, 212, 213-15, 222-
23, 358
Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), 13,
91, 386, 400-01. See also Atlas, Minuteman,
and Titan.
Intermediate range ballistic missiles (IRBM), 1 6
91. See also Jupiter and Thor.
International Geophysical Year (1957-1958),
17
Invar piping, 152—53
IU-204 (instrument unit), 254
IU-205, 254
IU-503, 254
J-2 engine, 5, 58-59, 144, 151 ill., 187 ill.,
240; failure, 360-63; liquid hydrogen tech-
nology, 127, 141, 143, 146-47, 359; problem
phases, 144-45, 149-53, 372-73; S-II stage,
177, 210, 212, 216, 240, 348, 357; S-IVB stage,
160, 164, 171, 177-78, 180-82, 186, 256;
Saturn IB, 87, 143, 338-40, 343-45, Saturn
V, 143, 368, 371; testing program, 142-43,
147-49, 216. See also Fuel injector, Pogo
effect
JATO project (Jet- Assisted Take-Off), 10
James, Lee B., 278-79, 280, 289, 399
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute
of Technology, 18, 33, 130, 132
Johnson, Lyndon B., 31, 53, 54, 68 ill., 348,
369
Johnson, Roy W., 27, 31, 33, 38, 40, 44
Johnston, Herrick L., 131, 133, 147
Jones, Robert E., 390
Juno (launch vehicle), 18, 34
Juno II, 25, 36
Juno III, 27
Juno IV, 27
Juno V, 27-28, 31, 35, 36, 74, 76, 79, 191
Juno V-A, 37
Juno V-B, 37
Jupiter (IRBM missile), 14, 15, 16, 30, 35,
70, 77, 83, 91, 95, 99, 127, 195, 244, 350
Jupiter C (launch vehicle), 16 ill., 17, 18, 36
Kennedy, John F., 53-56, 67, 68 ill., 348
Kennedy Space Center (KSC), 3, 4, 6 ill.,
184, 236 ill., 239, 332, 349, 351, 356 ill.,
386, 390
Kerosene-based propellant, 5, 89, 99, 102, 105,
127, 129, 232, 386, 387
Kerwin, Joseph P., 384
Killian, James R., 27, 31
Killian committee, 27, 31
Klute, Dan, 113
Kroeger, Herman W., 311
Kubasov, Valery, N., 388
Kuers, Werner R., 219, 392
Lambert, H. L., 301
Land transport, 298-99, 300, 301, 318
Lange, Oswald H., 136, 210, 211, 275
Langley Research Center (LaRC), 44, 61-63
Launch Complex 34, 70, 338, 343 ill.
Launch Complex 37, 332, 334-35, 341
Launch Complex 39, 4, 6 ill., 1 1 ill., 223, 347,
356 ill., 365 ill., 385 ill.; pad A, 383; pad
B, 383
Launch Operations Center (LOG), 70
Launch Operations Directorate (LOD), 70
Launch vehicle, 3-4, 17-21, 25-29, 33-41,
51—53, 56, 74. See also names of individual
vehicles.
Launch window, 293, 367
Leonov, Aleksey A., 21, 388
LEV-3 (inertial guidance system), 242-43
Lewis Propulsion Laboratory, 44
Lewis Research Center (LeRC), 44, 79, 84 ill.,
132-134, 136-138, 145, 153, 173
Liquid hydrogen, 8, 53, 127, 129-30, 184-
85, 297; Centaur, used in, 36-37, 131, 133-
35; J-2, used in, 127, 141, 144-45, 149-
50, 177-82, 339-40, 345, 361; Lewis Lab-
oratory research, 44, 1 32 - 33; RL- 10, used in,
127, 137, 140, 144, 334; Saturn design, effect
on, 44-47, 51, 58, 89, 134, 400; tanks,
effect on, 147, 163-64, 167, 172, 174-78,
180, 192,211-12
Liquid oxygen (LOX), 5, 8, 12, 132, 151 ill.;
multistage rockets, used in, 44, 45, 85, 162,
177, 386; liquid hydrogen, used with, 44, 51,
145, 147, 162; tanks, effect on, 77, 144,
149, 164, 167, 177-78, 181, 185, 198-99,
200,202,211,213
Little Lake (barge), 305
Lockheed Aircraft Corp., 210
Logistics Management Office (NASA Hq.), 296
Logistics program, 292-96, 300-01, 318, 319,
398
505
STAGES TO SATURN
Lovell, James A., Jr., 367, 375
Low, George M., 63, 226, 365-66, 373 ill.
LOX. S^ Liquid oxygen.
LR- 115 engine, 137
LR- 119 engine, 137, 160
LSD (Navy Landing Ship, Dock), 305, 319 ill.
Lubricant, 147
Lucas, William R., Jr., 185, 396
Lunar excursion module (LEM), 5, 68, 83, 193
Lunar module (LM), 161, 163, 236, 341, 343,
344, 345, 368-69, 372
Lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR), 59-61, 63, 64
ill., 65-68, 83, 84, 161, 162, 349, 367, 400
Lunar roving vehicle, 376, 377 ill.
M-l engine, 60
McDonnell Douglas Corp., 383, 386
McDivitt, James A., 368
McElroy, Neil H., 27
McKinsey and Co., 42
McNamara, Joseph P., 107
McNamara, Robert S., 68 ill.
Management, 261, 263-65, 272 ill., 290; NASA
Hq-center relations, 257, 265, 270-271,
274-75; von Braun policies, 261, 263-65,
289, 291. See also GEM boxes, Government-
contractor relations, Reorganization, Schedule
delay.
Manned earth orbital missions, 54, 160, 363,
364
Manned Flight Awareness Office, 279 ill., 283
Manned lunar landing, 7, 34, 36, 41, 48-49,
50, 52, 56, 57, 59, 65, 66, 83, 105, 161,
267, 336, 344, 357, 360, 364, 372, 381
Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), 62, 63, 65,
66, 70, 231, 313, 349, 390
Manned spaceflight, 7, 9, 19, 21, 32, 33, 51,
141, 349, 367
Mariner mission, 137
Marshall, Mrs. George C., 42, 43 ill.
Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), 23, 42,
43 ill., 59, 71 ill., 210, 246 ill., 261, 302,
305, 310, 379, 396, 399, 400; NASA Hq,
relations with, 160, 257, 266, 269-70; in-
house capabilities, 70-71, 74, 81, 85, 124,
136-37, 144, 192-93, 333; production faci-
lities, relations with, 68-73; research centers,
relations with, 61-67, 79, 267, 390; Skylab
program, 379, 382-83; testing program, 144,
148-49, 184, 188, 337, 349, 367. See also
Government-contractor relations, Resident
Manager's Office.
Mathews, Charles W., 373 ill.
Mattingly, Thomas K., II, 375
Maus, Hans H., 38 ill., 65, 193
Mechling Barge Lines, Inc., 303, 304
Medaris.John B., 15, 31, 34
Mercury, Project, 19, 21, 61, 161, 294, 355
Meteoroids, 329, 330, 331, 334
Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF), 68, 71-73,
75 ill., 84 ill., 208 ill., 301, 383, 385, 390;
Boeing, used by, 166, 192, 194, 195, 196,
201-03, 206; Chrysler, used by, 81-82
Military rocketry, 9-16, 25, 31-32, 35, 39,
40,41,53, 137
Minuteman (ICBM missile), 349, 351
Missile, 9-17, 21, 25, 54, 161. See also names of
individual missiles.
Mississippi Test Facility (MTF), 68, 72-74, 75
ill., 125, 144, 207, 208 ill., 221 ill., 229,
301, 306 ill., 390; F-l testing, 125, 206-
07, 363; J-2 testing, 216, 224, 363
Moog Industries, 182
Mrazek, William A., 29, 30, 31, 38 ill., 43,
45, 46, 65, 193, 307
Mueller, Fritz, 243
Mueller, George E., 226, 228-29, 276, 277 ill.,
289, 334, 341, 360, 364, 366, 373 ill., 382;
all-up concept, 348- 5 1 ; GEM boxes, 270- 7 1
Murphy, James T., 271
Muse, Thomas C., 45
Myers, Dale D., 225
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
(NACA), 19, 31-34, 68, 132, 134
National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958,
19, 32, 39, 54, 294
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), 21, 32, 258 ill., 383, 398-400;
booster program, 33-36, 39-43, 58-60;
liquid hydrogen program, 44-47; NACA,
created from, 18-19, 31-34; planning, 48,
50-53, 55, 57, 265. See also Army Ballistic
Missile Agency, Apollo-Saturn Program,
Budget (NASA), Contracts (NASA), Govern-
ment-contractor relations, Manned lunar
landing, Reorganization, Saturn program, and
names of individual program offices.
Navaho (cruise missile), 13-14, 15, 16 ill.
Navaho project, 13-14, 15
Navy, U.S., 13, 15, 16, 17, 25, 27, 35, 130, 131,
211,305
Nelson, Richard H., 194
Neubert, Erich W., 38 ill.
506
INDEX
Noise, 80, 357
North American Aviation, Inc. (North American
Rockwell Corp. from Sept. 1967), 73, 146,
283, 371; contracts, 209-11, management
problems, 225 — 32; production facilities,
166, 195, 212; production innovations, 213-
15; production problems, 215, 217, 222,
230-33, 352
Nova (launch vehicle), 37, 39, 50-53, 57, 58,
59, 60, 63, 65, 66, 67
Nozzles, 92-93, 121-22
Oberth, Hermann, 8, 9, 10 ill.
O'Connor, Edmund F., 188, 224, 225, 231, 254,
269, 289, 292, 295
Odishaw, Hugh, 58, 113
Office of Launch Vehicle Programs (NASA
Hq.), 47
Office of Manned Space Flight (NASA Hq.),
63, 66, 113, 230, 275-76, 296, 366
Office of Program Planning and Evaluation
(NASA Hq.), 51
Office of Space Sciences (NASA Hq.), 325
Orbital Workshop (Skylab), 126-27, 382, 383,
385 ill.
Ordnance Guided Missile Center, 15
Ostrander, Donald R., 48, 209
Oxidizers, 89, 91, 127, 149, 198-99
Paine, Thomas O., 366, 373 ill., 383
Palaemon (barge), 302-05, 306 ill., 307
Pall Corp., 138
Panama Canal, 309
Parker, William F., 228
Pearl River (barge), 305, 306 ill.
Pease, Robert E., 145, 150
Peenemuende, 11, 12, 291
Pegasus Meteoroid Project, 329-36, 337, 345
Pegasus I, 331-33, 334
Pegasus II ', 333-34
Pegasus III, 333-35
Performance Evaluation and Review Technique
(PERT), 141, 286-88, 297
Phillips, Samuel C., 188, 254, 278, 289, 339, 373
ill.; and Apollo 4, 351-53; and Apollo 8,
364-65; and NASA budget, 188; and S-II
program, 223, 230-32
Phillips report, 225-26
Piland, Robert O., 61
Pogo effect, 360-61, 362-63, 367, 368, 372
Point Barrow, (LSD), 305, 319 ill.
Polaris (missile), 16
Polyurethane insulation, 175
Posiedon (barge), 305, 306 ill., 307
Powell, James T., 247
Powell, Luther E., 253
Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Co., 134, 135-38,
139 ill., 145, 152, 160, 189
Pregnant Guppy (cargo aircraft), 310— 13, 315,
316 ill., 317-18
Prentice, R. W., 310
President's Scientific Advisory Committee
(PSAC), 53, 67, 68, 113, 225
Priem, Richard J., 114
Program Control Center (MSFC), 283-85,
286 ill., 287-88, 289, 290-91, 292, 399
Program Control Office (GEM box), 273
Project Logistics Office (MSFC), 296, 303
Promise (barge), 305, 307
Propellant dispersion system (PDS), 255
Propellant utilization probe (PU probe), 181-
82
Propellant utilization system (PU system), 177,
180-82, 338
Propellant, 7, 8, 11, 14, 25, 93; cryogenic, 89,
127, 129, 145, 149, 165, 174, 175, 177, 181,
182, 184, 188, 216, 345; gaseous, 89, 129;
kerosene-based, 5, 89, 99, 102, 105, 127, 129,
232, 386-87; liquid, 7, 8, 36, 44-49, 51,
77, 107, 129, 130, 132, 133, 135, 137, 386,
400
Propulsion and Vehicle Engineering Labora-
tory (MSFC), 328
Public Affairs Office (NASA Hq.), 353
Quality and Reliability Laboratory (MSFC), 367
Quality control, 183, 281-83, 366-67; F-l,
108, 109-10; H-l, 102-04; tank, 165, 207,
231-32; welding, 186, 217, 230
Quarles, Donald A., 40
Raborn, William F., Jr., 284
RD-107 (Russian propulsion system), 386-87
RD-108, 386-87
Redstone (missile), 14, 15, 17, 19, 77, 83, 94,
141, 182, 195, 244, 350
Redstone (launch vehicle), 19, 20 ill., 21
Redstone Arsenal, 14-15, 30, 42, 69, 70, 311,
390
Redstone program, 15, 327
Rees, Eberhard F. M., 38 ill., 62, 158, 226, 230,
264-65, 277, 281, 282, 289, 296, 339, 350
507
STAGES TO SATURN
Reliability and Quality Office (GEM box), 274
Reorganization: Douglas Aircraft, 278-80;
NASA, 266-67, 269-71, 291; North
American, 230-32
Research and Development Operations (R&DO,
MSFC), 269, 270, 274, 286, 289, 290
Research Institute, University of Alabama, 395
ill.
Research Steering Committee on Manned Space
Flight (Goett Committee), 41
Resident Managers Office (RMO), 277-78, 283
Rigi-mesh, 138, 145
RL-10 engine, 87, 127, 139 ill, 144, 326 ill.,
334, 336; Centaur, used in, 134, 188; J-2,
contributions to, 144, 147, 153; S-IV stage,
used in, 137-38, 140, 188-89, 325; See also
Cluster concept.
Rocketdyne Div., North American Aviation,
Inc. (North American Rockwell Corp. from
Sept. 1967), 15, 26, 76, 105 ill., 126 ill., 151
ill., 199-200, 280, 344, 361-62, 398; con-
tracts, 29, 97, 104-05, 106, 141, 143, 148;
production facilities, 98, 142-43; production
innovations, 101, 118, 120-21; production
problems, 101-04, 111-16; testing, 107,
111, 115, 123-24, 126, 142, 147, 152-53
Rockets, early, 7—14
Rosen, Milton W., 36, 39, 63, 65, 192, 193, 195
RP-1 (kerosene-based propellant), 5, 89, 164,
177, 192, 232; F-l, used in, 105, 107-08,
119-20, 127, 200; H-l, used in, 99, 102,
127; tanks, effect on, 192-93, 198
Rudolph, Arthur, 223, 273 ill., 293, 297, 351,
364, 399; and AS-501, 351-54, 357; and S-II
program, 226, 231; management policies,
270-71, 275, 283-84, 288, 290-92
Ruud, Ralph H., 219, 231
Sacramento Test Facility (SACTO, Douglas
Aircraft Co.), 184-87, 280
Safety, 141, 185, 227, 229, 231
Salyut space station, 381, 387
Sanchini, Dominick, 110
Santa Susanna Field Laboratory, 142
SA-T (test booster stage), 79-80
Satellites, 17, 47, 161, 330; communications,
35, 38, 134, 394; weather, 25, 35, 135, 394
Saturn (launch vehicle), 21, 23, 56, 90 ill.,
92, 99, 183, 396; in civilian programs, 39-41,
57; in military programs, 38-40, 57;
nomenclature, 28, 36, 37, 60, 106, 161
Saturn A:
A- 1,47, 49
A-2, 47, 49
Saturn B, 28 ill., 43
B-1,47, 49
Saturn C, 28 ill., 43
C-l, 48, 49, 51-53, 58, 59, 60 ill., 137, 160,
161, 209, See also Saturn I.
C-1B, 59-60, 143, 160, 161. See also Saturn
IB.
C-2, 28 ill., 48, 49, 51-53, 57, 58, 209, 210
C-3, 28 ill., 48, 49, 58,63, 210
C-4, 28 ill., 58, 157
C-5, 58-59, 60 ill., 65, 67, 160, 161, 162,
192. See also Saturn V.
Saturn I, 3, 23, 28 ill., 30 ill., 61 ill., 70,
83-85, 139 ill., 161 ill., 183, 321-29, 331-
36, 338, 381; design, 74-79, 189, 191, 324-
27, 345; engines, 95, 97-98, 101, 137, 157,
256, 336; guidance system, 243-45, 249,
329, 349; liquid hydrogen fuel, 87, 89, 91,
325; 400; production, 196, 265, 299; 399;
testing, 79-81, 323, 337. See also Air trans-
port, Land transport, Pegasus project, Water
transport.
Saturn IB, 3, 20 ill., 23, 28 ill., 61 ill., 77,
84 ill., 85, 126-27, 155, 161 ill., 169 ill.,
179 ill., 209, 278, 291, 306 ill., 316 ill., 321,
342 ill., 345, 377, 385 ill., 389 ill.; and ASTP
program, 388-89; design, 38, 157, 162, 189,
191, 337-38; engines, 87, 94, 97, 98, 103,
143, 256, 338, 339; guidance system, 244,
245, 247, 249, 254, 329, 339, 344; liquid
hydrogen fuel, 89, 91, 400; production, 71,
83, 185-86, 196, 266; and Skylab program,
382-83; testing, 38, 148, 338. See also Air
transport, All-up concept, Land transport,
Water transport.
Saturn IB Program Office (MSFC), 270
Saturn V, ii ill., 3-4, 7, 20 ill., 23, 28 ill., 61
ill., 70, 75 ill., 85, 126-27, 161 ill., 197 ill.,
271, 297, 321, 354-55, 365 ill., 367-71, 378,
381; design, 157, 177, 189, 278, 288, 372,
400; engines, 87, 89, 101, 123, 125, 143, 148,
256, 339, 354, 357, 376-77; guidance sys-
tem, 155, 241, 243-45, 247-49, 329, 357-
59; liquid hydrogen fuel, 89, 91, 162, 400;
production, 71, 185-86; and Skylab pro-
gram, 379, 382; testing, 73, 188, 338, 345. See
also Air transport, All-up concept, Manned
lunar landing, Noise, Pogo effect, Quality
control, Schedule delays, ST-124, Water
transport, Welding.
Saturn V Program Office (MSFC), 270-71, 273,
286 ill., 290-92. See also Government-con-
tractor relations, Program Control Center,
Quality control.
508
INDEX
Saturn 500-F (interim facilities test vehicle),
351-52
Saturn-Apollo space vehicle (See also Apollo
Saturn IB and V):
SA-1 (Saturn I), 98, 304-05, 323-24, 326,
327, 328
SA-2, 324, 325, 336
SA-3, 324, 325
SA-4, 324, 326 ill., 328
SA-5, 185, 244, 312, 323, 324, 326 ill., 327,
328
SA-6, 104, 327, 328, 329, 338
SA-7, 101, 104, 327, 329, 331
SA-8, 327, 331, 338, 334
SA-9, 244,327, 331,332
SA-10, 326, 327, 335
SA-201 (Saturn IB), 97
SA-202, 97
SA-203, 97
SA-204, 97
SA-205, 97
SA-206, 97
SA-209, 389
SA-2 11, 389
SA-5 14 (Saturn V), 389
SA-5 15, 389
Saturn Apollo Systems Integration Office
(MSFC), 266
Saturn Booster Branch (Michoud Assembly
Facility), 194
Saturn program, 39, 42, 47, 50-52, 59, 240,
272 ill., 262-63, 294, 400; contributions,
379, 397-99; cryogenics, advanced by, 134,
136-37, 143, 161-62, 398. See also F-l
engine, Government-contractor relations,
H-l engine, Management, Reorganization,
Schedule delay.
Saturn stages:
S-I, 58, 77, 81, 82 ill., 89, 185, 189, 244, 325-
27; Chrysler product, 83, 331, 333; MSFC
product, 81, 334
S-IB, 77, 83, 89, 98, 102-03, 126, 148, 189
S-IC, 5, 6 ill., 75 ill., 89, 106, 111 ill., 127,
155, 189, 190, 197 ill., 205 ill., 208 ill., 212,
300 ill., 306 ill., 344, 352; flight performance,
212, 344, 357; proportions, 191-92, 196,
201, 206, 222, 354, 398; RP-1 fuel, 164, 192,
200, 232; testing, 69, 71-72, 73, 74, 196, 207,
209
S-II, 5, 6 ill., 58, 69, 127, 143, 155, 162,
189, 190, 191-92, 220-21 ill., 303 ill., 306
ill., 319 ill., 353, 398, 399; destruction of,
224, 229-30; flight performance, 212,
233, 357-58, 360-61, 367-68, 370-71;
liquid hydrogen fuel, 43, 89, 209, 21 1; test-
ing, 73, 74, 223-24
S-IV, 48, 49,77, 81, 137, 139 ill., 161 ill.,
169 ill., 182, 184, 189-90, 316 ill., 319
ill., 326 ill., 382; destruction of, 185, 186;
flight performance, 183-84, 328; liquid
hydrogen fuel, 89, 163-64, 325
S-IVB, 5, 83, 89, 143, 155, 157, 161 ill., 169
ill., 179 ill., 183, 186, 187 ill., 279 ill.,
306 ill., 316 ill., 319 ill., 374; design, 162-64,
190, 212, 222, flight performance, 144,
147, 338-40; 343-44; 358-59; 361-62; 367-
69; 371, 375; liquid hydrogen fuel, 164,
174; testing, 148-49, 184, 188
S-V, 48, 58, 137, 159, 265, 324, 325
Saturn Systems office (SSO, MSFC), 265-66,
270
Saturn Vehicle Team (Silverstein committee),
45,47-51, 140
Schedule delay, 52-53, 68, 153, 160, 209,
223-32, 349, 352-54, 364-65, 376
Scheer, Julian W., 353
Schirra, Walter M., 343, 344
Schmidt, Dalton M., 238
Schneider, William C., 347, 357
Schomburg, August, 42
Schriever, Bernard A., 34, 228
Schweickart, Russell L., 368
Schwenk, Francis C., 47
Scott, David R., 368
Seal Beach Production Facilities, 69, 212, 215,
221 ill.
Seamans, Robert C., Jr., 55, 63, 67, 68, 113,
160,312, 351
Shea, Joseph F., 65, 66, 226
Shepard, Alan B., 19, 20 ill.
Sidey, Hugh, 55
Siebel, Mathias P., 202, 262 ill.
Silverstein, Abe, 41, 44, 45, 46 il., 62, 132, 133,
134, 136, 137
Silverstein committee. See Saturn Vehicle Team.
Skylab, 291,317, 379, 381-85
Skylab 4, 385 ill.
Skylab program, 126, 127, 383-84
Slayton, Donald K., 389
Slidell Computer Facility, 68, 72, 390
Sloop, John L., 132, 133, 134
Smith, Robert G., 287
Smith, Ted, 167, 189
Smith, Whitney G., 201
Smithsonian Institution, 332
Smolensky, Stanley M., 296
Sneed, Bill H., 267, 291
Solar cells, 332, 384
509
STAGES TO SATURN
Solar Div. International Harvester Co., 102,
254
Sorensen, Theodore C., 54
Sounding rockets, 14, 17
Soviet Union, 18, 53, 54, 55, 381, 386, 387,
388, 400
Soyuz spacecraft, 381, 387, 389 ill.
Soyuz 10,381
Soyuz 11, 381
Space and Information Systems Div. (S&ID),
North American, 222, 223, 224-27, 231
Space race, 17, 19, 21, 33, 53, 54, 55, 104,
381,401
Space Shuttle, 291,400
Space Task Group (STG, forerunner of MSC),
61, 62, 63
Sparkman, John J., 390
Speer, Fridtjof A., 323
Spent stage laboratory. See Orbital Workshop.
Spider beam, 78, 82 ill.
Sputnik 1, 18,26,381,386
Sputnik II, 18
ST-80 stabilized platform, 243
ST-90 guidance platform, 243, 244, 245
ST-142 stabilized platform, 243, 244 ill., 245,
248, 249, 251, 253
Stafford, Thomas P., 368, 369, 389
Stever, H. Guyford, 33, 34
Stewart, Donald L., 317
Stewart, Homer J., 51
Stoner, George H., 194, 195
Storms, Harrison A., 225, 227, 229, 230, 231
Stress corrosion, 101
Studhalter, W. R., 150
Stuhlinger, Ernst, 38 ill., 74, 335
Super Guppy (cargo aircraft), 314-15, 316 ill.,
317-18
Super-Jupiter (launch vehicle), 25-27
Surveyor mission, 137
Sutton, George P., 45
Sweat, Sidney J., 253
Swigert, John L., Jr., 375
Symington, Stuart, 390
Systems Engineering Office (GEM box), 274
Tank, 29, 30 ill., 81, 82 ill., 122, 155, 169
ill., 180, 187 ill., 195, 354 design, 76-78,
146-47, 164-65, 177, 199, 211-12, 213,
387-88; problem phases, 185, 218-19, 223,
231, 282, 324; production techniques, 166-
68, 170-71, 206, 213-14, 216; pressuriza-
tionof, 144, 177-78, 180, 198, 211-17.
See also Cluster concept, Insulation, Propellant
utilization system.
Taurus (LSD), 305
Technology transfer, 379, 394-396
Technology utilization program, 397
Teflon, 102, 353
Television, 327, 347, 356, 357, 368, 369-70
Test Office (GEM box), 273
Testing, 187 ill., 236, 238, 282, 353, 358;
flight, 184, 323; ground, 183, 184, 196, 347;
hydrostatic, 171, 206, 223; load, 195, 206;
static test firing, 148, 149, 184, 187, 188,206,
216, 230, 367; test stands, 186, 206, 207;
x-ray tests, 170-71, 206
Thompson, Jerry, 113, 145
Thor (IRBM Missile), 14, 17, 19, 309; in civilian
programs, 21, 34; adapted to Saturn pro-
gram, 91, 95, 127, 141, 164-65, 177, 189-
90
Thor (launch vehicle), 19, 21, 25
Thor- Able (launch vehicle), 36, 101
Thor-Agena, 61 ill.
Thor-Delta, 61 ill., 240
Thor-Jupiter engine (S-3D), 29, 95, 97, 100
Thrust chamber, 16, 119, 122 ill., 145
Tiny Tim (air-to-ground rocket), 1 1
Titan (ICBM missile), 17, 21, 34, 35, 37, 43, 44
Titan (launch vehicle), 17, 43, 44, 161, 361,
388
Titan C, 39
Titan I, 36, 91
Titan II, 20 ill., 61 ill., 243, 349
Titov, Gherman S., 20
Transport. See Air transport, Land transport,
Water transport.
Trott.Jack, 201
Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin E., 8, 129-30
Tugboat, 303, 304, 307, 308
Turbopump, 93, 94 ill., 1 16-17, 1 18, 119, 146
Tyson, Overton S., 188
Unexcelled Chemical Corp., 317
United Aircraft Corp., 134
Urlaub, Matthew W., 194, 207, 209, 263
U.S.S. Hornet (Apollo 11 recovery ship), 372
V-2 (rocket), 9, 12, 14, 15, 16 ill., 91, 195,
242, 244, 350, 386, 400
Vanguard (launch vehicle), 16 ill., 18, 19, 34,
36, 91, 141, 236
Vanguard I (satellite), 16 ill., 19
INDEX
Vanguard, Project, 17-18, 19, 26
Venus (planet), 54
Viking (launch vehicle stage), 17
Viking (sounding rocket), 17
Vladimirov, Leonid, 387, 388
Vogt, Paul, 231
von Braun, Werner, 10 ill., 20 ill., 38 ill., 68
ill., 69, 262 ill., 277 ill., 287, 373 ill.; ABMA
research, 26, 28, 33-34, 37; all-up concept
doubts, 348, 350-51; early career, 11, 14-
15; Huntsville, influence on, 391-95; liquid
hydrogen fuel doubts, 44-46, 400; man-
agement policies, 62, 261-67, 287, 289-90,
293-94; MSFC director, 42, 57, 124, 245-
46, 355, 357, 359-61, 391; Pegasus program
evaluation, 334, 336, 337; Pregnant Guppy,
support for, 310—11; schedule delay
handling, 157-58, 223-24, 227-29, 231,
364, 366
von Braun team, 14, 38 ill., 56, 259, 261,
391; ABMA research, 18, 23, 27-28, 31,
33; conservatism, 15, 333-34, 349; con-
tractor relations, 82, 266; inertial guidance
development, 242, 244; NASA, transfer to,
21,40-42, 44, 69
von Karman, Theodore H., 130
VoshkodI, 21
Voshkod II, 22
Vostok launch vehicle, 387
Vostok (satellite), 387
Vostok I, 19
Vostok II, 20
Wac Corporal (sounding rocket), 11, 14
Water transport, 253-54, 293, 298, 301, 302,
318
Webb, James E., 54, 55, 67, 68 ill., 210, 288,
290-91, 348, 353, 366, 399
Weidner, Hermann K., 141, 268
Welding, 186, 221 ill., 396-97; defects, 103,
207, 224, 230, 254, 282, 352; innovations,
202-03, 218-19, 222; quality control, 191,
194, 212, 217, 282; techniques, 118, 166-
67, 170, 191, 195
"Wet workshop." See Orbital Workshop.
White, Edward H., II, 231
White Sands Proving Ground, N. Mex., 14, 16
ill.
Wiesman, Walter F., 393
Wiesner, Jerome B., 53, 67, 68 ill.
Williams, Frank L., 264, 350
Wilson, Earl, 188-89
Wilson, Norm, 218
XLR-15 engine. See RL-10 engine.
Xerox, 287
Yarchin, Sam, 224, 226, 230, 231
York, Herbert F., 38, 39
Young, John W., 368
Young, Robert, 269, 289, 350
511
The Author
Roger E. Bilstein is Professor of History at the University of Houston/
Clear Lake City. He was born in Hyannis, Nebraska (1937), and received
the B.A. degree from Doane College, Crete, Nebraska (1959), and the
M.A. (1960) and Ph.D. (1965) degrees from the Ohio State University,
where he specialized in recent U.S. history. As a student at Doane, he was
selected for the Washington Semester Program, sponsored by American
University, in Washington, D.C.; at Ohio State, he was named Mershon
Fellow in National Security Policy Studies. Before moving to Houston, he
taught at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the University of
Illinois-Urbana. At UH/CLC, he offers courses in the history of tech-
nology, and in the history of aviation and space exploration.
Dr. Bilstein was editor-in-chief and contributor to Fundamentals of
Aviation and Space Technology (1974); his articles have appeared in Tech-
nology and Culture, Aerospace Historian, Ohio History, Journal of the British
Interplanetary Society, and elsewhere, including original essays in The
Wright Brothers: Heirs of Prometheus (1978), and Apollo: Ten Years Since
Tranquillity (1979), both books published by the National Air and Space
Museum. Dr. Bilstein was named Faculty Fellow in 1974 and 1975 in
research programs sponsored by NASA and the American Society for
Engineering Education. He was awarded the National Space Club's God-
dard Essay Award in 1978, and received the Manuscript Award of the
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1979. During
1977-1978, Dr. Bilstein was designated as Visiting Scholar in Aerospace
History at the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
The NASA History Series
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ISBN 0-16-048909-1
90000
9 80160 489099
Stages to Saturn
'This volume is just one of many excellent histories produced by
government and contract historians for the NASA History Office
Author Roger Bilstein . . .gracefully wends his way through a maze
of technical documentation to reveal the important themes of his
story; rarely has such a nuts-and-bolts tale been so gracefully
told."— Air University Review
A classic study of the development of the Saturn launch vehicle that
took Americans to the Moon in the 1960s, this book was first pub-
lished in 1980 and still much in demand. This Saturn rocket was
developed as a means of accomplishing President John F. Kennedy's
1961 commitment for the United States to reach the Moon before the
end of the decade. Without the Saturn V rocket, with its capability
to send as payload the Apollo Command and Lunar Modules— along
with support equipment and three astronauts — more than a quarter
of a million miles from Earth, Kennedy's goal would have been unre-
alizable. Stages to Saturn not only tells the important story of the
development of the the Saturn rocket, and the people who designed
and built it, but also recounts the stirring exploits of its operational
life from orbital missions around Earth testing Apollo equipment to
the Moon and back.
One of the NASA History Series, Stages to Saturn is one of the finest
official histories ever produced. It is essential reading for anyone
seeking to understand the development of space flight in America,
and the course of modern technology.
About the cover: "Go Apollo 11," watercolor by John Meigs, NASA
art program, March 5, 1970, NASA photo number 70-HC-206.
The NASA History Series
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA History Office
Washington, DC 20546
1996
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