Saturn V Trivia Quiz

Answer: Boeing

The S-IC was by far the largest of the three stages of the Saturn V moon rocket. The stage measured 138 feet (42 meters) in height, 33 feet (10 meters) in diameter, and weighed 5,030,000 pounds (2,280,000 kilograms) when fully fueled.

Answer: 1.5 million pounds (6,673 kilonewtons)

Each F-1 engine burned RP-1, a highly-refined grade of kerosene, with liquid oxygen used as the oxidizer. On the unmanned Apollo 4 and Apollo 6 missions, as well as the Apollo 8 manned lunar-orbit mission, the five F-1s produced thrust at liftoff of 7.5 million pounds (33,362 kilonewtons). From Apollo 9 onward, thrust was uprated to 1.522 million pounds (6,770 kilonewtons) per engine, making the Saturn V's total takeoff thrust 7.610 million pounds (33,851 kilonewtons).

The engines were arranged in a cross pattern.

The four outboard engines were mounted on gimbals that allowed them to swivel and thus steer the rocket during ascent. The fifth engine, in the center of the cross, was fixed.

Answer: North American

The S-II was 82 feet (25 meters) tall, 33 feet (10 meters) in diameter, and weighed 1.06 million pounds (480,900 kilograms) when fully fueled. The S-II was connected to the S-IC by an interstage ring, which separated after the second-stage engines began firing.

A famous motion-picture clip from a Saturn V launch shows the separation of the S-IC and the interstage ring from below the S-II.

Answer: Liquid hydrogen

The initial design of the S-II called for just four of the J-2 engines. The stage itself was also smaller than what was finally put into production, measuring just 74 feet (22.5 meters) in height and 21 feet (6.5 meters) in diameter. The J-2's initial rated thrust was 200,000 pounds (889 kilonewtons), giving the S-II a thrust of 1 million pounds (4,448 kilonewtons). Thrust was later uprated to 230,000 pounds (1,023 kilonewtons) for a maximum thrust of 1.15 million pounds (5,115 kilonewtons). Liquid oxygen was used as oxidizer for the liquid hydrogen.

Answer: To settle propellants in their holding tanks

The fuel tanks of the Saturn V rockets were not fully loaded prior to launch. Some space was left in the tanks to allow for expansion of the super-cold fuels. During staging, the rocket would coast briefly, causing the propellants to slosh and float toward the tops of their tanks.

The ullage motors gave a small forward push to the rocket, causing the propellants to settle before the larger engines fired.

Answer: Douglas

Different versions of the S-IVB were used for the Saturn V and its smaller sibling, the Saturn IB. The Saturn V variant, known as the 500 series, was 58 feet 5 inches (17.8 meters) tall, 21 feet 8 inches (6.6 meters) in diameter, and weighed 253,000 pounds (119,900 kg) fully fueled.

In the Apollo configuration, the third stage carried the Apollo command ship and lunar lander, as well as the Instrument Unit, the brains of the Saturn V rocket. A single restartable J-2 engine powered the Apollo spacecraft into Earth orbit, then a second burn later on would kick the spacecraft into the trans-lunar injection burn to put it on course for the Moon.

At the time NASA let the contract for the S-IVB, in April, 1961, the Douglas Aircraft Company and the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation were still two separate organizations. It wasn't until 1967 that the two merged to form McDonnell Douglas. McDonnell Douglas, in turn, became part of Boeing in 1997.

Answer: IBM

In the Apollo configuration, the IU sat on top of the Saturn V's third stage, below the adapter panels that housed the Apollo lunar module and connected the stage to the Apollo command and service modules. The IU was three feet (1 meter) tall, 21 feet 8 inches (6.6 meters) in diameter, and weighed 4,400 pounds (1,996 kilograms).

The IU contained the rocket's primary systems, including inertial guidance, radio communications for telemetry, tracking and command, power, and emergency detection of vehicle malfunctions.

Answer: 363 feet (111 meters)

The Saturn V stack was as tall as a 36-story office building. The very top of the stack was the point of the launch escape system tower, which could pull the Apollo command module away from the rest of the booster in case of a problem. The umbilical tower used to service the Saturn V was as tall as a 43-story building, at 430 feet (131 meters).

Answer: True

Measuring 262 feet (80 meters) in height, the Saturn INT-21 was only used once, and that was to put Skylab into orbit. The Saturn INT-21 was capable of lofting a payload of 255,000 pounds (115,900 kilograms) into Earth orbit. The Instrument Unit was carried atop the third stage that had been modified as the space station. Skylab itself weighed 169,950 pounds (77,088 kilograms).

Answer: Launch Complex 39

Launch Complex 39 has served as America's primary point of entry for manned space missions since the days of Project Apollo. In addition to the Apollo lunar missions, the two launch pads that comprise Complex 39 have also launched the Skylab missions, the Apollo spacecraft used during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, and the Space Shuttle.

The launch pads are approximately three miles (5 kilometers) away from the massive Vehicle Assembly Building, where spacecraft are assembled, and the Launch Control Center, which houses the firing rooms from which launches are coordinated.