When humans walked on the moon, it changed humanity.
But before they could walk on the moon, they had to leave Earth. Launching on top of the mighty Saturn V rocket, humans set out to make history.
What came before the massive Saturn V rocket? Two earlier iterations of Saturn rockets, the first of which was Saturn I.
Fifty-five years ago yesterday, the first Saturn I launched into space. On October 27, 1961, the vehicle launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. It flew approximately 85 miles above Earth.
Saturn I launch. Image credit: NASA/MSFC
The launch of this initial Saturn rocket marked the beginning of tests for future Saturn flights. It demonstrated that the rocket’s airframe was rigid, and the vehicle was reliable and could be controlled by four gimbaled engines.
Built at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, the rocket stood 162 feet tall. Saturn I was a Block I vehicle, so it used dummy upper stages and live lower stages. Future launches of Saturn would have live upper stages.
With subsequent launches of Saturn I, the rocket was upgraded and iterated upon based on the lessons learned. The next block of Saturn launch vehicles, Block II, had a live upper stage. When it launched, it would be the first time the RL-10 rocket engine would become part of the Saturn program. Launches that followed used newly developed guidance and control canisters. The canisters also had equipment so that telemetry could be acquired from the ground.
Human exploration of deep space is part of our future, and NASA is building a new rocket to take humans to multiple deep space destinations. The rocket is Space Launch System, or SLS, and will launch for the first time in 2018. The new launch vehicle will also make use of RL-10 engines. After the first launch, humans will travel deep into space on future SLS launches.
Click here to learn more about NASA’s rocket that took humans to the moon.
Learn about the new rocket NASA is developing today, SLS, at NASA.gov.