Template:Infobox rocket stageTemplate:Sister project The S-IB stage was the first stage of the Saturn IB launch vehicle, which was used for Earth orbital missions.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was an upgraded version of the S-I stage used on the earlier Saturn I rocket and was composed of nine propellant containers, eight fins, a thrust structure assembly, eight H-1 rocket engines, and many other components. It also contained the ODOP transponder. The propellant containers consisted of eight Redstone-derived tanks (four holding liquid oxygen (LOX) and four holding RP-1) clustered around a Jupiter rocket-derived tank containing LOX. The four outboard engines gimballed to steer the rocket in flight, which required a few more engine components. The S-IB burned for nearly 2.5 minutes before separating at an altitude of Template:Convert.

SpecificationsEdit

Stages builtEdit

Apollo flights:<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • S-IB-1: Launched 2/26/1966 on suborbital AS-201 mission.
  • S-IB-3: Launched 7/5/1966 as AS-203 orbital test mission.
  • S-IB-2: Launched 8/25/1966 on suborbital AS-202 test mission.
  • S-IB-4: Launched 1/22/1968 on Apollo 5 orbital mission.  
  • S-IB-5: Launched 10/11/1968 on manned Apollo 7 orbital mission.


Post-Apollo Flights:<ref name=":0" /> 

  • S-IB-6: Launched 5/25/1973 on Skylab-2 orbital mission.
  • S-IB-7: Launched 7/23/1973 on Skylab-3 orbital mission.
  • S-IB-8: Launched 11/16/1973 on Skylab-4 orbital mission.
  • S-IB-10: Launched 7/15/1975 on ASTP orbital mission.


Hardware Not Flown:<ref name=":0" />

  • S-IB-9: Stacked on MLP ready to fly as Skylab backup. Now on display at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
  • S-IB-11: Flight not assigned. Displayed vertically at Alabama Welcome Center until late 2023, when it was dismantled due to weathering.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • S-IB-12: Flight not assigned. Presumed scrapped at Marshall Space Flight Center in late 1970s.
  • S-IB-13: Hardware scrapped.  
  • S-IB-14: Hardware scrapped.  
  • S-IB-15: Not built, cancelled by NASA in 1968.
  • S-IB-16: Not built, cancelled by NASA in 1968.

ReferencesEdit

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