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[[Image:Apollo 17.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Apollo 17 on the launchpad.]]

[[Image:Apollo 17.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Apollo 17]] on the launchpad.]]

The '''Saturn V''' (Saturn five) was a three stage [[rocket]] developed by the [[United States]] primarily for sending [[astronaut]]s to the [[Moon]].<ref name=nasa-what>[https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-was-the-saturn-v-58.html What Was the Saturn V?] from nasa.gov</ref> Used in the 1960s and 1970s, it is the most powerful rocket launched successfully and the only one that has taken humans beyond earth orbit. This power enabled it to launch the [[Skylab]] [[space station]] into space in 1973.<ref name=britannica>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Saturn-launch-vehicle Saturn launch vehicle] from britannica.com</ref> The project was extremely costly, $6.417 billion USD being spent between 1964 and 1973 on research, development, construction and flights, meaning each launch is thought to cost somewhere in the region of $185 million to $189 million.<ref name=universe>[https://www.universetoday.com/129989/saturn-v-vs-falcon-heavy/ FALCON HEAVY VS. SATURN V] from universetoday.com</ref> This is equivalent to $41.4 billion USD when adjusted for 2016 dollars or $1.23 billion per launch.<ref name=universe/> A total of 13 missions were flown with no loss of crew or cargo.

The '''Saturn V''' (Saturn five) was a three stage [[rocket]] developed by the [[United States]] primarily for sending [[astronaut]]s to the [[Moon]].<ref name=nasa-what>[https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-was-the-saturn-v-58.html What Was the Saturn V?] from nasa.gov</ref> Used in the 1960s and 1970s, it is the most powerful rocket launched successfully and the only one that has taken humans beyond earth orbit. This power enabled it to launch the [[Skylab]] [[space station]] into space in 1973.<ref name=britannica>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Saturn-launch-vehicle Saturn launch vehicle] from britannica.com</ref> The project was extremely costly, $6.417 billion USD being spent between 1964 and 1973 on research, development, construction and flights, meaning each launch is thought to cost somewhere in the region of $185 million to $189 million.<ref name=universe>[https://www.universetoday.com/129989/saturn-v-vs-falcon-heavy/ FALCON HEAVY VS. SATURN V] from universetoday.com</ref> This is equivalent to $41.4 billion USD when adjusted for 2016 dollars or $1.23 billion per launch.<ref name=universe/> A total of 13 missions were flown with no loss of crew or cargo.

==Design==

==Design==

The Saturn V was the largest [[rocket]] ever launched successfully. At 111 metres tall, the rocket was taller than the [[Statue of Liberty]].<ref name=nasa-what/> At lift off when it was fully fuelled it weighed 2.8 million kg and its engines produced 34.5 [[Newton (unit)|Newtons]] (7.6 million pounds) of thrust.<ref name=nasa-what/> As a heavy launch vehicle, it was capable of launching 50 tons of cargo to the [[Moon]] or 130 tons into orbit around Earth.<ref name=nasa-what/> It was a multi-staged rocket which means that when the bottom stage has run out of fuel, it is ejected and then the next stages is ignited and takes over. This is a more efficient design than simply having one huge rocket.<ref>[https://spaceflightsystems.grc.nasa.gov/education/rocket/rktstage.html Booster Staging] from spaceflightsystems.grc.nasa.gov</ref> The Saturn V had 3 stages.

The Saturn V was the largest [[rocket]] ever launched successfully. At 111 metres tall, the rocket was taller than the [[Statue of Liberty]].<ref name=nasa-what/> At lift off when it was fully fuelled it weighed 2.8 million kg and its engines produced 34.5 million [[Newton (unit)|Newtons]] (7.6 million pounds) of thrust.<ref name=nasa-what/> As a heavy launch vehicle, it was capable of launching 50 tons of cargo to the [[Moon]] or 130 tons into orbit around Earth.<ref name=nasa-what/> It was a multi-staged rocket which means that when the bottom stage has run out of fuel, it is ejected and then the next stages is ignited and takes over. This is a more efficient design than simply having one huge rocket.<ref>[https://spaceflightsystems.grc.nasa.gov/education/rocket/rktstage.html Booster Staging] from spaceflightsystems.grc.nasa.gov</ref> The Saturn V had 3 stages.

The first stage, known as S-IC, was unsurprisingly the largest weighing some 2,000 tons.<ref name=britannica/> It contained 5 F-1 engines powered by [[kerosene]] and liquid [[oxygen]], each of which generated 1.5 million pounds of thrust.<ref name=hist>[https://history.msfc.nasa.gov/saturn_apollo/giant.html Saturn the Giant] by [[Wernher von Braun]] from history.msfc.nasa.gov</ref> Kerosene was used in the first stage as it is [[density|denser]] than liquid [[hydrogen]], meaning the same performance could be achieved but using a feul tank 12 times smaller than would be needed for liquid hydrogen.<ref name=hist/> The first stage would propel it to an altitude of around 42 miles and a speed of 5,400 mph before being discarded and fall into the ocean.<ref name=britannica/>

The first stage, known as S-IC, was unsurprisingly the largest weighing some 2,000 tons.<ref name=britannica/> It contained 5 F-1 engines powered by [[kerosene]] and liquid [[oxygen]], each of which generated 1.5 million pounds of thrust.<ref name=hist>[https://history.msfc.nasa.gov/saturn_apollo/giant.html Saturn the Giant] by [[Wernher von Braun]] from history.msfc.nasa.gov</ref> Kerosene was used in the first stage as it is [[density|denser]] than liquid [[hydrogen]], meaning the same performance could be achieved but using a fuel tank 12 times smaller than would be needed for liquid hydrogen.<ref name=hist/> The first stage would propel it to an altitude of around 42 miles and a speed of 5,400 mph before being discarded and falling into the ocean.<ref name=britannica/>

[[Image:Apollo 11 Launch.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Saturn V launch for [[Apollo 11]]. The small cloud midway up the rocket is due to the cloud sheet effect while breaking the [[sound barrier]].]]

[[Image:Apollo 11 Launch.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Saturn V launch for [[Apollo 11]]. The small cloud midway up the rocket is due to the cloud sheet effect while breaking the [[sound barrier]].]]