The S-IB stage was the
first stage of the
Saturn IB launch vehicle, which was used for Earth orbital missions. It was composed of nine propellant containers, eight fins, a thrust structure assembly, eight
H-1 rocket engine
A rocket engine uses stored rocket propellants as the reaction mass for forming a high-speed propulsive jet of fluid, usually high-temperature gas. Rocket engines are reaction engines, producing thrust by ejecting mass rearward, in accorda ...
s, and many other components. It also contained the
ODOP
The ODOP (Offset DOPpler) radar tracking system is essentially the same as the UDOP system used for many years at the Atlantic Missile Range, but ODOP operates at different frequencies. It is a phase-coherent, multistation Doppler tracking syste ...
transponder. The propellant containers consisted of eight
Redstone-derived tanks (four holding
liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen—abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries—is the liquid form of molecular oxygen. It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an app ...
(LOX) and four holding
RP-1
RP-1 (alternatively, Rocket Propellant-1 or Refined Petroleum-1) is a highly refined form of kerosene outwardly similar to jet fuel, used as rocket fuel. RP-1 provides a lower specific impulse than liquid hydrogen (LH2), but is cheaper, is s ...
) clustered around a
Jupiter rocket-derived tank containing LOX. The four outboard engines
gimbal
A gimbal is a pivoted support that permits rotation of an object about an axis. A set of three gimbals, one mounted on the other with orthogonal pivot axes, may be used to allow an object mounted on the innermost gimbal to remain independent of ...
led 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 .
Specifications
*Height:
*Diameter:
*Number of fins: 8
*Finspan:
*Engines: 8
Rocketdyne H-1
The Rocketdyne H-1 was a thrust liquid-propellant rocket engine burning LOX and RP-1. The H-1 was developed for use in the S-I and S-IB first stages of the Saturn I and Saturn IB rockets, respectively, where it was used in clusters of eight ...
*Thrust:
*Fuel:
RP-1
RP-1 (alternatively, Rocket Propellant-1 or Refined Petroleum-1) is a highly refined form of kerosene outwardly similar to jet fuel, used as rocket fuel. RP-1 provides a lower specific impulse than liquid hydrogen (LH2), but is cheaper, is s ...
(Refined
kerosene
Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...
) 41,000 US gal (155 m
3)
*Oxidizer: Liquid
oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...
(
LOX
Liquid oxygen—abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries—is the liquid form of molecular oxygen. It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an appli ...
) 66,277 US gal (251 m
3) nominal capacity including 1.5% ullage volume (43,284 US gal / 163 m
3 in four outer tanks plus 22,993 US gal / 87 m
3 in center tank
[NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center, Skylab Saturn IB Flight Manual (MSFC-MAN-206), 30 September 1972])
*Burn time: 2.5 min
*Burnout altitude:
References
{{Reflist
Rocket stages