Von Braun, NASA, and the Saturn Series

Von Braun with F-5s
Von Braun posing with the Stage I F-5 Rocket Boosters
Source:Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:S-IC_engines_and_Von_Braun.jpg

Following Von Braun’s surrender to U.S. forces in May 1945, he was heavily interrogated by British and U.S. intelligence.  Von Braun was taken to the United States with other important German scientists under the program Operation Paperclip.  He was put to work by the U.S. army to develop intermediate range missiles.  His first responsibility was to educate U.S. military personnel and aeronautical engineers on rocket theory.

Like he had done in Germany (often to the annoyance of his militaristic superiors), Von Braun continued to assert his dreams of space travel in publications and private discussions with his colleagues, and as government authorities took note of the Soviet Union’s rising space program, Von Braun became the leading rocket architect of what would evolve into NASA.

NASA was officially established 1 year after the USSR’s successful launch of Sputnik 1.  Von Braun played a key role in the Mercury Project, which produced the first American spacecraft to put men in orbit.

SatV
Saturn V at Launch Pad
Source: http://imgkid.com/saturn-v-rocket-launch-pad.shtml

Von Braun’s greatest achievement at NASA, and arguable as a whole, was his contribution to the Saturn Project, which ultimately developed the Saturn V.  Saturn V was the first and, to this day, only spacecraft that has achieved lunar contact.  To date, the Saturn V remains the most capable launch system ever put into operation in terms of range and payload capacity.  It is the only vehicle in human history to have allowed man to travel beyond the Earth’s orbit.  Aside from the Apollo missions, it is also the system that was utilized to launch NASA’s Skylab.  Its design follows the same concepts of what Von Braun called his Aggregate series, making it a descendant of the same infamous V-2 that rained hell on Londoners in the ‘40s.

Components/Stages of the Saturn V:


SaturnnV
                            Cross.sec
Stage Sequence of the Saturn V
Source: Pixgood.com


Stage I:

The bottom, largest thrusters on the overall system composed the Stage I module, comprising 5 F-1 rocket engines and large liquid oxygen and kerosene fuel tanks.  Together, the F-1’s produced 7.5 million pounds of thrust from lift-off until the system reached an altitude of 42 miles.  Then the F-1’s would shut off and the Stage I module would separate and fall into the Atlantic Ocean.

Stage II:

The Stage II system consisted of 5 smaller J-2 rocket engines and liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen fuel tanks.  It was separated from the Stage I by a cylindrical ring that broke off during Stage I’s separation.  The J-2 rockets would ignite about 30 seconds after Stage I, and would continue for another roughly six minutes.

Stage III:

The Stage III system consisted of 1 J-2 rocket engine. It would be ignited to separate from Stage II and would run for two and a half minutes before shutting down.  By this spacecraft had reached an altitude of about 119 miles.  The spacecraft would orbit the Earth for a full revolution and then the J-2 would be ignited for a second time to propel the spacecraft to the moon. 4 hours into the mission, the Stage III would separate and become space junk, leaving just the lunar module and the Apollo spacecraft.

Lunar Module and Apollo Spacecraft:

Lunar
                            Module
The Lunar Module
Source: http://nix.nasa.gov/

The Lunar Module consisted of a Dome-shaped Apparatus called the Ascent stage and landing gear called the descent stage.  It was attached to the tip of the Apollo spacecraft and would transport astronauts to the Moon.  On lunar departure, the landing gear would be left behind and the Ascent stage would launch towards the Apollo Spacecraft. Once the Ascent stage returned astronauts to the Apollo, it would be discarded and the Apollo would rocket back to Earth.

Title Page
Introduction
Early Life
The V-1
The V-2
NASA and the Saturn V
Death and Legacy
Bibliography