Saturn IB | NASA, interesting place, missile on display, spacecraft on display

 NASA, interesting place, missile on display, spacecraft on display

Based on the Jupiter-C and Redstone missles and first launched in 1962, the Saturn I was the first heavy-lift space rocket designed in support for the Apollo program. Eight H-1 rocket engines clustered together produced a liftoff weight of 1.25 million pounds of thrust. The second stage, using six RL-10 rocket engines still used today on the second stage of the Atlas V rocket, were the first hydrogen-powered engines to ever be used in a space rocket - kerosene or alcohol being used on previous launch vehicles due to their storage capabilities. The last Saturn I was launched in 1966 and was replaced with the slightly modified Saturn IB rocket, as preserved here, which produced a thrust of 1.5 million lbs. at liftoff and was used to place Apollo spacecraft into Earth orbit.

This rocket was placed on standby during the Skylab program in case a rescue mission was needed, and also served as a backup for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Program.