11 Facts About Saturn I

Saturn I was a rocket designed as the United States' first medium lift launch vehicle for up to 20,000-pound low Earth orbit payloads.

Saturn I project was started as one of a number of proposals to meet a new Department of Defense requirement for a heavy-lift vehicle to orbit a new class of communications and "other" satellites.

Saturn I outlined uses for the Juno V as a general carrier vehicle for research and development of "offensive and defensive space weapons".

Saturn I later stated that he was concerned that the project was taking ARPA money from more pressing projects, and that as it seemed upgrades to existing ICBMs would provide the needed heavy-lift capability in the short term.

The "A" group were low-risk versions similar to the Saturn I designs proposed prior to the meeting; the original design using Titan and Centaur upper stages became the A-1, while another model replacing the Titan with a cluster of IRBMs became A-2.

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The resulting stage, the S-IVB, improved performance so much that the Saturn I was able to launch the Apollo CSM, proving invaluable during the Apollo Project.

Likewise, the development of the Titan III eliminated the need for the "flexible" staging concepts of the Saturn I, which was now only intended to be used for crewed launches in the Apollo program.

Saturn I made its maiden flight on 27 October 1961 with a dummy upper stage and partially fueled first stage.

Main payload of the Saturn I was the boilerplate version of the Apollo Command and Service Modules and Launch Escape System.

Saturn I was considered at one time for launch of the X-20 Dyna-Soar spaceplane, and later, for launching a Gemini capsule on a proposed lunar mission.

Much later, Saturn I was considered as a short range ballistic missile system in the TABAS concept.