
Saturn IB
Saturn family · National Aeronautics and Space Administration · Retired
The Saturn IB (pronounced "one B", also known as the Uprated Saturn I) was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the Apollo program. It replaced the S-IV second stage of the Saturn I with the much more powerful S-IVB, able to launch a partially fueled Apollo Command/Service Module (CSM) or a fully fueled Lunar Module (LM) into low Earth orbit for early flight tests before the larger Saturn V needed for lunar flight was ready.
Specifications
- Thrust
- 7,100 kN
- Height
- 43.2 m
- Diameter
- 6.61 m
- Launch mass
- 590 t
- Stages
- 2
- Launch cost
- —
- LEO capacity
- 21,000 kg
- GTO capacity
- —
- GEO capacity
- —
- SSO capacity
- —
Vehicle specifications from Launch Library; blanks are unpublished figures.
Flight record
Flights
10
Launches with a definitive outcome
Success rate
90%
9 of 10
Current success streak
6
Landings
0
0 attempts · 0 droneship / 0 RTLS
Fastest turnaround
—
Between consecutive booster flights
Counted from padside's own launch record — the same basis as the Stats page.
Launches
- Saturn IB | Apollo-Soyuz Test Project — Success
- Saturn IB | Skylab 4 — Success
- Saturn IB | Skylab 3 — Success
- Saturn IB | Skylab 2 — Success
- Saturn IB | Apollo 7 — Success