Estes Saturn 1B Skill Master

History of the Saturn 1B

Before there was the Saturn V, there was the Saturn 1B, the NASA test bed for Apollo flight hardware. The Saturn 1B test flew versions of the Apollo Command and Service Module, and the Lunar Module.

Initially tested as the second stage on the Saturn 1B rocket, the S-IVB upper stage eventually served as the third stage of the Saturn V rocket. The Saturn 1B would eventually see service as the primary launch vehicle for Earth orbit missions in the Apollo spacecraft.

Features of the Rocket

One of the distinctive features of the Saturn 1B is the set of cylindrical tanks that forms the rocket’s first stage. Sometimes people misidentify the tanks as re-purposed Redstone missile stages because they resemble a cluster of smaller rockets.

In fact, these 70-inch diameter tanks were created using the same forms that produced the Redstone rockets. So, while they share a common lineage, they were not surplus rockets themselves. The tanks fueled eight H-1 engines, four of which could gimbal to steer the rocket while under power. Eight low profile fins ringed the base of the rocket for guidance during atmospheric flight.

Saturn 1B Launches

In February of 1966, NASA launched the first Saturn 1B rocket with an early version of the Apollo Command and Service Modules. There was no crew aboard. The subsequent Saturn 1B launch of Apollo 7 on October 11, 1968 certified the Apollo spacecraft for human spaceflight. It would be the last Saturn 1B launch for nearly five years.
After the final Apollo moon landing in 1972, NASA used the last Saturn V to launch the Skylab Orbital Workshop. Three crews would eventually be sent to live and work in the space station. Each crew was launched aboard an Apollo Command Module carried by a Saturn 1B. Each launched aboard an Apollo Command Module carried by a Saturn 1B.