Saturn-IB, My Kind of Chrysler

"f86sabre" (f86sabre)
12/01/2013 at 12:49 • Filed to: Spacelopnik, Saturn, chrysler

The Saturn-IB was smaller brother to the mighty Saturn V. The first stage was assembled at Chrysler's Michoud facility near New Orleans from 8 Redstone rocket fuel tanks, a Jupiter rocket liquid oxygen tank and 8 Rocketdyne H-1 engines putting out a combined 1.6 million pounds of thrust. The IB first stage, along with the Douglas built S-IVB second stage, could put 53,000 lbs into Earth orbit.

Image: heroicrelics.org

The IB was critical in early testing of the Apollo Command and Service Module and the Lunar Module. While the moon shots were being made with the Saturn V, the IBs waited and were put into service later sending astronauts to Skylab and taking part in the Apollo-Soyuz test project.

Image: NASA.gov

This image compares the size of the IB and the V used to launch Skylab. To utilize the same launch complex as the V, the IB had to sit on a large pedestal.

Image: NASA.gov

The Skylab space station, made from a modified Saturn-IVB stage, was launched in 1973 and was manned by three crews. Unfortunately, the end of the Apollo Program left it untended and the delays in the Space Shuttle Program meant that it was left to reenter the atmosphere in 1979.

Image: NASA.gov

If you are looking for some interesting reading about Apollo and what might have been take a look at David Portree's work over at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

DISCUSSION (44)

Pitchblende > f86sabre
12/01/2013 at 13:28

Aw, the ikkle rocket needs a booster cushion to use the big rocket's launch pad.

pfftballer > f86sabre
12/01/2013 at 13:34

In before the first "we never went to the moon" nutjob.

PS9 > f86sabre
12/01/2013 at 13:43

You just got FP'd by Lauren...on io9.

PROOF THAT IO9 EDITORS ARE SEKRIT JALOPS!

Ronnie Schreiber > f86sabre
12/01/2013 at 13:45

All three of the big Detroit based car companies had important roles in the space effort. GM designed the lunar rover. Ford's Philco division built NASA Mission Control in Houston.

Chrysler's pavilion at the NY World's Fair in 1964-65 featured a 10 story tall "rocket" representing Chrysler's aerospace efforts.

Kinja'd!!!

GMfishbowls > f86sabre
12/01/2013 at 13:54

Chrysler's fuselage styling at its best.

Clutchman83 > PS9
12/01/2013 at 14:30

Anything space or cold war related has a good chance of being shared to io9, it's how I discovered oppo myself! Kinda funny, I clicked on it thinking I was surprised it didn't have a spacelopnik tag, shoulda known better.

Cebu > f86sabre
12/01/2013 at 14:33

Space.

On Oppo.

thisusernameforsale > f86sabre
12/01/2013 at 14:34

I believe they referred to the pedestal as 'the milk crate'. Love this kind of article - thanks Michael and F86Sabre

TheRidge > pfftballer
12/01/2013 at 14:45

that's pretty hard to do. His tin foil hat picks up the frequencies these type of articles use

DeLarge6554321 > f86sabre
12/01/2013 at 15:31

#correctionReenter, not reentry

"left to reentry the atmosphere in 1979"

vintagethunder > f86sabre
12/01/2013 at 15:56

Alabama has one at a visitor's center! Stopped there on my way to Barber last year.

Martin Grossinger > f86sabre
12/01/2013 at 16:05

Kinja'd!!!

On I-65 in Elkmont, Alabama, there's a Saturn 1B right there along the side of the road at a Visitor's Center. I stopped off on my drive through the South in July. It's incredible to see up close. I got goosebumps.

ohnobeesafraidofbees > Pitchblende
12/01/2013 at 16:16

They called it "The Milkstool".

SamfaKenessal > f86sabre
12/01/2013 at 16:25

Chrylser? Pretty sure Saturn was part of Lambo, bro.

parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis > f86sabre
12/01/2013 at 16:28

relevant:

love the action shots of the car at the end

Scrape > f86sabre
12/01/2013 at 16:47

Nice. Why does it seem that all of the good stuff has been on Oppo lately? Should just make this Jalopnik and get rid of the other crap and poor writing.

Felix Mulholland > f86sabre
12/01/2013 at 17:33

Weren't these almost Nazi V2 rocket engines? Just askin.

mike31411 > ohnobeesafraidofbees
12/01/2013 at 17:40

They used the milkstool so they could launch the S1B from Launch Complex 39 using a Saturn V Mobile Launcher. The previous S1B launches were from Launch Complexes 34 and 37. They'd been retired by 1973. The only manned S1B launch was Apollo 7 in 1968.

Andy "What?" M-S > f86sabre
12/01/2013 at 18:17

While I have always admired the power of the Saturn V, the Saturn I and IB have always been my favorite American rockets. They're not just white needles—they're interesting in somewhat the same way as the Soviet R7-derived launchers (including the current Soyuz booster).

f86sabre > Felix Mulholland
12/01/2013 at 18:24

I guess in the sense that most engines of the era were descendant of those technologies. Both engines used turbo pumps to move fuel, but they powered the pumps differently. Most all liquid rocket engines developed since the 50s cool the engine bells with cold fuel before it is sent for combustion. Fuels were very different as well. The V-2 used ethenal water mix and the Saturns used a type of kerosene as the fuel. The V-2 engine put out 56k lbs of thrust where the H-1 was putting out 205k lbs of thrust.

f86sabre > PS9
12/01/2013 at 18:27

Truth be told I shared it over to Observation Deck. There is a chance she grabbed it from there.

PS9 > f86sabre
12/01/2013 at 18:28

STOP RUINING MY SEKRIT IO9-OPPO CROSSOVER FANTASIES WITH YOUR FACTS, THING RUINER!

f86sabre > Andy "What?" M-S
12/01/2013 at 18:29

They had texture, that is for sure. When I was putting this together I thought it was entire sting how they took a bunch of stuff they already had and bolted it all together. It worked.

f86sabre > DeLarge6554321
12/01/2013 at 18:31

Fixed. Thanks.

f86sabre > PS9
12/01/2013 at 18:34

The Kinja Gnomes, in conjunction with the Rand Corporation and the reverse vampires made it happen. We are through the looking glass here people.

Dunnik > f86sabre
12/01/2013 at 18:56

So what I really want to know is, how much hard, cheap plastic did Chrysler use in its construction?

SharkD > thisusernameforsale
12/01/2013 at 19:49

Milk Stool.

ML-1 was modified with the addition of the Milk Stool after NASA decided to shift Saturn IB launches to LC-39 and utilize the Saturn V LUTs.

ML-1 was redesigned MLP-3 when it was modified for use by the Space Shuttle.

KeithA0000 > Andy "What?" M-S
12/01/2013 at 20:17

I've always thought that the Saturn V was pretty darned interesting. And powerful. And successful. And downright awesome...

Freakusaurus-Rex > f86sabre
12/01/2013 at 20:21

I've done a lot of work at that Lockheed Martin NASA plant in Michoud. . . The last thing they were doing was building the fuel tanks for launching the space shuttles... The place is HUGE. . . I think at their peak, they employeed around 60,000 people.... Since the space shuttle was scrapped, the whole place sits there. . . 60k jobs gone....

Zoom > Martin Grossinger
12/01/2013 at 23:44

Near Huntsville?

thisusernameforsale > SharkD
12/02/2013 at 00:31

Thanks for that.

DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully > Zoom
12/02/2013 at 07:45

Aye. I drove past it this morning, on the way back from Auburn.

DeltawingGothamDeserves > DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully
12/02/2013 at 09:15

You go to the game?

Knightsword > f86sabre
12/02/2013 at 09:31

Is it just me or does the top image look like a giant Dalek?

ubertakter > Martin Grossinger
12/02/2013 at 09:57

Yeah, there's a S-1B with a Skylab mockup over at the Space and Rocket Center. Along with all kinds of other stuff, including a Saturn V. You should have tried to work that in your schedule if you like that kind of thing.

Catcalloway > f86sabre
12/02/2013 at 11:25

Saturn Is & IBs were typically launched from LC 34. Once Apollo 7 was launched, LC 34 was placed in mothballs as it was no longer needed as LC 39 came online.

With the Skylab missions, they built more Saturn IBs as they did not need the lifting power of a full Saturn V.

The Skylab missions were launched from LC 39 which is why they needed to use the Milkstool as the gantries were designed fro the Saturn Vs.

Thunder > f86sabre
12/02/2013 at 11:26

I wonder whether all the noise suppression water was piped up the milk stool. Looks too spindly from what I can see, but looks sure can be deceiving.

More research is in order. I'll get back to this...

f86sabre > Thunder
12/02/2013 at 11:51

The height and openness of the stand may have helped.

Zoom > DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully
12/02/2013 at 14:11

I went to the Alabama Space and Rocket Center in the 80s, when I was a kid. I was overwhelmed.

DominoTheDestitute > f86sabre
12/02/2013 at 15:26

Folks don't understand that Chrysler used to be so much more as a company. Before Daimler and other penny pinchers turned it into a shell of its former self, Chrysler built rockets, they owned AM General (Think Humvees), they helped design the M1 Abrams, their turbine cars, the very popular (and still popular apparently) cloud cars from the late 90s, Jeep, etc. The list goes on.

Chrysler's Military Contributions

DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully > DeltawingGothamDeserves
12/02/2013 at 16:58

No, actually. I was actually there to visit a friend who goes there.

DeltawingGothamDeserves > DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully
12/02/2013 at 19:01

Ah, cool.

mike31411 > Thunder
12/02/2013 at 21:06

Noise suppression was important for the Space Shuttle because the vehicle was located right beside the power source. For Saturn-era launches water was used mostly to prevent fires and cool the exposed equipment on the top of the Mobile Launcher.

Michael Varian Daly > Freakusaurus-Rex
12/03/2013 at 05:44