LEGO Designer:
Adam Wilde (Apollo 110)
David Welling (Luxordeathbed)
Greg Kremer
Valerie Roche (WhatsUpToday)
Designed: April 2020
Saturn V was an American human-rated super heavy-lift launch vehicle used by NASA between 1967 and 1973.
A three-stage, liquid-fueled rocket, the Saturn V was developed under the Apollo program for human exploration of the Moon and was later used to launch Skylab, the first American space station.
As of 2021, the Saturn V remains the only launch vehicle to carry humans beyond low Earth orbit, as well as the tallest, heaviest, and most powerful (highest total impulse) rocket ever brought to operational status. It holds records for the heaviest payload launched and largest payload capacity to low Earth orbit (LEO) of 310,000 lb (140,000 kg), which included the third stage and unburned propellant needed to send the Apollo command and service module and Lunar Module to the Moon.
As the largest production model of the Saturn family of rockets, the Saturn V was designed under the direction of Wernher von Braun at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, with Boeing, North American Aviation, Douglas Aircraft Company, and IBM as the lead contractors.
A total of 15 flight-capable vehicles were built, plus three for ground testing. Thirteen were launched from Kennedy Space Center with no loss of crew or payload. A total of 24 astronauts were launched to the Moon from December 1968 through December 1972.
| S/N | Mission | Launch (UTC) | Pad | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SA-500F | Facilities integration | Used to check precise fits and test facilities operation on Pad 39A before a flight model was ready. First stage scrapped, second stage converted to S-II-F/D, third stage on display at Kennedy Space Center. | ||
| SA-500D | Dynamic testing | Used to evaluate the vehicle’s response to vibrations. On display at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama. | ||
| S-IC-T | All Systems Test | First stage used for static test firing at Marshall Space Flight Center. On display at Kennedy Space Center. | ||
| SA-501 | Apollo 4 | November 9, 1967 12:00:01 | 39A | First uncrewed, all-up test flight; complete success. |
| SA-502 | Apollo 6 | April 4, 1968 12:00:01 |
39A | Second uncrewed test flight; J-2 engine problems caused early shutdown of two engines in second stage, and prevented third stage restart. |
| SA-503 | Apollo 8 | December 21, 1968 12:51:00 |
39A | First crewed flight; first trans-lunar injection of Apollo command and service module. |
| SA-504 | Apollo 9 | March 3, 1969 16:00:00 |
39A | Crewed low Earth orbit test of complete Apollo spacecraft with the Lunar Module (LM). |
| SA-505 | Apollo 10 | May 18, 1969 16:49:00 |
39B | Second crewed trans-lunar injection of complete Apollo spacecraft with LM; Only Saturn V launched from Pad 39B. |
| SA-506 | Apollo 11 | July 16, 1969 13:32:00 |
39A | First crewed lunar landing, at Sea of Tranquility. |
| SA-507 | Apollo 12 | November 14, 1969 16:22:00 |
39A | Vehicle was struck twice by lightning shortly after liftoff, no serious damage. Precision crewed lunar landing, near Surveyor 3 at Ocean of Storms. |
| SA-508 | Apollo 13 | April 11, 1970 19:13:03 |
39A | Severe pogo oscillations in second stage caused early center engine shutdown; guidance compensated by burning remaining engines longer. Third crewed lunar landing mission was aborted by service module failure. |
| SA-509 | Apollo 14 | January 31, 1971 21:03:02 |
39A | Third crewed lunar landing, near Fra Mauro, Apollo 13’s intended landing site. |
| SA-510 | Apollo 15 | July 26, 1971 13:34:00 |
39A | Fourth crewed lunar landing, at Hadley–Apennine. First extended Apollo mission, carrying lunar orbital Scientific Instrument Module and Lunar Roving Vehicle. |
| SA-511 | Apollo 16 | April 16, 1972 17:54:00 |
39A | Fifth crewed lunar landing, at Descartes Highlands. |
| SA-512 | Apollo 17 | December 7, 1972 05:33:00 |
39A | Only night launch. Sixth and final crewed lunar landing, at Taurus–Littrow. |
| SA-513 | Skylab 1 | May 14, 1973 17:30:00 |
39A | Uncrewed launch of the Skylab orbital workshop, which replaced the third stage, S-IVB-513, on display at Johnson Space Center. Originally designated for canceled Apollo 18. |
| SA-514 | Unused | Originally designated for canceled Apollo 19; never used. First stage (S-IC-14) on display at Johnson Space Center, second and third stage (S-II-14, S-IV-14) on display at Kennedy Space Center. | ||
| SA-515 | Unused | Originally designated for Apollo 20, later as a backup Skylab launch vehicle; never used. The first stage was on display at the Michoud Assembly Facility, until June 2016 then was moved to the INFINITY Science Center in Mississippi. The second stage (S-II-15) is on display at Johnson Space Center. The third stage was converted to a backup Skylab orbital workshop and is on display at the National Air and Space Museum<. | ||
Further Information and References
Designer Notes
This is a modification of the official Saturn V 21309 LEGO model, which was designed by Valerie Roche for LEGO Ideas. Multiple modifications have been made to this model since then by Adam Wilde, Greg Kremer and David Welling, amonsgt others. Adam has shared the IO files for the different roll patterns and configurations for all Saturn V’s and Greg has made some excellent PDF instructions outlining the various alterations. The following is a brief list of what’s different to the base model, from top to bottom:
- BPC/LES
- Height corrected
- Q-ball added
- LES rockets nozzles added
- Black centre bar changed to white to be less conspicuous
- Service Module
- Radiators accurised
- Position of RCS quads corrected
- SLA
- Unchanged
- S-IVB
- Systems tunnels added
- Antennas added on Instrument Unit
- Colour fixes to underside
- Improved APC units
- Improved ullage motors (based on work by David Welling)
- Improved thrust structure (based on work by David Welling)
- Exhaust plume colour corrected
- S-II
- Roll pattern corrected
- Colour of internal surfaces of upper interstage and top of tank corrected
- Corrugations accurised to replace grey under-colour with white so they don’t look like vents (per mod by Greg Kremer)
- Aft skirt/thrust structure and underside reworked (colour fixes, control packages added, recessed central well and aft heatshield added
- Exhaust plume colour corrected
- S-IC (and S-II Aft Interstage)
- Colour of internal surfaces of upper interstage and top of tank corrected
- More accurate ullage motors
- Corrugations accurised to replace grey under-colour with white so they don’t look like vents (per mod by Greg Kremer)
- Removed 3 of the 2×2 titles in grilles areas (one retained, which should appear just to left of being in line below the tile with vertical black stripes on the S-II) and replaced with grilles
- Underside/aft heat shield colour corrected to white
- Engine colours changed to effect batting as flown, rather than un-batted museum-exhibit look
Part count: bricks, lots.
| Unit | width | length | height |
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