From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Saturn A-1 |
| Fact sheet |
| Function |
Unmanned launch vehicle |
| Manufacturer |
Von Braun |
| Country of origin |
United States |
| Size |
| Height |
49.62 m (162.29 ft) |
| Diameter |
6.52 m (21.39 ft) |
| Mass |
524,484 kg |
| Stages |
3 (all used on various vehicles, now retired) |
| Launch History |
| Status |
Never flown |
| Launch sites |
N/A |
| First Stage - S-I |
| Engines |
8 H-1 |
| Thrust |
7,582 kN |
| Burn time |
150 seconds |
| Fuel |
RP-1/LOX |
| Second Stage - Titan I |
| Engines |
2 LR-87-3 |
| Thrust |
1,467 kN |
| Burn time |
138 seconds |
| Fuel |
RP-1/LOX |
| Third Stage - Centaur C |
| Engines |
2 RL-10A-1 |
| Thrust |
133 kN |
| Burn time |
430 seconds |
| Fuel |
LH2/LOX |
Saturn A-1, studied in 1959, was projected to be the first version of Saturn I and was to be used if necessary before the S-IV liquid hydrogen second stage became available. The first stage, proposed for the Juno V rocket, but finally used for the first Saturn rocket, would propel the Saturn A-1 into space, with the first stage of a Titan I missile continuing the flight and finally, a Centaur C high-energy double engine third stage could perform a small burn to send a payload into its final orbit, or it can perform a big burn to take a payload out of Earth orbit to other planets. Unfortunately, this rocket never flew, but all stages of the Saturn A-1 were used on different launch vehicles. Today, they are all retired.
