It is 50 years since the very last Saturn rocket rolled out from NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to launchpad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center.
The super heavy rockets were built and used for nine crewed flights to the Moon from December 1968 to December 1972, as well as for launching US space station Skylab in 1973.
Saturn IB rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building (pic: NASA)
The final Saturn has left the building.... Saturn IB rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building in March 1975 (Pic: NASA) - click to enlarge
As for the launch vehicle pictured above, the Saturn IB was the final in a series that began with the Saturn V check-out vehicle, followed by 12 flight Saturn V rockets for the Apollo Moon program and a final Saturn V to launch Skylab in 1973. Four of the smaller Saturn IB rockets, including three for Skylab missions and the one pictured above – for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission – were also stacked. A further Saturn IB was assembled for the Skylab rescue mission but was not needed and so not launched.
The March 1975 rollout of this final Saturn IB happened relatively early in the life of NASA's cavernous VAB, which the agency finished building less than a decade previously, in 1966. In July 1975, NASA used the rocket to launch the first international human spaceflight collab – the Apollo-Soyuz test project.
As for what was rolled out of the building in March that year, the Saturn IB rocket sat atop a "milkstool" and was attached to its Launch Umbilical Tower (LUT) as the crawler-transporter carrying it made its way to the launch pad. The 39-meter (128 ft) tall pedestal allowed the smaller Saturn IB rocket to use the same facilities on the mobile launcher as the larger Saturn V.
The rocket itself comprised a Saturn IB first stage and a Saturn IVB second stage. As well as the Command/Service Module (CSM), the payload also included a docking module for the joint US and USSR mission.
Absolutely VAB-ulous
Fifty years later, the VAB continues to endure and is currently being used to stack NASA's Space Launch System (SLS). Earlier this week, technicians completed attaching the stacked solid rocket booster to the core stage, preparing the vehicle for the upcoming crewed Artemis II mission around the Moon.
The launch vehicle stage adapter, interim cryogenic propulsion stage, Orion stage adapter, and the Orion spacecraft itself will be lifted atop the core stage over the coming weeks.
A hint of the future is visible beyond the VAB, next to the launchpads, where SpaceX is assembling the launch tower for its Starship vehicle. Starship has yet to reach orbit, and its last few test flights have not gone well, but SpaceX intends to launch it from Florida at some point in the future.
The VAB does not feature in SpaceX's plans though. While it hosted the Space Shuttle after that final Saturn rocket rolled out, its future is all about the SLS.
However, considering the structure was initially built for stacking Saturn rockets, please raise a glass to commemorate half a century since the final rollout of a Saturn-class rocket from the cavernous building. ®