SA-5 (Apollo)

Mission emblem

Mission dates

Mission:

SA-5

COSPAR-ID :

SATURNSA5

Launcher:

Saturn I

Begin:

January 29, 1964 , 16:25:01 UTC

Starting place:

CC LC-37B

Landing:

April 30, 1966 (burned out)

Flight duration:

791 days

Earth orbits:

approx. 12,000

Apogee :

760 km

Perigee :

264 km

Covered track:

approx. 519 million km

Payload:

Payload dummy

◄ Before / After ►

SA-4

A-101

SA-5 was the first test flight of a Saturn I , which consisted of two functional stages and a payload dummy. It was also the first in the Apollo program to enter an orbital trajectory.

construction

Start of SA-5

Due to the size and power of the Saturn rockets, NASA decided to conduct a test flight for every single component of the rocket. The SA-5 mission was to carry a fully functional second stage (S-IV) instead of a dummy for the first time. For the first time, the first stage was completely refueled with 340,000 kg of fuel.

Flight history

The first attempt at launch on launch pad 37B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station took place on January 27, 1964. The countdown initially went according to plan. When the liquid oxygen tank was 93% full , the control team found a leak which was due to a torn flange. Since an exchange was not possible immediately, the start date was postponed by two days.

The second launch attempt went smoothly and the rocket took off at 16:25 UTC . The telemetry measuring devices transmitted 1,183 measurement data to the ground station, while all flight movements were precisely observed from the ground with 13 cameras over the first 1,000 meters . The problem-free step separation was also recorded by eight cameras on the rocket, which then separated from it independently, fell back to earth on parachutes and were later recovered from the Atlantic .

After eight minutes, the second stage reached an orbit between 264 km ( perigee ) and 760 km ( apogee ). At just under 17 tons, it was the heaviest artificial satellite of the time. It remained in orbit until April 30, 1966.

The test proved that the Saturn I was completely airworthy and could be used for the test flights with a dummy of the Apollo spacecraft.

Web links

Commons : Saturn-Apollo 5 - collection of images, videos and audio files