17
votes
Accepted
What is an "exhausterator" and what does it do?
I've not heard it called that, it is normally called an 'aspirator'. And yet there it is on your drawing :) Perhaps they crunched up 'exhaust aspirator' into one word?
As quoted in this answer
The ...
- 157k
14
votes
Accepted
Saturn 1 thrust mismatch
There were different versions of the RL 10 engine with different thrusts.
The retired RL10A-1, first flown 1962 had a thrust of 67 kN (15,000 lbf).
The active RL10B-2, first flown 1998 has a thrust of ...
- 46.1k
13
votes
Did von Braun have "a thing" for fins? Why did Saturn I block 2 get fins because it's a "von Braun" rocket?
Nothing about Apollo/Saturn was an aesthetic choice. To service aesthetics, the outer surface would be nice and smooth, but there were all sorts of protrusions for things like retro rockets, ullage ...
- 17.1k
13
votes
Accepted
What does the ATOLL programming language look like?
The documentation for the Ground Operations Aerospace Language is much more available - search at ntrs.nasa.gov and a variety of reports come up.
An ACM publication (which apparently is not a journal ...
- 698
12
votes
Where did AS-206 go between 1967 and 1973?
From Stages to Saturn ch. 13:
Developmental and technical problems created a delay in the anticipated launch date, which was finally rescheduled for the spring of 1973. Meanwhile the Saturn IB first ...
- 7,396
11
votes
Accepted
Use of high energy propellants on an engine designed for low energy propellants
Thrust is equal to mass flow rate times specific impulse.
If you maintain the mass flow rate, then if the specific impulse is increased (almost a certainty if you change from RP-1 to hydrogen) the ...
- 160k
10
votes
Accepted
Where did AS-206 go between 1967 and 1973?
The first stage S-1B-6 was sent back to Michoud for storage.
The second stage S-IVB-206 was sent back to SACTO (Sacramento Test Operations in California) for storage.
They were taken out of storage ...
- 157k
6
votes
Accepted
Saturn I's four outer engines' gas generator exhaust, why not vent to the side like the four inner engines?
The design objective for the gas generator exhaust system on both types of H-1 engines was to preclude the fuel-rich gas generator exhaust from recirculating under the base of the booster in flight. ...
- 157k
6
votes
Saturn 1 booster performance/structures
It would seem that it might be possible to match SpaceX's Falcon 9 with a booster that could be built possibly more cheaply and with far less development time using older, updated tech?
Before the ...
- 160k
5
votes
Accepted
Evolution of Saturn V for JFK's Man on Moon mission
It's not possible to indicate a single point in time for this change; it was more of a process that started in 1958 with the inception of NASA. The Advanced Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), and with ...
- 11.9k
5
votes
Accepted
Need of the DoD for a heavy lift vehicle for "other" satellites
I believe the "20,000 to 40,000 pounds to LEO" requirement was intended to solicit proposals for launcher families or launchers that could be upgraded from the low end of the range to the ...
- 160k
5
votes
Accepted
Thrust requirements from Saturn 1 rocket's first stage
According to Wikipedia, the origin of the Saturn I was a US Department of Defense requirement to launch large communication and reconnaissance satellites:
The Saturn project was started as one of a ...
- 160k
5
votes
Saturn I's four outer engines' gas generator exhaust, why not vent to the side like the four inner engines?
You don't want an exhaust pointing sideways on a gimbaled engine, because that exhaust will exert considerable force on the gimbaling mechanism, making it much easier to move the engine in one ...
- 121k
5
votes
Did von Braun have "a thing" for fins? Why did Saturn I block 2 get fins because it's a "von Braun" rocket?
Wernher Von Braun was in charge of building the following rockets:
V-2- Fins
Redstone- Fins
Jupiter - Fins
Juno- Small Fins
Saturn I- Most orbital version had fins
Saturn V- small fins
The evidence ...
- 118k
3
votes
Accepted
How was AS-212 (Saturn 1B) supposed to carry both a CSM and LM?
In your question you say the CSM and LM weighed "at least X", but the figures you give for the CSM and LM are fully loaded launch weights for a lunar mission -- i.e. they weighed at most ...
- 160k
3
votes
Did von Braun have "a thing" for fins? Why did Saturn I block 2 get fins because it's a "von Braun" rocket?
Is it true Von Braun added the fins solely because "he liked the look"?: clearly not.
Did he use them more often than his peers: it's just stats thing at this point but p<0.05 is looking pretty ...
- 3,382
2
votes
Development of Saturn I
The article Cluster's Last Stand about Saturn 1 development states that the military's goals were
orbiting large communications satellites, manned space stations and even developing the strangelove-...
- 157k
2
votes
Accepted
Did the Saturn IB have eight equally spaced fins around its circumference?
Indeed it did as shown in this drawing.
Source (annotation mine)
- 157k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible