posted 07-28-2018 10:35 PM            

This sequence of photos, taken over a three-month period, shows vertical assembly of the Saturn V first stage at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Michoud Assembly Facility here.

I think it could be the S-IC-6 (Apollo 11) stage. What looks like the same photo appears in the March 3, 1967 issue of MSC Roundup. Alan Lawrie mentions in "Saturn" that the vertical assembly of S-IC-6 was completed in the Michoud tower at the end of 1966.

posted 07-29-2018 10:11 AM            

Alan's book has photos taken during testing that show a black and white intertank structure on the S-IC-5 (Apollo 10) stage.

Also, Michoud photo 12871-11 is dated 1-4-67 and shows an S-IC first stage, with a black and white intertank structure, assembled (without engines) in the Michoud Vertical Assembly Building. It is identified as S-IC-6, which was Apollo 11.

Alan mentions in "Saturn" that the S-IC-6 stage was moved out of the Michoud VAB on 6 January 1967.

posted 07-29-2018 06:16 PM            

This photograph is a view of the Saturn V S-IC-5 (first) flight stage being hoisted into the S-IC-B1 test stand at the Mississippi Test Facility (MTF), Bay St. Louis, Mississippi...

posted 07-30-2018 03:34 PM            

So that would be the S-IC stages for Apollo 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.

posted 07-30-2018 06:13 PM               

Its caption isn't especially enlightening, either:

NEW ORLEANS, La. - This sequence of photographs, taken over a three-month period, shows vertical assembly of the Saturn V first stage at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Michoud Assembly Facility here. Built by The Boeing Company Launch Systems Branch, the booster measures 138 feet tall and 33 feet in diameter. The five major structures of the 7.5-million-pound-thrust first stage are assembled in Michoud's Vertical Assembly Building. The thrust structure, which supports the rocket's weight and distributes the force of the engines upward, is the first major component moved into the assembly tower. The fuel tank, with a capacity of 210,000 gallons, is positioned above the thrust structure. The intertank, a corrugated shell, is then lowered into position where it connects the fuel and liquid oxygen tanks. After the 330,000-gallon-capacity liquid oxygen tank is placed on the intertank, the booster is topped off by a forward skirt, onto which the Saturn V second stage will be attached. The three-stage Saturn V will launch manned flights to the moon within this decade.

posted 07-31-2018 06:07 AM            

That leaves 6 candidate stages that meet these criteria. They are (with the completion of vertical assembly dates):

• S-IC-D Jun 1965
  
• S-IC-F Aug 1965
  
• S-IC-3 Dec 1965
  
• S-IC-4 Apr 1966
  
• S-IC-5 Sep 1966
  
• S-IC-6 Dec 1966

The black circumferential band was deleted around October 1967 as there are photos of hardware with the band in September 1967 and photos of hardware without the band in November 1967. So the fact that the stage in this composite photo has a band doesn't narrow down the identification as all the hardware completed, or in manufacture, around Feb 1967 would have had the band.

posted 07-31-2018 08:53 AM            

There is a September 1967 photo (6759502) that shows S-IC-3 with an all-white intertank. That is the earliest "repainted" photo I have seen at Michoud. The flags were attached to the LOX tank when S-IC-3 still had the black and white intertank.

posted 08-04-2018 04:14 AM            

There appears to be a number on the vehicle, but it is unreadable.

posted 08-09-2018 06:20 PM            

The photo caption:

posted 11-13-2022 09:30 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by LM-12:
There is an undated photo...

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posted 11-15-2022 08:40 AM            

More likely, the photo was taken sometime after the MSC crew announcement news release dated December 22, 1966:

Prime crew for the A/S-503 mission, the third manned Apollo flight and the first manned flight using the Saturn V launch vehicle, is: Frank Borman, commander; Michael Collins, CM pilot; and William A. Anders, LM pilot. Backup crew is Charles Conrad, Jr., commander; Richard F. Gordon, Jr., CM pilot; and C. C. Williams, Jr., LM pilot.

posted 11-19-2022 01:48 AM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by LM-12:
S-IC-6 can be seen with an all-white intertank structure in November 1967.

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posted 11-20-2022 12:19 PM            

S-IC-5 was the final first stage to have the black band. Based on manufacturing records there were two stages with the black bands in MAF at that time, S-IC-4 and S-IC-5. Therefore the stage behind the astronauts was one of these (Apollo 9 or 10).

posted 11-20-2022 02:33 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by AlanLawrie:
S-IC-5 was the final first stage to have the black band.

---

Did you mean S-IC-6? See the photo linked back on 05-30-2019.

posted 11-20-2022 09:17 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by AlanLawrie:
S-IC-5 was the final first stage to have the black band.

---

posted 11-21-2022 09:38 AM            

The black band was indeed removed around the end of September 1967. S-IC-5 was the final stage to be static fired with the band but, as you both say, other stages had it during manufacturing.

posted 11-21-2022 09:43 PM            

There is also this 1967 photo of three S-IC stages at Michoud. I believe the stages are (left to right) S-IC-8, S-IC-4, and S-IC-6.

There is a sign that says "Horizontal Assy (assembly) Position 1" above one of the stages. Looks like it is above S-IC-6.

posted 11-23-2022 10:18 AM            

The stages are identified as (l to r) S-IC-8, S-IC-4 and S-IC-6.

The F-1 engines are being installed in S-IC-8 at this time. The centre engine (105) was installed first on 25 September 1967. Next was engine 103 (top right) installed on 29 September 1967. This is the configuration in the photo so it is likely to have been taken a day or two after that. Engine 102 was installed on 9 October and 101 on 12 October. No date was reported for 104 as it was later replaced with a new engine.

posted 11-25-2022 08:05 AM            

The stage without engines is S-IC-11. This was the Apollo 16 stage that suffered a fire during the hot fire test in June 1969. It was returned to MAF and the engines removed in July 1969. The new engines were installed in December 1969 and January 1970. In the Collins photo it is just possible to make out the S-IC-11 marking on the stage.

There were actually two other stages (S-IC-9 and S-IC-13) sitting next to the S-IC-11 stage at the time of the photo. S-IC-9 (Apollo 14) was in storage after having had its hot fire test earlier that year and S-IC-13 (Skylab) had just been built and was about to be sent to MTF for hot fire testing.