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Author
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Topic: Most powerful Saturn V rocket launch
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LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 04-23-2019 10:28 PM
  
From the MSC news release about Apollo 15 dated August 3, 1971: The preliminary evaluation of data indicated that SA-510 was the most powerful Saturn V launched to date. Thrust at liftoff was pegged at 7,840,000 pounds. The nearest any other booster came to this level was SA-503 that launched Apollo 8 with a thrust of 7,726,936 pounds. All others have been in the 7.5 million pound range. Does Apollo 15 still have that record? |
moorouge
Member Posts: 2458
From: U.K.
Registered: Jul 2009
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posted 04-24-2019 12:34 AM
It would follow that the Saturn that launched Apollo 15 had the most thrust as it placed 52819.5 kilos into earth orbit — a record weight.Interestingly, the heaviest spacecraft in lunar orbit was Apollo 16 at 34523.1 kilos. There is a rider to these numbers — they are taken from my 1975 Manned Spaceflight publication and refer only to Apollo launches. Refined data since may well differ. |
oly
Member Posts: 971
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015
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posted 04-24-2019 03:10 AM
Scroll down to this Wikipedia page to the S-IC thrust comparisons section. This describes how making such a comparison can be difficult. Having data such as this can assist when trying to determine the thrust, however each launch would need to have been conducted under the same conditions to be able to establish a definitive answer. The Apollo 15 F-1 engines were uprated, using redesigned injector plates and higher fuel flow rates, upgrades which I believe were carried through subsequent flights. These upgrades could mean that only the Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions, plus Skylab would need to be referenced, however, prior launches with lower payload weights and better conditions may have resulted it higher thrust numbers. If anyone has access to such data I would be interested in learning the results. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 04-24-2019 07:09 AM
Lots of factors to consider there. Maybe post-flight Skylab 1 documents can provide some sort of comparison. |
Ken Havekotte
Member Posts: 2983
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 04-24-2019 07:53 AM
Haven't had time to check my files and records, but I would think the Saturn V launch of the Skylab OWS might qualify as the heaviest payload and thrust, but I'll check on it as time permits. But since there was not a fueled modified S-IVB stage nor a command/service/lunar modules included, I am not sure at the moment. But you did have an 85-ton space station orbited! |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 04-24-2019 08:26 AM
Table 5-2 in the SA-513 (Skylab 1) launch vehicle flight evaluation report has some predicted and reconstructed thrust numbers for the S-IC engines. |
minipci
Member Posts: 373
From: London, UK
Registered: Jul 2009
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posted 04-24-2019 09:03 AM
quote:
Originally posted by LM-12:
Lots of factors to consider there. Maybe post-flight Skylab 1 documents can provide some sort of comparison.
The Saturn V Launch Vehicle Flight Evaluation Report-SA-513 Skylab 1 shows S-IC thrust at just under 35,000,000 Newton at launch. See top-left graph of Figure 5-3 on page 59 of this PDF. (35,000,000 N is approx. 7,868,310 lbf) |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 04-24-2019 11:51 AM
There are similar S-IC thrust tables (like Table 5-2) for other missions. So I did a lot of number crunching and came up with the list below.The first number is the predicted thrust. The number in brackets is the thrust from reconstruction analysis. (Thrust is the number x1000 lbf.) - 7540 (7558) ... Apollo 4
- 7582 (7567) ... Apollo 6
- 7621 (7561) ... Apollo 8
- 7669 (7576) ... Apollo 9
- 7551 (7536) ... Apollo 10
- 7554 (7552) ... Apollo 11
- 7569 (7594) ... Apollo 12
- 7556 (7560) ... Apollo 13
- 7529 (7504) ... Apollo 14
- 7610 (7558) ... Apollo 15
- 7621 (7620) ... Apollo 16
- 7610 (7599) ... Apollo 17
- 7580 (7551) ... Skylab 1
Apollo 16 has both numbers above 7600.
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LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 04-25-2019 08:36 PM
The J-mission press kits have these numbers for the S-IC thrust at liftoff: - Apollo 15 ... 7,766,000 lbs
- Apollo 16 ... 7,723,726 lbs
- Apollo 17 ... 7,665,111 lbs
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