SA-4 (Apollo)
SA-4 was the fourth flight of a Saturn I launch vehicle and the last of the initial test phase of the first stage. It was part of the Apollo Program.
Saturn-Apollo 4
| Mission Insignia
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| Mission Statistics
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| Mission Name: | Saturn-Apollo 4
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| Call Sign: | SA-4
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| Launch: | March 28, 1963
20:11:55 UTC
Cape Canaveral
Complex 34
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| Landing: | March 28, 1963
20:26:55 UTC
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| Duration: | 15 min 0 s
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Number of
Orbits: | Apollo 6 and Apollo 13 flights.
Also on this flight, the dummy second stage was outfitted with the aerodynamic design of the real second stage. This included vent ducts, fairings and dummy camera pods. And the rocket flew with antennae designed for the Block II version of the rocket.
Flight
After the shortest checkout time of any rocket at 54 days, SA-4 went on to experience the longest series of holds of any mission at 120 minutes. After this SA-4 launch the last first stage only flight.
The rocket operated perfectly through the first 100 seconds of the flight, when the Number 5 engine shutoff as planned. The rocket then continued to operate properly, with the propellant system rerouting the fuel to the other engines and the shutoff engine didn't disintegrate due to the heat as some had predicted due to lack of cooling propellant running around it. This was a important test proving an important feature of the clustered engine design.
The rocket reached a maximum height of 129 km and a peak velocity of 5906 km per hour. At this stage it also fired retrorockets that would be used on later mission to separate the rocket stages. On SA-4 the stages weren't designed to separate but tested the retrorockets to make sure they would fire.
External Links
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- http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=SATURNSA4
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- http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/apollo/sa-4/sa-4.html
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