Engineering:Saturn A-1

Saturn A-1

Function	Uncrewed launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Von Braun
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	49.62 m (162.29 ft)
Diameter	6.52 m (21.39 ft)
Mass	524,484 kg
Stages	3 (all used on various vehicles, now retired)
Launch history
Status	Never flown
Launch sites	N/A
First stage - S-I
Engines	8 H-1
Thrust	7,582 kN
Burn time	150 seconds
Propellant	RP-1/LOX
Second stage Titan I
Engines	2 LR-87-3
Thrust	1,467 kN
Burn time	138 seconds
Propellant	RP-1/LOX
Third stage - Centaur C
Engines	2 RL-10A-1
Thrust	133 kN
Burn time	430 seconds
Propellant	LH2 / LOX

Saturn A-1, studied in 1959, was projected to be the first version of Saturn I and was to be used if necessary before the S-IV liquid hydrogen second stage became available. The first stage, proposed for the Juno V rocket, but finally used for the first Saturn rocket, would propel the Saturn A-1 into space, with the first stage of a Titan I missile continuing the flight and finally, a Centaur C high-energy double-engine third stage could perform a small burn to send a payload into its final orbit, or it can perform a big burn to take a payload out of Earth orbit to other planets. This rocket never flew, but all stages of the Saturn A-1 were used on different launch vehicles. Today, they are all retired.