Saturn (Apogee Books Space Series) [Paperback]

Alan Lawrie (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1894959191 | ISBN-13: 978-1894959193 | Publication Date: July 1, 2005 | Edition: Pap/DVD

The complete story of the Saturn V Rocket is presented in this detailed history of each stage of the construction and testing process. From the drawing boards of Boeing, North American Aviation, and the Douglas company, through shipping materials on massive Super Guppy air transports, prototype engine firings, and wind tunnel tests, and finally to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center, every stage of the planning, production, and actual flight of the rocket is meticulously documented. The lives of the first 45 rocket stages built for the Saturn project are charted, including unprecedented information on the dates, times, and performance parameters for each stage, the facilities used in production, rare documentation of the stages that malfunctioned and the engines that exploded along the way. Details on the development of the F1 and J2 rocket engines and recently declassified photographs of the Saturn project are also included.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is a definitive look at the Saturn V vehicle. ...The illustrations and pictures are well produced. [The authors] have had amazing access to the archives, and it shows throughout the book. For those that remember the power of the Saturn vehicle this book brings home the work which did take men to the moon." -- Spaceflight, March 2006.

About the Author

Alan Lawrie is a satellite propulsion engineer who manages the procurement of propulsion engines, tanks, and valves for satellite systems around the world. He has written articles on Saturn V for Spaceflight magazine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Collector's Guide Publishing, Inc.; Pap/DVD edition (July 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1894959191
• ISBN-13: 978-1894959193
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,267,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Saturn but the Saturn V manufacturing archives!!!, August 26, 2005

By 

spaceman "Jim" (San Fernando Calley, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saturn (Apogee Books Space Series) (Paperback)

"Saturn" is what the cover says, but open the book and you find the real name and importance of this book. "Saturn V - the complete manufacturing and test records".

This is what todays' engineers and rocket scientists have been
looking for to assist them in the construction of the next heavy lift booster to get us back to the Moon and Mars, and every fan of the Saturn- Apollo program will HAVE TO HAVE THIS BOOK IN THEIR LIBRARY!

Many of these records were misplaced and presumed lost after Project Apollo, as NASA had not the funds to care and file them. But Alan Lawrie and Robert Godwin searched archives around the United States and England(?) to reconstruct them for
this book. This new publication tells what happened to each and every stage of every Saturn -V launch vehicle ever assembled, even the ones that were not used!

It begins with the rare Saturn V news reference to give the reader a familiarity with the Saturn. Then it documents the facilities and transportation methods, and then the engines themselves and then each vehicle built.

The book goes into the construction, movement, testing, assembly and launch. It goes into the test stands and tells what happened before the fliight versions were built and it details every test firing of every rocket engine for the mighty Moon rocket.
How many people know that the third stage for the first manned flight to the Moon (Apollo-8), exploded on the test stand (S-IVB 503) and had to be replaced (S-IVB 503-N for New construction)? and that Apollo-16's Saturn V first stage
(S1C-11) caught fire on the test stand and took a year to rebuild, and almost delayed the Apollo-11 which was on the launch pad counting down for it's historic mission?

The book sadly concludes with the rare Saturn V payload planners guide that details how Saturn could easily have allowed us to launch probes around the Solar System.

A lesson that we hope is not lost on the new generation.

Every major director and engineer of every major contractor who is planning to build the new launch vehicle will want to buy this book, because they no longer have to go thru the NASA archives digging and hoping to find these nuggets of information
about how we did it before!

The bonus DVD/ROM includes the vehicle records and films of Saturn assembly, and various tests firings.

ERRORS- The color section has a photo of the stacking of the Apollo space craft on the third stage of Apollo-Saturn 500F that is wrongly listed as erection of the launch escape system for Apollo 6 two years before this happened?
S-IVB-DF (pg255) wasn't this kept at JSC until the late 80's as part of the public tour of Skylab?
DVD-Video?ROM disc menu in back- First test firing of S-1C-T at Mississippi testb Facility March 1967? ...or 1965!

AN EXCELLENT BOOK- AND A MUST FOR ALL APOLLO FANS!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Saturn V Reference To Date, November 11, 2005

By 

Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Saturn (Apogee Books Space Series) (Paperback)

Alan Lawrie and Robert Godwin are to be commended for assembling this fine volume on the Saturn V. The Apogee series is the best set of books on space ever assembled, and this volume documents an often overlooked part of the Apollo program, the booster development and history of the Saturn V. Although the earlier Saturns are mentioned in passing, this is essentially devoted to the larger Saturn V.

The book details design and history of all stages and engines by serial number. All stages including test stages and battleships are detailed as are all test runs. The technical data including configuration changes are well documented for all engines and stages, and the history of the test areas and test stands are also addressed.

Despite the fact that a large part of the book is a historical stage by stage accounting, the book is still quite readable and enjoyable to a space enthusiast. Certainly, this is not a book for the casual reader, but the Apollo-phile will love the newly revealed information that has been unearthed for the first time in thirty years.

Also included is a DVD which features even more technical and production data in PDF format, as well as wonderful films of Apollo stage production, testing, and the Apollo 11 launch, the last four minutes of which are synchronized with the MOCR audio recording. The editing of the videos is a bit choppy at times, but the material is so good that I can't imagine any serious complaints.

This is a great volume, and I highly recommend it to anyone with a deep interest in space.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you always wanted to know about the Saturn V program ... but didn't know who to ask, September 3, 2005

By 

Dr. Geoffrey Statham - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saturn (Apogee Books Space Series) (Paperback)

This book appears at a very timely moment: after more than thirty years there's finally a new commitment to go back to the Moon, and to go beyond. Lot's has been lost - or at least misplaced - in those thirty years. What did it take to transform the Saturn V from design into reality? How was it done? What had to be built? What had to be tested? When, where and how was it all done? What worked the first time around, and what didn't?

To answer these questions one would need to search through a mountain of data, which has been archived away in a host of obscure (and sometimes unlikely) places. Fortunately the authors of "Saturn" have performed this Herculean task, and have also managed to produce a surprisingly readable and coherent narrative. They've also managed to unearth some truly unique archived movie footage showing ground transport of the various stages as well as numerous test firings. This is all included on the DVD that accompanies the book. The DVD also contains an excellent movie of the Apollo XI launch - which, for ten minutes, transported me all the way back to 1969, as well as bringing a tear to my eye. [The book's worth the price just for the DVD alone!]

This book is a `must' for all those with an interest in the history of this great - and seminal - engineering achievement. Even more important, it's a `must' for all those who are about to embark on the next great adventure to the Moon and beyond.

Mandatory reading (and viewing) for the next generation of space engineers, as well as space enthusiasts of any generation!

Most highly recommended!