The S-IVB was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company

Douglas Aircraft Company

The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer, based in Long Beach, California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas...

 and served as the third stage on the Saturn V

Saturn V

The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...

 and second stage on the Saturn IB

Saturn IB

The Saturn IB was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for use in the Apollo program...

. It had one J-2

J-2 (rocket engine)

Rocketdyne's J-2 rocket engine was a major component of the Saturn V rocket used in the Apollo program to send men to the Moon. Five J-2 engines were used on the S-II second stage, and one J-2 was used on the S-IVB third stage. The S-IVB was also used as the second stage of the smaller Saturn IB...

 engine. For lunar missions it was fired twice: first for the orbit insertion after second stage cutoff, and then for translunar injection (TLI).

History

The S-IVB evolved from the upper stage of the Saturn I

Saturn I

The Saturn I was the United States' first heavy-lift dedicated space launcher, a rocket designed specifically to launch large payloads into low Earth orbit. Most of the rocket's power came from a clustered lower stage consisting of tanks taken from older rocket designs and strapped together to make...

 rocket, the S-IV, and was the first stage of the Saturn V to be designed. The S-IV used a cluster of six engines but used the same fuels as the S-IVB — liquid hydrogen

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...

 and liquid oxygen

Oxygen

Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

. It was also originally meant to be the fourth stage of a planned rocket called the C-4

Saturn C-4

The Saturn C-4 was a conceptual American launch vehicle, originally proposed in 1960 to be used in a Lunar orbit rendezvous lunar landing.It would have consisted of three stages; an S-IB-4 first stage, a S-II-4 second stage and a S-IVB third stage...

, hence the name S-IV.

Eleven companies submitted proposals for being the lead contractor on the stage by the deadline of 29 February 1960. NASA administrator T. Keith Glennan

T. Keith Glennan

Thomas Keith Glennan was the first Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, serving from August 19, 1958 to January 20, 1961.-Early career:...

 decided on 19 April that Douglas Aircraft Company would be awarded the contract. Convair

Convair

Convair was an American aircraft manufacturing company which later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Vultee Aircraft and Consolidated Aircraft, and went on to produce a number of pioneering aircraft, such as the Convair B-36 bomber, and the F-102...

 had come a close second but Glennan did not want to monopolize the liquid hydrogen fueled rocket market as Convair was already building the Centaur rocket stage

Centaur (rocket stage)

Centaur is a rocket stage designed for use as the upper stage of space launch vehicles. Centaur boosts its satellite payload to geosynchronous orbit or, in the case of an interplanetary space probe, to or near to escape velocity...

.

In the end the Marshall Space Flight Center

Marshall Space Flight Center

The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest center of NASA, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program...

 decided to use the C-5 rocket (later called the Saturn V), which had three stages and would be topped with an uprated S-IV called the S-IVB which instead of using a cluster of engines would have a single J-2 engine. Douglas was awarded the contract for the S-IVB because of the similarities between it and the S-IV. At the same time it was decided to create the C-IB rocket (Saturn IB) that would also use the S-IVB as its second stage and could be used for testing the Apollo spacecraft in Earth orbit.

Douglas built two distinct versions of the S-IVB, the 200 series and the 500 series. The 200 series was used by the Saturn IB and differed from the 500 in the fact that it did not have a flared interstage and had less helium pressurization on board as it would not be restarted. (On the 500 series, the interstage needed to flare out to match the larger diameter of the lower stages of the Saturn V.) The 200 series also had three solid rockets for separating the S-IVB stage from the S-IB stage during launch, rather than the two on the 500 series, and lacked the linear APS thrusters that the 500 series required for ullage

Ullage motor

Ullage motors are relatively small, independently-fueled rocket engines that may be fired to accelerate the rocket prior to main engine ignition, when the vehicle is in a zero-g situation....

 operations prior to restarting the J2 engine.

The S-IVB carried 73,280 liters (19,359 U.S. gallons) of LOX

Lox

Lox is salmon fillet that has been cured. In its most popular form, it is thinly sliced—less than in thickness—and, typically, served on a bagel, often with cream cheese, onion, tomato, cucumber and capers...

, massing 87,200 kg (192,243 lbs). It carried 252,750 liters (66,770 U.S. gallons) of LH2, massing 18,000 kg (39,683 lbs). Empty weight was 9,559 kg (20,000 lb)http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4206/ch6.htm

An S-IVB provided the hull for Skylab

Skylab

Skylab was a space station launched and operated by NASA, the space agency of the United States. Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a mass of...

, the United States'

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 first space station

Space station

A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...

.

During Apollo 13

Apollo 13

Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission in the American Apollo space program and the third intended to land on the Moon. The craft was launched on April 11, 1970, at 13:13 CST. The landing was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded two days later, crippling the service module upon which the Command...

, Apollo 14

Apollo 14

Apollo 14 was the eighth manned mission in the American Apollo program, and the third to land on the Moon. It was the last of the "H missions", targeted landings with two-day stays on the Moon with two lunar EVAs, or moonwalks....

, Apollo 15

Apollo 15

Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the American Apollo space program, the fourth to land on the Moon and the eighth successful manned mission. It was the first of what were termed "J missions", long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous...

, Apollo 16

Apollo 16

Young and Duke served as the backup crew for Apollo 13; Mattingly was slated to be the Apollo 13 command module pilot until being pulled from the mission due to his exposure to rubella through Duke.-Backup crew:...

 and Apollo 17

Apollo 17

Apollo 17 was the eleventh and final manned mission in the American Apollo space program. Launched at 12:33 a.m. EST on December 7, 1972, with a three-member crew consisting of Commander Eugene Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 remains the...

, the S-IVB stages were crashed into the Moon

Moon

The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

 to perform seismic measurements used for characterizing the lunar interior.

The proposed Earth Departure Stage (EDS) and the second stage of the Ares I

Ares I

Ares I was the crew launch vehicle that was being developed by NASA as part of the Constellation Program. The name "Ares" refers to the Greek deity Ares, who is identified with the Roman god Mars...

 rocket will bear some of the characteristics of the S-IVB stage, as both will have an uprated J-2 engine (J-2X series), with the former performing the same functions as that of the Series 500 version of the stage (placing the payload into orbit, and later firing the spacecraft into trans-lunar space).

Stages built

Three versions of the SIV/SIVB

200 Series
Serial number	Use	Launch date	Current location
S-IVB-S	"Battleship" static test stage
S-IVB-F	Test stage for the facilities
S-IVB-D	"Dynamic" test stage delivered to Marshall Space Flight Center Marshall Space Flight Center The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest center of NASA, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program...  in 1965		U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census.... , Alabama Alabama Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...  34.710456°N 86.657432°W
S-IVB-T	Cancelled December 1964
S-IVB-201	AS-201 AS-201 AS-201 , flown February 26, 1966, was the first unmanned test flight of an entire production Block I Apollo Command/Service Module and the Saturn IB launch vehicle. The spacecraft consisted of the second Block I command module and the first Block I service module...	February 26, 1966
S-IVB-202	AS-202 AS-202 AS-202 was the second unmanned, suborbital test flight of a production Block I Apollo Command/Service Module launched with the Saturn IB launch vehicle. It launched August 25, 1966 and was the first flight which included the spacecraft Guidance and Navigation Control system and fuel cells...	August 25, 1966
S-IVB-203	AS-203 AS-203 AS-203 was an unmanned flight of the Saturn IB rocket on July 5, 1966. It carried no Apollo Command/Service Module spacecraft, as its purpose was to verify the design of the S-IVB rocket stage restart capability that would later be used in the Apollo program to boost astronauts from Earth orbit to...	July 5, 1966
S-IVB-204	Apollo 5 Apollo 5 Apollo 5 was the first unmanned flight of the Apollo Lunar Module, which would later carry astronauts to the lunar surface. It lifted off on January 22, 1968 with a Saturn IB rocket.-Objectives:...	January 22, 1968
S-IVB-205	Apollo 7 Apollo 7 Apollo 7 was the first manned mission in the American Apollo space program, and the first manned US space flight after a cabin fire killed the crew of what was to have been the first manned mission, AS-204 , during a launch pad test in 1967...	October 11, 1968
S-IVB-206	Skylab 2 Skylab 2 -Backup crew:-Support crew:*Robert L. Crippen*Richard H. Truly*Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr*William E. Thornton-Mission parameters:*Mass: 19,979 kg*Maximum Altitude: 440 km*Distance: 18,536,730.9 km...	May 25, 1973
S-IVB-207	Skylab 3 Skylab 3 Skylab 3 was the second manned mission to Skylab. The Skylab 3 mission started July 28, 1973, with the launch of three astronauts on the Saturn IB rocket, and lasted 59 days, 11 hours and 9 minutes...	July 28, 1973
S-IVB-208	Skylab 4 Skylab 4 Skylab 4 was the fourth Skylab mission and placed the third and final crew on board the space station. The mission started November 16, 1973 with the launch of three astronauts on a Saturn IB rocket, and lasted 84 days, 1 hour and 16 minutes...	November 16, 1973
S-IVB-209	Skylab rescue vehicle Skylab Rescue Brand flew in 1975 during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project as command module pilot, later commanding three Space Shuttle missions . Lind would wait another decade before he flew as a mission specialist on STS-51-B in 1985.-External links:* * * * * * *...		Kennedy Space Center Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
S-IVB-210	Apollo Soyuz Test Project	July 15, 1975
S-IVB-211	Unused		U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census.... , Alabama Alabama Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
S-IVB-212	Converted to Skylab Skylab Skylab was a space station launched and operated by NASA, the space agency of the United States. Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a mass of...	May 14, 1973
500 Series
Serial number	Use	Launch date	Current location
S-IVB-501	Apollo 4 Apollo 4 Apollo 4, , was the first unmanned test flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle, which was ultimately used by the Apollo program to send the first men to the Moon...	November 9, 1967
S-IVB-502	Apollo 6 Apollo 6 Apollo 6, launched on April 4, 1968, was the Apollo program's second and last A type mission—unmanned test flight of its Saturn V launch vehicle. It was intended to demonstrate full lunar injection capability of the Saturn V, and the capability of the Command Module's heat shield to withstand a...	April 4, 1968
S-IVB-503	Destroyed during testing
S-IVB-503N	Apollo 8 Apollo 8 Apollo 8, the second manned mission in the American Apollo space program, was the first human spaceflight to leave Earth orbit; the first to be captured by and escape from the gravitational field of another celestial body; and the first crewed voyage to return to Earth from another celestial...	December 21, 1968	Solar orbit
S-IVB-504	Apollo 9 Apollo 9 Apollo 9, the third manned mission in the American Apollo space program, was the first flight of the Command/Service Module with the Lunar Module...	March 3, 1969	Solar orbit
S-IVB-505	Apollo 10 Apollo 10 Apollo 10 was the fourth manned mission in the American Apollo space program. It was an F type mission—its purpose was to be a "dry run" for the Apollo 11 mission, testing all of the procedures and components of a Moon landing without actually landing on the Moon itself. The mission included the...	May 18, 1969	Solar orbit
S-IVB-506	Apollo 11 Apollo 11 In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...	July 16, 1969	Solar orbit
S-IVB-507	Apollo 12 Apollo 12 Apollo 12 was the sixth manned flight in the American Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon . It was launched on November 14, 1969 from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, four months after Apollo 11. Mission commander Charles "Pete" Conrad and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L...	November 14, 1969	Solar orbit; Believed to have been discovered as an asteroid in 2002 and given the designation J002E3 J002E3 J002E3 is the designation given to a supposed asteroid discovered by amateur astronomer Bill Yeung on September 3, 2002. Further examination revealed the object was not a rock asteroid but instead the S-IVB third stage of the Apollo 12 Saturn V rocket .When it was first discovered it was quickly...
S-IVB-508	Apollo 13 Apollo 13 Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission in the American Apollo space program and the third intended to land on the Moon. The craft was launched on April 11, 1970, at 13:13 CST. The landing was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded two days later, crippling the service module upon which the Command...	April 11, 1970	Lunar surface*
S-IVB-509	Apollo 14 Apollo 14 Apollo 14 was the eighth manned mission in the American Apollo program, and the third to land on the Moon. It was the last of the "H missions", targeted landings with two-day stays on the Moon with two lunar EVAs, or moonwalks....	January 31, 1971	Lunar surface*
S-IVB-510	Apollo 15 Apollo 15 Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the American Apollo space program, the fourth to land on the Moon and the eighth successful manned mission. It was the first of what were termed "J missions", long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous...	July 26, 1971	Lunar surface*
S-IVB-511	Apollo 16 Apollo 16 Young and Duke served as the backup crew for Apollo 13; Mattingly was slated to be the Apollo 13 command module pilot until being pulled from the mission due to his exposure to rubella through Duke.-Backup crew:...	April 16, 1972	Lunar surface*
S-IVB-512	Apollo 17 Apollo 17 Apollo 17 was the eleventh and final manned mission in the American Apollo space program. Launched at 12:33 a.m. EST on December 7, 1972, with a three-member crew consisting of Commander Eugene Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 remains the...	December 7, 1972	Lunar surface*
S-IVB-513	Apollo 18 Apollo 18 Apollo 18 may refer to:* One of the canceled Apollo missions of the American Apollo lunar program* The officially unnumbered Apollo spacecraft used in the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project* Apollo 18 , a 1992 album by They Might Be Giants...  (cancelled)	N/A	Johnson Space Center
S-IVB-514	Unused		Kennedy Space Center Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
S-IVB-515	Converted for use as backup Skylab		National Air and Space Museum National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...

(* See List of artificial objects on the Moon for location.)

External links