Year-by-Year Marshall Highlights - Marshall Highlights for 1965

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Marshall Highlights for 1965

(Source Note: The following information is presented here as published in a news release issued in late 1965 by the Marshall Center Public Affairs Office.)

The Marshall Center got its Saturn V ground testing program into full swing in 1965, while at the same time bringing its 10 vehicle Saturn I program to a successful end.

A high point in the Saturn V rocket ground test program was reached in August when all three stages of the 365 foot tall vehicle were captive tested for full durations.

The 7.5 million pound thrust SIC-T booster, non-flight replica of the Saturn V first stage, was fired for 2 1/2 minutes on Aug. 5.

An S-II "battleship" stage was captive tested for 6 1/2 minutes on Aug. 9 at Santa Susana, Calif., test range. The stage's five J-2 engines produced one million pounds thrust.

The battleship S-IVB stage was fired successfully for a full duration test Aug. 20 at Sacramento. In a test simulating a flight to the Moon, the S-IVB was ignited, cut off and re-ignited to complete its test program. The stage ran for three minutes before being cut off for a 30 minute "orbital coast" period. It was then re-ignited for a 355 second run.

The first flight S-IVB stage scheduled to fly on the Saturn 13 launch vehicle, was fired for B2 seconds in an acceptance test on Aug. 5.

Marshall Center climaxed a four-year Saturn I launch series in 1965 with three perfect launches. The three vehicles, carrying Pegasus meteoroid detection satellites, were launched February 16, May 27 and July 30. The Saturn I program demonstrated the feasibility of clustering rocket engines, the use of liquid hydrogen as a fuel for upper stages was advanced, and rocket guidance equipment concepts were advanced. And final preparations were made for the initiation of the Saturn IB flight program. The first vehicle is on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center.

Another 1965 highlight was the completion, exactly on schedule, of the first Saturn V flight booster at the Marshall Center. Scheduled for launch in 1967, the big stage was wheeled from its assembly hangar in September.

Marshall Center's ground test program also included captive tests of the first three Saturn IB flight boosters, a J-2 engine test series, structural tests in a new Load Test Annex, and F-1 engine captive tests.

Prime contractors prominently involved in these key 1965 accomplishments included Chrysler Corp., Douglas Aircraft Co., IBM, Boeing Co., North American

Aviation's Rocketdyne and Space Systems divisions, and Fairchild-Hiller.

During the coming year, the Marshall Center will see Saturn V flight booster captive tests. F-1 and J-2 engine firings and dynamic tests of the complete three stage Saturn V launch vehicle.

Late in 1965, the Marshall Center was assigned management responsibilities in the Apollo Applications area. MSFC will be responsible for development and procurement of launch vehicles, integration of experiments into the lunar excursion module, Saturn instrument units and S-IVB stages (top stages of both Saturn IB and Saturn V vehicles).