The launch of the SA-5 on January 29, 1964 was the fifth Saturn I launch vehicle. The SA-5 marked a number of firsts in the Marshall Space Flight Center-managed Saturn development program, including the first flight of Saturn I Block II vehicle with eight aerodynamic fins at the bottom of the S-I stage (first stage) for enhanced stability in flight. This also was the first flight of a live S-IV (second or upper) stage with the cluster of six liquid hydrogen-fueled RL-10 engines. the first successful second stage separation, and the first use of the Launch Complex 37.

Technicians prepare to install one of the fins on the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The fins will provide aerodynamic stability during flight. The rocket is being prepared at Vandenberg, and then will be transported to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida attached to the Orbital ATK L-1011 carrier aircraft with NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) in its payload fairing. CYGNSS will launch on the Pegasus XL rocket from the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. CYGNSS will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical storms and hurricanes. The data that CYGNSS provides will enable scientists to probe key air-sea interaction processes that take place near the core of storms, which are rapidly changing and play a critical role in the beginning and intensification of hurricanes.

Technicians prepare to install one of the fins on the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The fins will provide aerodynamic stability during flight. The rocket is being prepared at Vandenberg, and then will be transported to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida attached to the Orbital ATK L-1011 carrier aircraft with NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) in its payload fairing. CYGNSS will launch on the Pegasus XL rocket from the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. CYGNSS will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical storms and hurricanes. The data that CYGNSS provides will enable scientists to probe key air-sea interaction processes that take place near the core of storms, which are rapidly changing and play a critical role in the beginning and intensification of hurricanes.

Technicians prepare to install one of the fins on the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The fins will provide aerodynamic stability during flight. The rocket is being prepared at Vandenberg, and then will be transported to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, attached to the Orbital ATK L-1011 carrier aircraft with NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) in its payload fairing. CYGNSS will launch on the Pegasus XL rocket from the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. CYGNSS will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical storms and hurricanes. The data that CYGNSS provides will enable scientists to probe key air-sea interaction processes that take place near the core of storms, which are rapidly changing and play a critical role in the beginning and intensification of hurricanes.

Technicians prepare one of the fins for installation on the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The fins will provide aerodynamic stability during flight. The rocket is being prepared at Vandenberg, and then will be transported to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, attached to the Orbital ATK L-1011 carrier aircraft with NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) in its payload fairing. CYGNSS will launch on the Pegasus XL rocket from the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. CYGNSS will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical storms and hurricanes. The data that CYGNSS provides will enable scientists to probe key air-sea interaction processes that take place near the core of storms, which are rapidly changing and play a critical role in the beginning and intensification of hurricanes.

Technicians prepare to install one of the fins on the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The fins will provide aerodynamic stability during flight. The rocket is being prepared at Vandenberg, and then will be transported to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida attached to the Orbital ATK L-1011 carrier aircraft with NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) in its payload fairing. CYGNSS will launch on the Pegasus XL rocket from the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. CYGNSS will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical storms and hurricanes. The data that CYGNSS provides will enable scientists to probe key air-sea interaction processes that take place near the core of storms, which are rapidly changing and play a critical role in the beginning and intensification of hurricanes.

The launch of the SA-7 (Saturn I Block II) was on September 18, 1964. The SA-7 mission was the second orbital flight of the S-IV stage (second stage) with the payload consisting of the Apollo command and service module's instrument unit. The Saturn I Block II vehicle had two live stages, and were basically in the two-stage configuration of the Saturn I vehicle. While the tank arrangement and the engine patterns were the same, there were marked changes between the Block I and II versions. The first stage (S-I stage) was an improved version of the Block I S-I stage. The Block II S-1 stage had eight fins added for greater aerodynamic stability in the lower atmosphere.

Developed at MSFC under the direction of Dr. Wernher von Braun, the SA-5 incorporated a Saturn I, Block II engine. Launched on January 29, 1964, SA-5 was the first two stage (Block II) Saturn with orbital capability and performed the first test of Instrument Unit and successful stage separation. Block II vehicles had two live stages, and were basically in the two-stage configuration of the Saturn I vehicle. There were marked changes between the Block I and II versions. The Block II S-I stage had eight fins added for greater aerodynamic stability in the lower atmosphere. All Block II H-1 engines had a thrust of 188,000 pounds each for a combined thrust over 1,500,000 pounds. The Block II second stage (S-IV) had six RL-10 hydrogen-oxygen engines, each producing a thrust of 15,000 pounds for a total combined thrust of 90,000 pounds. A motion picture camera capsule loated on stage I was successful recovered.