Saturn Apollo Program

Developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) as an interim vehicle in MSFC’s “building block” approach to the Saturn rocket development, the Saturn IB utilized Saturn I technology to further develop and refine the larger boosters and the Apollo spacecraft capabilities required for the manned lunar missions. The Saturn IB vehicle was a two-stage rocket and had a payload capability about 50 percent greater than the Saturn I vehicle. The first stage, S-IB stage, was a redesigned first stage of the Saturn I. This photograph is of the S-IB nose cone #3 during assembly in building 4752.