Saturn Solid Rocket Booster

4 Saturn Solid Rocket Boosters tumble away while the rest of the Saturn VE stack continues to climb into orbit. This uncrewed launch in August 1979 was the first flight of the Saturn V booster since Skylab II’s launch in 1975.

Initial plans for the Saturn VE suggested that it would be paired with either two or four UA1207 solid rocket boosters initially developed for the USAFs Manned Orbiting Laboratory in the 1960s. However, as development continued it became clear that they would not be able to comfortably lift some of the heavier payloads envisaged in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The Saturn Solid Rocket Booster segments were manufactured at Thiokol’s plant in Utah before being transported to Cape Canaveral. Here they were assembled and checked out in the Inert Component Building and within the Mobile Erection and Processing Structure (MEPS). Due to the size limitations of the Vehicle Assembly Building, the solid rocket boosters were attached to the launch vehicle at the pad via the MEPS, which was transported to LC-39 via the crawler transporter.

With two boosters, a two stage Saturn VE could lift 316,400lbs to LEO, while four strap-ons would see 352,299lbs — over 175 tons, placed into orbit.

While NASA had significant experience at retrieving spent rocket stages, developed since the first recovery of a S-I+ stage in 1976, the Saturn Solid Rocket Booster was the first booster to be recovered and reused in its entirety.