The Power of Apollo

The F-1 engine, the most powerful liquid-fueled rocket engine ever produced, was a critical component in sending astronauts to the moon during the Apollo Program. Developed under the direction of Wernher von Braun, the Saturn V rocket was the largest operational vehicle ever produced. Standing 36 stories high and weighing over 6 million pounds, it required a cluster of five F-1 engines generating more than 7.5 million pounds of thrust to lift the rocket off the pad. Within three minutes, the rocket would be traveling at a speed of 6,000 mph and an altitude of 38 miles. It was said at the time that except for a nuclear explosion, the launching of a Saturn V rocket was the loudest man-made noise ever produced. Just one F-1 engine provided as much thrust as all three space shuttle main engines combined. The Saturn V F-1 engine was 18.5 feet high, 12.2 feet in diameter, used liquid oxygen and kerosene as propellants, weighed 18,5000 pounds, and produced 2,000,000 pounds of lift-off thrust.

Florida · United States