Saturn V Dynamic Test Vehicle - Development of The Test Article

Development of The Test Article

The Saturn V consisted of three stages and an Instrument Unit (IU). The first stage, S-IC, delivered 7,610,000 pounds-force (33.9 MN) thrust and delivered the other stages to 200,000 feet (61 km). Afterwards, it was jettisoned to fall into the Atlantic Ocean and the second stage continued acceleration. The second stage, S-II, was responsible for lifting the remaining parts nearly to Earth orbit. The third stage, S-IVB provided the final push to orbit and the trans-lunar injection burn to set the Apollo spacecraft on a course to the Moon. The IU was the guidance and control computer. SA-500D was the assembly of these components for dynamic testing.

The Saturn V Dynamic Test Stand with "electrodynamic shakers" provided a table capable not only of holding the Saturn V fully assembled and fueled, but also able to simulate the vibrations that would be generated by rocket engines.

The components used for testing were developed from 1964–66, and the tests conducted in 1966-67. Because the Saturn V shared some components with the Saturn IB, some of the components for SA-500D were initially used for dynamic testing with the Saturn IB stack.

In naming the individual stages, MSFC used the stage designation with a suffix indicating its purpose. For example, S-IC-D was the first stage, S-IC, for dynamic testing, and S-IC-1 was the first flight model of the first stage. Suffixes used were S, for structural, F for facilities, T for all-systems test, and D for dynamic testing.

Following is a history of each component of the dynamic test article in order of appearance.