Rocket file · LV-163
Saturn IB
Saturn IB is an expendable launch vehicle built by National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It stands 43.2 m tall, lifts 21,000 kg to low Earth orbit, first flew on 26 February 1966. It has flown 10 times with 9 successes, a success rate of 90.0%. It has nothing on the Launch Library 2 schedule right now.
Specification
Vehicle spec sheet
As listed by Launch Library 2. The cost is Launch Library’s figure, not a quoted price. Figures for rockets outside the sixty most-flown were last read on 2026-11-05.
Flight record
Reliability
About Saturn IB
The Saturn IB (pronounced "one B", also known as the Uprated Saturn I) was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the Apollo program. It replaced the S-IV second stage of the Saturn I with the much more powerful S-IVB, able to launch a partially fueled Apollo Command/Service Module (CSM) or a fully fueled Lunar Module (LM) into low Earth orbit for early flight tests before the larger Saturn V needed for lunar flight was ready.
Upcoming flights
Manifest
Saturn IB is retired, and no flight is filed.
All upcoming launchesSaturn IB in the archive
From NASA's public image library and Wikimedia Commons. Each photo shows the credit its licence asks for and links back to where it came from.
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Common questions
- How many times has Saturn IB flown?
- 10 times, with 9 successes and 1 failures.
- What is Saturn IB's success rate?
- 90.0%. That's 9 successful flights out of 10 attempts.
- How much can Saturn IB lift to orbit?
- Launch Library 2 lists Saturn IB at 21,000 kg to low Earth orbit.
- Is Saturn IB reusable?
- No. Launch Library 2 lists Saturn IB as expendable, so no stage is recovered to fly again.