| Saturn A-1 | |||
| Country-Origin: | United States | ||
| Function: | Uncrewed launch vehicle | ||
| Manufacturer: | Von Braun | ||
| Height: | 49.62 m | ||
| Alt-Height: | 162.29 ft | ||
| Diameter: | 6.52 m | ||
| Alt-Diameter: | 21.39 ft | ||
| Mass: | 524,484 kg | ||
| Stages: | 3 (all used on various vehicles, now retired) | ||
| Status: | Never flown | ||
| Sites: | N/A | ||
| Capacities: |
for LEO | ||
| Stage1name: | S-I | ||
| Stage1engines: | 8 H-1 | ||
| Stage1thrust: | 7,582 kN | ||
| Stage1time: | 150 seconds | ||
| Stage1fuel: | RP-1/LOX | ||
| Stage2name: | Titan I | ||
| Stage2engines: | 2 LR-87-3 | ||
| Stage2thrust: | 1,467 kN | ||
| Stage2time: | 138 seconds | ||
| Stage2fuel: | RP-1/LOX | ||
| Stage3name: | Centaur C | ||
| Stage3engines: | 2 RL-10A-1 | ||
| Stage3thrust: | 133 kN | ||
| Stage3time: | 430 seconds | ||
| Stage3fuel: | LH2 / LOX | ||
Saturn A-1, studied in 1959, was projected to be the first version of Saturn I and was to be used if necessary before the S-IV liquid hydrogen second stage became available.[1]
It was designed as a three stage vehicle. The S-I first stage (initially proposed for the Juno V rocket and eventually used on Saturn I) would propel the Saturn A-1 into space, continuing the flight with a Titan I missile based second stage. Finally a Centaur C high-energy double-engine third stage could send a payload into its final Earth orbit or to other planets.
The Saturn A-1 never flew, but all proposed stages were used on different launch vehicles. Today, they are all retired.