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In 1969… Saturn V First Stage For Apollo 11 Mission

In 1969...
An overhead crane lifts the Saturn V first stage for the Apollo 11 mission from the transfer aisle floor in preparation for stacking on a mobile launcher inside the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 1. The 138-foot-long stage, to which two additional stages were added, generated a liftoff thrust of 7.7 million pounds.

An overhead crane lifts the Saturn V first stage for the Apollo 11 mission from the transfer aisle floor in preparation for stacking on a mobile launcher inside the Vehicle Assembly Building’s High Bay 1. The 138-foot-long stage, to which two additional stages – the instrument unit and the Apollo spacecraft – were added, generated a liftoff thrust of 7.7 million pounds. Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. piloted the mission, which included a lunar landing by Armstrong and Aldrin.

Image credit: NASA

Feb. 21, 1969