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This Week in NASA History: Saturn I, S-I Stage Build-up – Jan. 18, 1961

This week in 1961, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center engineers readied the first stage of the Saturn I rocket for checkout.
This week in 1961, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center engineers readied the first stage of the Saturn I rocket for checkout in Building 4705.

This week in 1961, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center engineers readied the first stage of the Saturn I rocket for checkout in Building 4705. The Saturn I S-I stage employed eight clustered H-1 engines capable of producing 1.5 million pounds of thrust. Originally developed under the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency, 10 Saturn I rockets were flown prior to being replaced by the Saturn IB. Here, the S-I stages for the Saturn I SA-1, right, and SA-2, left, are assembled in Building 4705. Today, Marshall is playing a vital role in the Artemis program by developing the SLS, the backbone of NASA’s exploration plans and the only rocket capable of sending humans to the Moon and Mars. The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating, and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological, and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage. (NASA)