ABSTRACT
At the time of its construction, the Saturn V was the most powerful rocket ever assembled by America. The Saturn V flew thirteen times between 1967 and 1973—including test flights—and still holds the record as being the only rocket design that has never exploded in flight. The design of the Saturn V was developed by the members of the Marshall Space Flight Center under Wemher Von Braun. One of the reasons why Saturn V achieved its remarkable reliability was the testing and design procedure that was developed. Manufacturers delivered the Saturn V components to the Vehicle Assembly Building where giant cranes, capable of lifting 200 tonnes, were used to stack them vertically onto one of the mobile launch pads. The combination of pad, mobile launcher and flame trench was cooled with a water deluge system. The mobile launcher sat on pedestals over a 17.7 m wide flame trench.
