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The Saturn V Rocket The launch vehicle used for lunar missions was the Saturn V rocket designed specifically for Apollo craft. The Saturn launch vehicle family and the design of its support facilities were derived from technology developed by rocket engineer Wernher Von Braun and his team at Peenemünde, Germany, during World War II. Von Braun brought his work and his team to the United States in 1945. The Saturn V consisted of three stages used in sequence to boost spacecraft into the earth’s orbit and on toward the moon. The CSM and LM were mounted separately, in tandem, on top of the Saturn rocket system. At liftoff, the entire launch vehicle (including spacecraft) was 109 m (363 ft) high; it weighed 2.8 million kg (6.3 million lb); and the five Saturn first stage engines generated 3.5 million kg (7.7 million lb) of thrust. During the Apollo Program, 12 Saturn V rockets were launched from the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and all were successful.
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