Baker, David The Saturn I/IB Rocket. NASA's First Apollo Launch Vehicle

In this book, renowned space historian and author David Baker turns his attenti on to the Saturn I and IB rockets. Although often considered as merely a "stepping stone" from the Mercury and Gemini programmes to the mighty Saturn V and the Apollo missions that put the first humans on the Moon, the Saturn I and IB rockets actually played a far more significant role in NASAs manned space effort.
As the first American "heavy lift" rocket, Wernher von Brauns Saturn I traced its lineage right back to his WWII V2 rocket, through Redstone to the Jupiter and Juno projects that lead to the Saturn vehicles. In describing this often-overlooked historical background, the story of the transiti of the space programme from the US Army to the (then) newly-formed NASA, and the evolution from launching men and satellites on modified missiles, to flying purpose-built space rockets, is also uncovered.
The first Saturn I flew in 1961 and it remained in service until 1975, flying the first manned Apollo mission, testing stages for the Moon flights and launching "Skylab" astronauts amongst other accomplishments. Illustrated throughout with NASA technical drawings and photographs, many previously unpublished, this absorbing book also includes a description of each mission flown by the Saturn I and IB.

As the first American heavy-lift rocket, Wernher von Braun's Saturn I was based on his V2 rocket from the Second World War and led via the Redstone to the Jupiter and Juno projects, which led to the Saturn rockets. In describing this often overlooked historical background, the history of the transition of the space programme from the US Army to the (then) newly formed NASA and the evolution from launching humans and satellites on modified rockets to flying purpose-built space rockets is also revealed. The first Saturn I flew in 1961 and remained in service until 1975. Among other things, it flew the first manned Apollo mission, tested stages for the moon flights and took "Skylab" astronauts into space. This captivating book is illustrated throughout with NASA technical drawings and photographs, many of which were previously unpublished, and also includes a description of each mission flown by the Saturn I and IB.