Mdthbs

Are L-functions uniquely determined by their values at negative integers?

Source of story about the Vilna Gaon and immigration policy

Was Willow's first magic display (blazing arrow through arm) actual magic, and if not, what's the trick?

Is this artwork (used in a video game) real?

How could an animal "smell" carbon monoxide?

Is there any way for an Adventurers League, 5th level Wizard, to gain heavy armor proficiency?

Did the First Order follow Poe to Jakku, or did they independently discover that the map fragment was there?

Why does the Trade Federation become so alarmed upon learning the ambassadors are Jedi Knights?

Why limit to revolvers?

Draw a line nicely around notes

What is the technical explanation of the note "A♭" in a F7 chord in the key of C?

Can you perfectly wrap a cube with this blocky shape?

Is there a way to handmake alphabet pasta?

Can a polymorphed creature understand languages spoken under the effect of Tongues?

Why does FFmpeg choose 10+20+20 ms instead of an even 16 ms for 60 fps GIF images?

Why do the faithful have to say "And with your spirit " in Catholic Mass?

What is the German word or phrase for "village returning to forest"?

Animal Shelter Management C++

Conducting exams in which a computer (but no internet) is available

Teferi's Time Twist on creature with +1/+1 counter

line break after the word "proof" in proof environment

Is this more than a packing puzzle?

Extension of trace on von Neumann subalgebra

How to honestly answer questions from a girlfriend like "How did you find this place" without giving the impression I'm always talking about my exes?

Was all the fuel expended in each stage of a Saturn V launch?

Do booster stages run out of fuel, or are they purposefully shut off?Launch roll program for the Saturn five rocketWhat is the mist on Saturn V during launch?How would the Saturn V have differed if the first stage was also LH2/LOX?Why was this Saturn rocket elevated for launch?Was CNC milling used in the 1960's for making the Apollo/Saturn rocket engines?Apollo 6, reason for premature engine shutdown of two engines of second stage of Saturn V?Was the Saturn V only going at 1.1km/s after the first stage?Vented interstage for the final stage of Saturn VWhy does the Saturn V have standalone inter-stage rings?Why was the Saturn V considered to be human-rated after Apollo 6?

.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{ margin-bottom:0;
}

8

1

$begingroup$

Particularly the first and second stages into earth orbit - were the stages run dry before separation? On first thoughts, It would seem to be safer to do so, but I realised the engines required liquid fuel to act as a coolant prior to ignition in the combustion chamber. Also, the final orbit might not be so precise if there's variation to the launch profile.

So, the question becomes: how much fuel was left in each stage?

I'd expect any excess fuel to be kept to a minimum since it is expensive (fuelwise) to lift unburnt fuel.

If answers can include the third stages and supply modules, that'd be great.

apollo-program saturn-v

share|improve this question

edited 9 hours ago

HorusKol

asked 12 hours ago

HorusKolHorusKol

25511 silver badge88 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  No. There are questions on the site about this already. 10s of thousands of lbs were left in the first stage. It's more expensive to blow up your rocket by running the engines dry.
  $endgroup$
  – Organic Marble
  12 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  @OrganicMarble couldn't find such a question when searching - happy to be closed as a duplicate if you can find one
  $endgroup$
  – HorusKol
  12 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  I'm not sure it's really a duplicate - and I can't find it yet either! Will report back.
  $endgroup$
  – Organic Marble
  12 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  Related but not quite duplicate IMO: space.stackexchange.com/q/21704/195
  $endgroup$
  – Russell Borogove
  11 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  A good source is Apollo by the numbers, see 1, 2, 3. You may write an answer yourself by using these tables.
  $endgroup$
  – Uwe
  10 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 1 more comment

8

1

$begingroup$

Particularly the first and second stages into earth orbit - were the stages run dry before separation? On first thoughts, It would seem to be safer to do so, but I realised the engines required liquid fuel to act as a coolant prior to ignition in the combustion chamber. Also, the final orbit might not be so precise if there's variation to the launch profile.

So, the question becomes: how much fuel was left in each stage?

I'd expect any excess fuel to be kept to a minimum since it is expensive (fuelwise) to lift unburnt fuel.

If answers can include the third stages and supply modules, that'd be great.

apollo-program saturn-v

share|improve this question

edited 9 hours ago

HorusKol

asked 12 hours ago

HorusKolHorusKol

25511 silver badge88 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  No. There are questions on the site about this already. 10s of thousands of lbs were left in the first stage. It's more expensive to blow up your rocket by running the engines dry.
  $endgroup$
  – Organic Marble
  12 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  @OrganicMarble couldn't find such a question when searching - happy to be closed as a duplicate if you can find one
  $endgroup$
  – HorusKol
  12 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  I'm not sure it's really a duplicate - and I can't find it yet either! Will report back.
  $endgroup$
  – Organic Marble
  12 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  Related but not quite duplicate IMO: space.stackexchange.com/q/21704/195
  $endgroup$
  – Russell Borogove
  11 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  A good source is Apollo by the numbers, see 1, 2, 3. You may write an answer yourself by using these tables.
  $endgroup$
  – Uwe
  10 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 1 more comment

$begingroup$

Particularly the first and second stages into earth orbit - were the stages run dry before separation? On first thoughts, It would seem to be safer to do so, but I realised the engines required liquid fuel to act as a coolant prior to ignition in the combustion chamber. Also, the final orbit might not be so precise if there's variation to the launch profile.

So, the question becomes: how much fuel was left in each stage?

I'd expect any excess fuel to be kept to a minimum since it is expensive (fuelwise) to lift unburnt fuel.

If answers can include the third stages and supply modules, that'd be great.

apollo-program saturn-v

share|improve this question

edited 9 hours ago

HorusKol

asked 12 hours ago

HorusKolHorusKol

25511 silver badge88 bronze badges

$endgroup$

share|improve this question

edited 9 hours ago

HorusKol

asked 12 hours ago

HorusKolHorusKol

25511 silver badge88 bronze badges

share|improve this question

edited 9 hours ago

HorusKol

asked 12 hours ago

HorusKolHorusKol

25511 silver badge88 bronze badges

asked 12 hours ago

HorusKolHorusKol

25511 silver badge88 bronze badges

asked 12 hours ago

HorusKolHorusKol

25511 silver badge88 bronze badges

2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

8

$begingroup$

For the Saturn V, the first and second stages both cut off when a low-propellant-level sensor tripped in the tanks. Most launchers' booster stages do something similar -- burning to total depletion would be dangerous for a number of reasons noted here.

For the S-IC first stage, it wasn't unusual to leave 30 tons of propellant unconsumed, as Apollo By The Numbers notes. This is a little more than 1% of the total stage tankage, and represents about 2 seconds of burn time.

For the S-II second stage, the residual propellant was usually 3-4 tons -- less than 1% of the initial amount, and again representing 2-3 seconds of burn time.

The orbital insertion burn on the S-IVB third stage, as with most orbital launchers, was cut off when the desired target velocity was reached. This allowed the stage to correct for off-nominal performance of the first and second stages -- it would do whatever it needed to do to get to the right altitude and speed.

Most of the fuel in the third stage was saved for the translunar burn, which was likewise stopped when the desired change in velocity was accomplished, again typically with 3-4 tons of fuel remaining, though that represents 10-15 seconds of burn time for the smaller, single-engine stage.

I believe all the other major burns on Apollo missions (course correction, lunar orbit insertion, etc) used velocity-based cutoffs as well.

share|improve this answer

edited 6 hours ago

answered 7 hours ago

Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove

97.4k33 gold badges335335 silver badges421421 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  15 tons of propellant pr second! impressive!
  $endgroup$
  – Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

2

$begingroup$

I took the numbers from 'Apollo by the Numbers' and entered them into a spread sheet.

Still a lot of work to do with Apollo 9 to 17.

Any suggestions?

The left fuel is less than 3 % for stage 1 and 2 but less than 10 % for stage 3 final burn.

share|improve this answer

answered 3 hours ago

UweUwe

12.5k22 gold badges3434 silver badges6060 bronze badges

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

Your Answer

StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "508"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});

function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});


}
});

draft saved

draft discarded

Sign up or log in

StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});

Sign up using Google

Sign up using Facebook

Sign up using Email and Password

Post as a guest

Name

Email

Required, but never shown

StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fspace.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f37339%2fwas-all-the-fuel-expended-in-each-stage-of-a-saturn-v-launch%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);

Post as a guest

Name

Email

Required, but never shown

8

$begingroup$

For the Saturn V, the first and second stages both cut off when a low-propellant-level sensor tripped in the tanks. Most launchers' booster stages do something similar -- burning to total depletion would be dangerous for a number of reasons noted here.

For the S-IC first stage, it wasn't unusual to leave 30 tons of propellant unconsumed, as Apollo By The Numbers notes. This is a little more than 1% of the total stage tankage, and represents about 2 seconds of burn time.

For the S-II second stage, the residual propellant was usually 3-4 tons -- less than 1% of the initial amount, and again representing 2-3 seconds of burn time.

The orbital insertion burn on the S-IVB third stage, as with most orbital launchers, was cut off when the desired target velocity was reached. This allowed the stage to correct for off-nominal performance of the first and second stages -- it would do whatever it needed to do to get to the right altitude and speed.

Most of the fuel in the third stage was saved for the translunar burn, which was likewise stopped when the desired change in velocity was accomplished, again typically with 3-4 tons of fuel remaining, though that represents 10-15 seconds of burn time for the smaller, single-engine stage.

I believe all the other major burns on Apollo missions (course correction, lunar orbit insertion, etc) used velocity-based cutoffs as well.

share|improve this answer

edited 6 hours ago

answered 7 hours ago

Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove

97.4k33 gold badges335335 silver badges421421 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  15 tons of propellant pr second! impressive!
  $endgroup$
  – Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

8

$begingroup$

For the Saturn V, the first and second stages both cut off when a low-propellant-level sensor tripped in the tanks. Most launchers' booster stages do something similar -- burning to total depletion would be dangerous for a number of reasons noted here.

For the S-IC first stage, it wasn't unusual to leave 30 tons of propellant unconsumed, as Apollo By The Numbers notes. This is a little more than 1% of the total stage tankage, and represents about 2 seconds of burn time.

For the S-II second stage, the residual propellant was usually 3-4 tons -- less than 1% of the initial amount, and again representing 2-3 seconds of burn time.

The orbital insertion burn on the S-IVB third stage, as with most orbital launchers, was cut off when the desired target velocity was reached. This allowed the stage to correct for off-nominal performance of the first and second stages -- it would do whatever it needed to do to get to the right altitude and speed.

Most of the fuel in the third stage was saved for the translunar burn, which was likewise stopped when the desired change in velocity was accomplished, again typically with 3-4 tons of fuel remaining, though that represents 10-15 seconds of burn time for the smaller, single-engine stage.

I believe all the other major burns on Apollo missions (course correction, lunar orbit insertion, etc) used velocity-based cutoffs as well.

share|improve this answer

edited 6 hours ago

answered 7 hours ago

Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove

97.4k33 gold badges335335 silver badges421421 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  15 tons of propellant pr second! impressive!
  $endgroup$
  – Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

$begingroup$

For the Saturn V, the first and second stages both cut off when a low-propellant-level sensor tripped in the tanks. Most launchers' booster stages do something similar -- burning to total depletion would be dangerous for a number of reasons noted here.

For the S-IC first stage, it wasn't unusual to leave 30 tons of propellant unconsumed, as Apollo By The Numbers notes. This is a little more than 1% of the total stage tankage, and represents about 2 seconds of burn time.

For the S-II second stage, the residual propellant was usually 3-4 tons -- less than 1% of the initial amount, and again representing 2-3 seconds of burn time.

The orbital insertion burn on the S-IVB third stage, as with most orbital launchers, was cut off when the desired target velocity was reached. This allowed the stage to correct for off-nominal performance of the first and second stages -- it would do whatever it needed to do to get to the right altitude and speed.

Most of the fuel in the third stage was saved for the translunar burn, which was likewise stopped when the desired change in velocity was accomplished, again typically with 3-4 tons of fuel remaining, though that represents 10-15 seconds of burn time for the smaller, single-engine stage.

I believe all the other major burns on Apollo missions (course correction, lunar orbit insertion, etc) used velocity-based cutoffs as well.

share|improve this answer

edited 6 hours ago

answered 7 hours ago

Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove

97.4k33 gold badges335335 silver badges421421 bronze badges

$endgroup$

share|improve this answer

edited 6 hours ago

answered 7 hours ago

Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove

97.4k33 gold badges335335 silver badges421421 bronze badges

answered 7 hours ago

Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove

97.4k33 gold badges335335 silver badges421421 bronze badges

answered 7 hours ago

Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove

97.4k33 gold badges335335 silver badges421421 bronze badges

2

$begingroup$

I took the numbers from 'Apollo by the Numbers' and entered them into a spread sheet.

Still a lot of work to do with Apollo 9 to 17.

Any suggestions?

The left fuel is less than 3 % for stage 1 and 2 but less than 10 % for stage 3 final burn.

share|improve this answer

answered 3 hours ago

UweUwe

12.5k22 gold badges3434 silver badges6060 bronze badges

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

2

$begingroup$

I took the numbers from 'Apollo by the Numbers' and entered them into a spread sheet.

Still a lot of work to do with Apollo 9 to 17.

Any suggestions?

The left fuel is less than 3 % for stage 1 and 2 but less than 10 % for stage 3 final burn.

share|improve this answer

answered 3 hours ago

UweUwe

12.5k22 gold badges3434 silver badges6060 bronze badges

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

$begingroup$

I took the numbers from 'Apollo by the Numbers' and entered them into a spread sheet.

Still a lot of work to do with Apollo 9 to 17.

Any suggestions?

The left fuel is less than 3 % for stage 1 and 2 but less than 10 % for stage 3 final burn.

share|improve this answer

answered 3 hours ago

UweUwe

12.5k22 gold badges3434 silver badges6060 bronze badges

$endgroup$

share|improve this answer

answered 3 hours ago

UweUwe

12.5k22 gold badges3434 silver badges6060 bronze badges

answered 3 hours ago

UweUwe

12.5k22 gold badges3434 silver badges6060 bronze badges

answered 3 hours ago

UweUwe

12.5k22 gold badges3434 silver badges6060 bronze badges