S-IVB

High school (ages 12+)
Transportation

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/s-ivb

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the designation?S-IVB
2. What is the manufacturer?Douglas Aircraft Company
3. What was the S-IVB and why was it important for the Moon missions?The S-IVB was the third stage of the Saturn V rocket, giving the Apollo spacecraft the final push to leave Earth orbit and head to the Moon. It used a powerful J-2 engine to reach the high speeds needed for the trip.
4. How did the S-IVB's engine work and why was it special?It had one Rocketdyne J-2 engine that burned liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The engine could be turned off after reaching Earth orbit and then restarted later to send the spacecraft toward the Moon, which was a new and useful feature.

Translunar Injection: The maneuver that propels a spacecraft from Earth orbit onto a trajectory to the Moon.
Specific Impulse: A measure of how efficiently a rocket engine uses propellant to generate thrust.
Cryogenic Propellants: Propellants that must be stored at extremely low temperatures, such as liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
Turbopump: A pump driven by a turbine, used to deliver propellants to a rocket engine's combustion chamber.