Author Topic: Saturn V Third Stage - Not enough room  (Read 203 times)

Offline benparry

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Saturn V Third Stage - Not enough room
« on: March 22, 2024, 08:30:34 AM »
Morning / Afternoon All.

Another Facebook group argument / debate. Below is a comment from somebody. Is there a website which literally adds up the bits within the Third stage that shows it does all fit





Phase 3 of the Saturn 5 rocket is 61.6 feet tall and 21.7 feet in diameter. If it was a cylinder (which it's not the top has a lander attached to it and it's much smaller and the diameter slowly decreases at the top)
I used a cylinder calculator and came up with 22,781 cubic feet.
Now we look at the list. There were 2 fuel tanks the larger held almost 80,000 gallons the other just over 6,000. The fuel alone takes up 11,417.52 Cubic feet of space. That's not counting the tanks to hold the fuel or the lines and pumps to move it.
Remember it's already more than ½ full even if you just literally poured the fuel in the rocket.

And that's if the entire rocket was shaped like a cylinder, again it's not

We still need room for Insulation so now your available space is even smaller.

Next subtract the cubic feet needed for the rocket's engines.

Don't forget the Lander itself.
We still need an oxygen supply, batteries, computers, and room for 3 Astronauts. It literally doesn't all fit.




cheers guys

Ben

Offline Peter B

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Re: Saturn V Third Stage - Not enough room
« Reply #1 on: March 22, 2024, 11:00:55 AM »
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I used a cylinder calculator and came up with 22,781 cubic feet.

Correct.

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Now we look at the list. There were 2 fuel tanks the larger held almost 80,000 gallons the other just over 6,000. The fuel alone takes up 11,417.52 Cubic feet of space.

His figures are fairly off, but his volume is similar to what I calculated.

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That's not counting the tanks to hold the fuel or the lines and pumps to move it.

Er, what? Once you put the fuel in, there's no room left for the fuel?

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Remember it's already more than ½ full even if you just literally poured the fuel in the rocket.

Um, yes, that's how it works. A bit over half the volume of the stage is taken up by fuel. That leaves a bit less than half the volume for lines and pumps and engines and stuff.

Offline Allan F

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Re: Saturn V Third Stage - Not enough room
« Reply #2 on: March 22, 2024, 05:23:42 PM »
Are your numbers for the third stage or for the third stage AND the SLA?
Well, it is like this: The truth doesn't need insults. Insults are the refuge of a darkened mind, a mind that refuses to open and see. Foul language can't outcompete knowledge. And knowledge is the result of education. Education is the result of the wish to know more, not less.

Offline Allan F

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Re: Saturn V Third Stage - Not enough room
« Reply #3 on: March 22, 2024, 05:31:56 PM »
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_(spacecraft)#Spacecraft%E2%80%93lunar_module_adapter_(SLA)

The confusion stems from your inclusion of the SLA into the 3rd stage. It was a separate entity.
Well, it is like this: The truth doesn't need insults. Insults are the refuge of a darkened mind, a mind that refuses to open and see. Foul language can't outcompete knowledge. And knowledge is the result of education. Education is the result of the wish to know more, not less.

Offline Allan F

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Re: Saturn V Third Stage - Not enough room
« Reply #4 on: March 22, 2024, 05:33:40 PM »
Also, he thinks the CSM is also inside the 3rd stage.
Well, it is like this: The truth doesn't need insults. Insults are the refuge of a darkened mind, a mind that refuses to open and see. Foul language can't outcompete knowledge. And knowledge is the result of education. Education is the result of the wish to know more, not less.

Offline Jason Thompson

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Re: Saturn V Third Stage - Not enough room
« Reply #5 on: March 25, 2024, 10:50:47 AM »
Is there a website which literally adds up the bits within the Third stage that shows it does all fit

Not necessary given the massively flawed arguments.

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Phase 3 of the Saturn 5 rocket is 61.6 feet tall and 21.7 feet in diameter.

Height measured from where to where?

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If it was a cylinder (which it's not the top has a lander attached to it and it's much smaller and the diameter slowly decreases at the top)

That is incorporating both the Instrument Unit (IU) and the Spacecraft/LM Adapter (SLA), neither of which are part of the S-IVB.

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I used a cylinder calculator and came up with 22,781 cubic feet.

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Remember it's already more than ½ full even if you just literally poured the fuel in the rocket.

Yes, that is literally how most rocket stages work. How much space does he imagine the lines and everything else take up when compared to the volume of fuel?

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We still need room for Insulation so now your available space is even smaller.

How thick does he expect the insulation to be? There are many unqualified assumptions being made in his comment that he needs to justify if he claims it supports his conclusions.

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Next subtract the cubic feet needed for the rocket's engines.

Go on then? That, again, is his burden of proof. As well as showing that the rocket engine is included in the length of the stage he quotes.

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Don't forget the Lander itself.
We still need an oxygen supply, batteries, computers, and room for 3 Astronauts.

None of that was included in the S-IVB stage. The lander sits inside the SLA, and the command/service module sits on top of that. That's a fundamental error in his argument.

That and the fact there are many many diagrams available online that show how everything fitted. Not our burden to go and find the actual answers. His argument fails for being incomplete and making several errors about what needs to be included.
"There's this idea that everyone's opinion is equally valid. My arse! Bloke who was a professor of dentistry for forty years does NOT have a debate with some eejit who removes his teeth with string and a door!"  - Dara O'Briain

Offline benparry

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Re: Saturn V Third Stage - Not enough room
« Reply #6 on: March 26, 2024, 05:45:32 AM »
Many thanks Gents for you're answers. As usual the answer is deceptively simple.