#sa-212

"Workers at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) near New Orleans, Louisiana, install the last engine on the S-IB-12 stage. Developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and built by the Chrysler Corporation at MAF, the S-IB stage utilized eight H-1 engines to produce a combined thrust of 1,600,000 pounds."

In the background is S-IB-7, which launched Skylab 3 into space on July 28, 1973. This S-IB-12 was intended for the SA-212 launch vehicle. Its second stage, S-IVB, was converted into the Skylab Orbit Workshop and launched on the Saturn V SA-513 on May 14, 1973. Its first stage, S-IB, was later scrapped.

Date: 1967

The different configurations of the Saturn IB and the planned missions for each.

Several things of note:

This graphic shows the planned mission configuration for AS-201 through AS-212. The AS-2XX was the mission nomenclature before AS-204 was changed to Apollo 1. This change was requested by the Astronauts' wives to honor their husbands, who lost their lives in the fire. The plans before Apollo 1 disaster deserve its own post.

Only AS-204/Apollo 5 launched carrying only the Lunar Module (LM-1). There were plans for a second mission but after the success of the first, it was not needed.

After AS-205/Apollo 7, the rest of the Saturn IBs were placed into storage and refurbished for the Skylab and ASTP missions.

It's interesting AS-212 was scheduled to carry both an Apollo module and a Lunar Module as the Saturn IB did not have enough Delta-V to carry both into orbit. Nor did it have enough to launch a fully fueled Apollo CSM, as all missions carrying it had to be partially loaded.

Missing from this list is SA-213 and SA-214. Both were not completed before funding ran out and what was built (the S-IB stage), was scrapped. SA-212's S-IVB was converted into the backup Skylab space station (aka Skylab B) and its S-IB stage was scrapped.

SA-215 and SA-216 were cancelled before they were started in July 1968.

Date: 1968

NASA ID: 0100803

SA-212 in Temporary Viewing Spot at KSC -1976