A couple people have noticed that the Saturn V behind me over here actually has a different
paint scheme than all of the Saturn Vs that actually flew missions to the moon
We're going to talk about why, here on Vintage Space
(sweet music)
The black and white paint scheme on rockets has roots at least part in nazi germany
Wernher von Braun's team painted the A4 or V2 rockets with large black and white checkered patterns
so it was easier to see whether it was rolling in flight.
The paint pattern became standard and migrated to the US with the rocketeers when they were imported
under operation overcast and project paperclip.
The rockets that spun off the V2 at the hands of the german engineers bore the same black and
white paint scheme though it did vary depending on the rocket.
Among the earliest rockets built in the US by Wernher von Braun and his team
were the Red Stone and Jupiter rockets.  Both of which have a checkered pattern or a linear pattern
of black and white sections to show the rockets movement in flight.
Among the rockets that carried men into space it was the Saturn family that has german roots and
these rockets also had a black and white paint scheme.
The Saturn I rockets featured alternating black and white stripes on the first stage, a small checkered
pattern on the inner stage, and an all white second stage.
The black paint did actually cause some problems.   Some rockets registered heat spikes in the fuel
tanks under the black paint as it absorbed the heat of the sun, but they were never removed from the design
The Saturn I B was the next big rocket.   ( lol )
It was a Saturn I with a larger S-4b upper stage.
This rocket was painted white save for the vertical black stripes on the first stage.
though some Saturn 1bs launched with an instrument ring painted black.
The Saturn V was the largest Saturn rocket ever built and it was the one that took astronauts to the moon.
It had an all white body with black stripes that went about a third of the way up in the first stage and
continued on the upper part of the stage ending in a black ring at the inner stage.
An uneven black and white checkered pattern was painted on the upper inner stage and the
instrument unit was painted black.
At the top the service module was a tiny fleck of silver because the command module was covered
in a white shroud.
All the Saturn Vs had the same paint scheme except one and that was the first Saturn V
to ever roll out of the vehicle assembly building in 1966.
This was a dummy rocket that was never intended to fly and it was designated Apollo Saturn 500f.
This was the one used to bear by Apollo launch facilities, train launch crews, and develop
test and check out procedures.
It was also the rocket that had been physically shook to see how the structure would hold up
in the event of strong winds on the launch pad
The paint scheme changed from the Saturn 500f to the flight Saturn V's was due to heat
The ring of black paint absorbed heat while the Saturn rocket sat on the launch pad
and the fuel tank inside got dangerously hot.
The upper part of the black stripes and the band around the middle were painted over in white
on the latter Saturn Vs.
The white paint reflected heat from the sun and the heating problem was solved
Do you guys have a preference on Saturn V paint schemes?
Because I just think the rocket looks amazing all the time.
Let me know in the comments below and be sure to follow me on twitter for daily vintage space content
at astVintageSpace.
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(more groovy music)
(seriously turn up your sound this is awesome)
