S-II

S-II
General characteristics
The S-II stage during stacking operations of Apollo 6 in the VAB
Manufacturer	North American
Country of origin	USA
Used on	Saturn V (stage 2) Saturn INT-21 (stage 2)
Height	82 ft (24.9 m)
Diameter	33 ft (10 m)
Gross mass	480,900 kg (1,060,000 lb)

Engine details
Engines	5 J-2 engine
Thrust	1,000,000 pounds-force (4,400 kN)
Burn time	367 seconds
Fuel	LOX/LH2

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The S-II (pronounced "S-two") was the second stage of the Saturn V rocket. It was built by North American Aviation. Using liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) it had five J-2 engines in a quincunx pattern. The second stage accelerated the Saturn V through the upper atmosphere with 1,000,000 pounds-force (4,400 kN) of thrust.

The beginning of the S-II came in December 1959 when a committee recommended the design and construction of a high-thrust, liquid hydrogen fueled engine. The contract for this engine was given to Rocketdyne and it would be later called the J-2. At the same time the S-II stage design began to take shape. Initially it was to have four J-2 engines and be 74 feet (23 m) in length and 260 inches (6.6 m) in diameter.

In 1961 the Marshall Space Flight Center began the process to find the contractor to build the stage. Out of the 30 aerospace companies invited to a conference where the initial requirements were laid out, only seven submitted proposals a month later. Three of these were eliminated after their proposals had been investigated. However it was then decided that the initial specifications for the entire rocket were too small and so it was decided to increase the size of the stages used. This raised difficulties for the four remaining companies as NASA had still not yet decided on various aspects of the stage including size, and the upper stages that would be placed on top.

In the end on 11 September 1961 the contract was awarded to North American Aviation (who were also awarded the contract for the Apollo Command/Service Module), with the manufacturing plant built by the government at Seal Beach, California.

When fully loaded with propellant, the S-II had a mass of about 481 tonnes. The hardware was only 7.6% of this—92.4% was liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

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Wikipedia