AS-203

AS-203
Launch of AS-203
Mission typeLaunch vehicle development
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID1966-059A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.2289
Mission duration~6 hours
Distance travelled161,900 kilometers (87,400 nmi)
Orbits completed4
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftNone
Start of mission
Launch dateJuly 5, 1966, 14:53:13 (1966-07-05UTC14:53:13Z) UTC
RocketSaturn IB SA-203
Launch siteCape Kennedy LC-37B
End of mission
DestroyedJuly 5, 1966 (1966-07-06)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude184 kilometers (99 nmi)
Apogee altitude214 kilometers (116 nmi)
Inclination31.94 degrees[1]
Period88.47 minutes
EpochJuly 5, 1966[2]
← AS-201
AS-202 →

AS-203 (also known as SA-203 or Apollo 3) was an uncrewed flight of the Saturn IB rocket on July 5, 1966. It carried no command and service module, as its purpose was to verify the design of the S-IVB rocket stage restart capability[3] that would later be used in the Apollo program to boost astronauts from Earth orbit to a trajectory towards the Moon. It achieved its objectives, but the S-IVB was inadvertently destroyed after four orbits during a differential pressure test that exceeded the design limits.[4]

  1. ^ "Apollo AS-203". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Archived from the original on May 30, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  2. ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "SATCAT". Jonathan's Space Pages. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  3. ^ "55 Years Ago: Apollo AS-203 Mission Tests Liquid Hydrogen Behavior - NASA". July 1, 2021. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  4. ^ "Apollo AS-203". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Archived from the original on May 30, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.