Family-level launch record combining canonical variants, historical missions, public cadence forecasts, and available payload performance specs.
Historical missions are grouped by actual launch year. Forecast cadence uses family-level launch-rate rows.
| Year | Historical missions | Forecast launches |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 3 | 0 |
| 1965 | 3 | 0 |
| 1966 | 3 | 0 |
| 1968 | 2 | 0 |
| 1973 | 3 | 0 |
| 1975 | 1 | 0 |
Payload capacity by variant and target orbit when structured capacity rows are available.
| Variant | Orbit | Capacity | Altitude | Inclination | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No performance specsNo structured payload capacity rows are linked to this vehicle family. | |||||
Canonical variants rolled up into this launch vehicle family.
| Variant | Stages | Missions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
Saturn IB | Not stated | 8 | Retired |
Saturn I Blk2 | Not stated | 6 | Retired |
Uprated Saturn I | Not stated | 1 | Retired |
Saturn IB |
| May 25, 1973 |
| Apollo 7 Mission | Saturn IB | Oct 11, 1968 |
| Apollo 5 | Saturn IB | Jan 22, 1968 |
| Launch 1966-U06 | Saturn IB | Aug 25, 1966 |
| AS-203 | Uprated Saturn I | Jul 5, 1966 |
Upcoming mission rows with announced launch timing.
| Mission | Variant | Announced |
|---|---|---|
No forecasted missionsNo upcoming announced mission rows are linked to this vehicle family. | ||
Dragonfly is expected to arrive at Saturn's moon Titan in 2034.
SNAP-50/SPUR was envisioned for launch on a Saturn IB and for planetary missions including Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn orbiters, and a solar probe.
The proposed NASA budget includes $424 million for the Dragonfly mission to explore Saturn’s moon Titan.
Webb’s infrared observations show Saturn’s poles as gray-green, corresponding to emission near 4.3 microns.
Hubble reveals subtle color variations on Saturn’s visible surface, while Webb’s infrared view detects clouds and chemicals from deeper layers to the upper atmosphere.
Webb adds infrared observations that expand measurements of Saturn’s atmospheric structure and dynamic processes.
Hubble and Webb observe Saturn in complementary wavelengths to study its atmosphere at different depths.
The 2024 Saturn observations were taken 14 weeks apart.
Webb captured its Saturn image a few months after Hubble using director’s discretionary time.
Saturn’s rings appear extremely bright in Webb’s infrared image because they are made of highly reflective water ice.
The Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program uses annual monitoring to track Saturn storms, banded features, and seasonal changes.
Hubble’s decades of Saturn observations have helped reconstruct the evolution of Saturn’s atmosphere.
Hubble captured the Saturn image in August 2024 as part of the decade-long Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program.
Webb observed a long-lived jet stream called the "ribbon wave" across Saturn’s northern mid-latitudes.
The MTSS report recommended developing a five-man station based on at least two Saturn C-1 launches in September 1965 to allow completion of all MTSS experiments.
The proposal includes possible flybys of Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn.
The Atlas-Agena B and the Centaur were projected to be the only boost vehicles available before 1965 while the Saturn C-1 was scheduled for 1965 and later.
The older debris discs targeted by ARKS orbit at distances comparable to those of Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and beyond in the Solar System.
Hydrogen cyanide has been detected on comets and in the atmospheres of planets and moons like Saturn's moon Titan.
Cassini precisely measured Saturn’s internal mass distribution near the end of its mission.