Word: ivb
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Cutting in after the first stage was jettisoned, the liquid-hydrogen-fueled SII second stage fired flawlessly, providing 1,000,000 Ibs. of thrust and boosting the rocket to an altitude of 115 miles before it, too, was jettisoned. Now it was the turn of the third-stage S-IVB. Firing its engine, it inserted itself, the attached Apollo spacecraft, its service module and the lunar module-a total of 140 tons-into orbit, with an apogee of 119 miles, a perigee of 114 miles. It was an impressive demonstration that, after ten years, the U.S. had finally overtaken...
Interception Path. During its third orbit, the S-IVB refired its engine, increasing its speed to nearly 23,400 m.p.h. and thrusting farther away from the earth. After the S-IVB was separated and the Apollo service-module engine fired briefly, placing Apollo into an orbit with an apogee of 11,200 miles and a perigee of negative 50 miles-meaning that the craft's path would intercept the earth...