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Saturn SA-2

Saturn-Apollo 2
Mission name	Saturn-Apollo 2
Spacecraft mass	138,480 kg
Call sign	SA-2
Launch pad	Complex 34
Launch date	April 25, 1962 14:00:34 UTC
Landing	No landing (destroyed April 25, 1962 at 14:02:37 UTC)
Mission duration	2 min 2.56 s
Number of orbits	Suborbital
Apogee	65.2 mi (104.9 km)
Distance travelled	~65 mi (~100 km)
Related missions
SA-1 SA-3

SA-2 was the second flight Saturn I launch vehicle, the first flight of Project Highwater and was part of the Apollo Program.

Objectives

The objectives of SA-2 were much the same as those of SA-1. But in addition to testing the rockets structurally and the new engines, SA-2 was designed for Project Highwater. This was an experiment to release a large quantity of water into the upper atmosphere to investigate its effects.

To accomplish this, the dummy second and third stages of it were ballasted with 109,000 litres of water. When the rocket was at 105 km a charge was detonated that exploded the rocket. This would be used to study the effects on radio transmission and changes in local weather conditions.

Flight

SA-2 rocket sitting on Pad 34 with service structure

The preparations at Cape Canaveral took only two months from the arrivals of the first stage and dummy upper stages to launch on 25 April 1962. As with the first flight this mission was sub-orbital. Once again the launch phase was perfect and the rocket reached a maximum height of 150 kilometres (93 mi), reaching maximum speeds of about 6,000 kilometres per hour (3,700 mph).

At this point (2 minutes 2.56 seconds MET) commands were sent to detonate the rocket as planned. This dispersed the water ballast and within five seconds observers on the ground reported seeing a cloud forming. It then proceeded to rise up to about 160 km in altitude.

Engineers were pleased to find that the sloshing that had occurred on the first flight in the fuel tanks did not happen on SA-2. This they credited to the extra anti-slosh baffles that had been installed. For the test flight, SA-2 carried a propellant load that was only 83% of capacity.