In this eagerly anticipated book, renowned space historian and author David Baker turns his attention to the Saturn I and IB rockets. Although considered as merely a 'stepping stone' from the Mercury and Gemini programs to the mighty Saturn V and the Apollo missions that put the first humans on the Moon, the Saturn I and IB rockets actually played a far more significant role in NASA's manned space effort.

As the first American 'heavy lift' rocket , Wernher von Braun's Saturn I traced its lineage right back to his WWII V2 rocket, through Redstone to the Jupiter and Juno projects that lead to the Saturn vehicles. In describing this often-overlooked historical background, the story of the transition of the space program from the US Army to the (then) newly-formed NASA, and the evolution from launching men and satellites on modified missiles, to flying purpose-built space rockets, is also uncovered.

The first Saturn I flew in 1961 and it remained in service until 1975, flying the first manned Apollo mission, testing stages for the Moon flights and launching 'Skylab' astronauts among other accomplishments. Illustrated throughout with NASA technical drawings and photographs, many previously unpublished, this absorbing book also includes a description of each mission flown by the Saturn I and IB.