Saturn Apollo Program

This photograph is a view of the Saturn V S-IC (first) test stage being hoisted into the S-IC-B1 test stand at the Mississippi Test Facility (MTF), Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. This stage was used to prove the operational readiness of the stand. Begirning operations in 1966, the MTF has two test stands; a dual-position structure for running the S-IC stage at full throttle, and two separate stands for the S-II (Saturn V third) stage. It became the focus of the static test firing program. The completed S-IC stage was shipped from the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) to the MTF. The stage was then installed into the 124-meter-high test stand for static firing tests before shipment to the Kennedy Space Center for final assembly of the Saturn V vehicle. The MTF was renamed to the National Space Technology Laboratory (NSTL) in 1974 and later to the Stennis Space Center (SSC) in May 1988.