Model Kit, Rocket, Saturn V

This unassembled plastic model kit for a Saturn V rocket, launch platform, tower, and crawler-transporter was manufactured and sold by Countdown, Inc. The model appealed to prospective consumers by touting both the accuracy of the details and the ease of construction for the model inside. Photographs of a Saturn V on the path to the launch pad and rocketing into space displayed the appeal of the rocket.

As America's largest operational launch vehicle, the Saturn V first launched a piloted Apollo spacecraft in December 1968, placing the crew of Apollo 8 into lunar orbit. In July 1969, a Saturn V sent astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edward Aldrin, Jr. of Apollo 11 to the surface of the Moon, while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit. Saturn V was utilized in the remaining six Apollo missions to the Moon during 1969-1972 and to launch the Skylab Orbital Workshop into Earth orbit in May 1973. The model was found in the collection.