On this day in space! Aug. 1, 1968: NASA ends production of Saturn V moon rocket

On this day in space! Aug. 1, 1968: NASA ends production of Saturn V moon rocket

On Aug. 1, 1968, NASA canceled the production of its Saturn V moon rocket. At the time, the giant rocket was the only launch vehicle to have ever carried astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit, and it was then the largest, most powerful rocket ever. NASA built 15 of these rockets but only flew 13 of them. When NASA made the decision to stop building the Saturn V, it was almost a year before Apollo 11 astronauts would walk on the moon for the first ti…